The unicorn was a

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

coin that formed part of Scottish coinage between 1484 and 1525. It was initially issued in the reign of James III with a value of 18 shillings Scots, but rising gold prices during the reign of

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 ...

caused its value to increase first to 20 shillings, and then 22.Coinage of Great Britain. Celtic to Decimalisation., Part 12, Scottish Coins
Ken Elks (5 July 2003) The obverse of the coin shows a crowned

unicorn The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since Classical antiquity, antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn (anatomy), horn projecting from its forehead. In European literature and art, the unico ...

. The significance is that the unicorn is one of the heraldic symbols of Scotland, two of them occurring, most notably, crowned and chained, as the supporters of the

royal coat of arms of Scotland The coat of arms of Scotland, colloquially called the Lion Rampant, is the coat of arms historically used as arms of dominion by the monarchs of the Kingdom of Scotland, and later used within the coat of arms of Great Britain and the present co ...

Use as a gift for foreigners

According to the British Museum, it became the coin favoured by Scottish kings when making gifts to foreigners, as in 1503 when James IV gave 100 unicorns to Lord Dacre, the English ambassador.

Half-unicorn

A half-unicorn (lower left in photo) was introduced with a value of 9 shillings during the reign of James IV. It also rose in value due to gold prices under

, first to 10, and then 11 shillings.

Replacement

The unicorn was replaced during the reign of James V with the gold crown, or Abbey crown, which had a value of 20 shillings.

References

1484 establishments in Scotland 1525 disestablishments in Scotland Coins of Scotland Unicorns James V {{Scotland-hist-stub