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A bawbee was a Scottish sixpence. The word means a debased copper coin, valued at six pence Scots (equal at the time to an English half-penny), issued from the reign of
James V of Scotland James V (10 April 1512 – 14 December 1542) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Scotland from 9 September 1513 until his death in 1542. He was crowned on 21 September 1513 at the age of seventeen months. James was the son of King James IV a ...
to the reign of William II of Scotland. They were hammered until 1677, when they were produced upon screw presses.


Issues

The bawbee was introduced by
James V James V (10 April 1512 – 14 December 1542) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Scotland from 9 September 1513 until his death in 1542. He was crowned on 21 September 1513 at the age of seventeen months. James was the son of King James IV a ...
in 1538, valued at sixpence. These carry his 'I5' monogram flanking a crowned thistle, and a large saltire on the reverse with a central crown. There were also a smaller half bawbee and a quarter bawbee. In 1544, James V's widow
Mary of Guise Mary of Guise (; 22 November 1515 – 11 June 1560), also called Mary of Lorraine, was List of Scottish royal consorts, Queen of Scotland from 1538 until 1542, as the second wife of King James V. She was a French people, French noblewoman of the ...
minted bawbees at
Stirling Castle Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most historically and architecturally important castles in Scotland. The castle sits atop an Intrusive rock, intrusive Crag and tail, crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill ge ...
, with an 'MR' cipher on the obverse and the cross potent with crosslets of
Lorraine Lorraine, also , ; ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; ; ; is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of ...
on the reverse. The first bawbees of
Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...
, issued by the mint at Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh carried the cinquefoil emblems of the Regent Arran. The bawbee of King Charles II was a
copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...
coin with the reverse inscription '' Nemo me impune lacessit'' ("No one provokes me with impunity"), although the last word on these coins was spelled "Lacesset". This motto is still in use today on the edge of some circulating one pound coins. The motto is around a crowned thistle and is followed by the date. This coin was also valued at six pence Scots or half an English penny.


Etymology

According to ''
Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable ''Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable'', sometimes referred to simply as ''Brewer's'', is a reference work containing definitions and explanations of many famous phrases, allusions, and figures, whether historical or mythical. The "New Edi ...
'', This
Master of the Mint Master of the Mint is a title within the Royal Mint given to the most senior person responsible for its operation. It was an office in the governments of Scotland and England, and later Great Britain and then the United Kingdom, between the 16th ...
, appointed by
James V James V (10 April 1512 – 14 December 1542) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Scotland from 9 September 1513 until his death in 1542. He was crowned on 21 September 1513 at the age of seventeen months. James was the son of King James IV a ...
, was responsible for the introduction of a silver coin valued at six, later three, pence Scots, which was named after his estate. Sillebawby was a farm in the parish of
Burntisland Burntisland ( , ) is a former Royal burgh and parish in Fife, Scotland, on the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. It was previously known as Wester Kinghorn or Little Kinghorn. The town has a population of 6,269 (2011). Burntisland is known ...
in
Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...
, a moorland portion of the farm of Balbie (pronounced 'bawbee' ()). Its name takes various forms throughout its recorded history: Sybbable (1328), Slebalbe (1328 and 1458), Selybawbey (1517) are some early examples. The later examples Silverbabie (1642), Silver-baby (1654) and Silverbarton (1828 and current) may have arisen from a nickname marking the connection to the silver coin. ''
Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable ''Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable'', sometimes referred to simply as ''Brewer's'', is a reference work containing definitions and explanations of many famous phrases, allusions, and figures, whether historical or mythical. The "New Edi ...
'' also gives an alternative etymology, and states its origin from " French, ''bas billon'', (debased copper money)", but this is a kind of speculative folk-etymology.


Literary references

The bawbee was metaphorically used for a fortune by Sir Alexander Boswell, the son of the more famous
James Boswell James Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck (; 29 October 1740 ( N.S.) – 19 May 1795), was a Scottish biographer, diarist, and lawyer, born in Edinburgh. He is best known for his biography of the English writer Samuel Johnson, '' Life of Samuel ...
, the biographer of
Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson ( – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, literary critic, sermonist, biographer, editor, and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...
. It occurs in the song of ''Jennie’s Bawbee'': Sir Alexander took the hint of his song from a much older one: ''Brewer's Dictionary'' lists "Jenny's Bawbee" as meaning a "marriage portion". After 1707 the Pound Scots was phased out. England and Scotland then shared what had been the English coinage, and in Scotland the term "bawbee" took on the meaning of a halfpenny, as can be seen in the poem ''Lament for Ancient Edinburgh'' by James Ballantine published in 1856 (see
Luckenbooths The Luckenbooths were a range of tenements which formerly stood immediately to the north of St Giles' Cathedral, St. Giles' Kirk in the Royal Mile#High Street, High Street of Edinburgh from the reign of James II of Scotland, King James II in the ...
article). The word was still current in the 20th century and continues to be used to refer to bawbee baps or cakes in Aberdeen (i.e. low-priced baps). A popular song, "The Crookit Bawbee", was recorded by The Alexander Brothers and Kenneth McKellar amongst others, and the tune remains a staple for
Scottish country dance Scottish country dance (SCD) is the distinctively Scottish form of country dance, itself a form of social dance involving groups of couples of dancers tracing progressive patterns. A dance consists of a sequence of figures. These dances are ...
band music. The song has a rich suitor asking why his "bright gowd" and "hame... in bonnie Glenshee" are being turned down, the lady referring to a laddie when she was a young "bairnie", and her heart "Was gi'en him lang-syne, for this crookit bawbee." Inevitably the rich suitor turns out to be the laddie returned to his love. The bawbee is referred to in the popular Scots song " Coulter's Candy":


Kirkmahoe

The tale is that the people of Kirkmahoe were so poor, they could not afford to put any meat into their broth. A 'cute cobbler invested all his money in buying four sheep-shanks, and when a neighbour wanted to make mutton broth, for the payment of one halfpenny the cobbler would "plump" one of the sheep-shanks into the boiling water, and give it a "wallop" or whisk round. He then wrapped it in a cabbage-leaf and took it home. This was called a gustin bone, and was supposed to give a rich "gust" to the broth. The cobbler found his gustin bone very profitable.


Skipping rhyme


See also

* Bodle * Plack *
Pound Scots The pound ( Modern and Middle Scots: ''Pund'') was the currency of Scotland prior to the 1707 Treaty of Union between the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England, which created the Kingdom of Great Britain. It was introduced by David I ...
* Scottish coinage


Footnotes


References

* Holmes, Nicholas. ''Scottish Coins: A History of Small Change in Scotland''. NMS Publishing (1998) * MacKay, Charles. ''A Dictionary of Lowland Scotch'' (1888) * ''
Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable ''Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable'', sometimes referred to simply as ''Brewer's'', is a reference work containing definitions and explanations of many famous phrases, allusions, and figures, whether historical or mythical. The "New Edi ...
''


External links


Bawbee at ''Brewers Phrase and Fable''
{{Coins of Scotland Coins of Scotland Scots language