Merk (coin)

1/4 Thistle-Merk , Jacob VI., Ca.1602

Merk was the (originally from Mark (weight) ) derived designation of a Scottish silver coin.

A note was worth 13 shillings and 4 pence. The coin was first used under the Scottish King James VI. Minted in the 1570s as Halb- Merk (also known as Silver Nobel (coin) ). There were also quarters and doubles from Merk. The double play was as a motif on the back of the Scottish national symbol, the thistle, and was due to the similar to the German thaler weight as Thistle dollars ( safflower Taler called). Merk coins were minted well into the second half of the 17th century under the kings Charles I and Charles II and were still in circulation in Scotland in the 18th century.