Plack (coin) facts for kids
A plack (called plang in Scottish Gaelic) was an old Scottish coin. It was worth four Scots pence. By the year 1707, it was equal to about one-third of an English penny.
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What Was a Plack?
The plack coin was first made in Edinburgh by James III of Scotland before 1473. He also made half-placks, which were worth two pence. These coins were made from a special metal mix called "billon." Billon is an alloy, which means it's a mix of metals, but it had only a little bit of silver in it. The name "plack" comes from a Flemish word that means a flat metal disc.
Placks from Different Kings
James IV of Scotland ruled from 1488 to 1513. He also made placks worth four pence, and they were also made of billon. His coins came in two main styles. The first style used "Lombardic" letters, which were old-fashioned medieval letters. The second style used "Roman capitals," which are like the capital letters we use today. James IV also made half-placks, worth two pence, but these are quite rare now.
Placks made when James V was a child looked a bit different from his father's coins. Sometimes, people called these "Queen's Placks" because they were made when his mother, Margaret Tudor, was helping to rule. James V did not make any half-placks.
Changes to the Plack's Value
On March 3, 1574, a leader named Regent Morton made an announcement. He said that unofficial placks and other coins called "lions" or "hardheads" (which were two-pence coins) made during the time of Mary of Guise would be worth less. From then on, these placks were only worth two pence, and the lions were worth one penny.
People had to take these coins to the mint (the place where coins are made). If the coins were real, they were marked with a special symbol, a Douglas heart, and given back to the owner. You can still find these marked coins today!
In 1588, the word "plack" was also used for coins worth one or two pence. The two-pence coins had two dots next to the lion symbol of Scotland. Today, these two-penny placks are known as "hardheads." Some fake coins were made around this time. They were copper coins covered with tin to make them look like billon.
In July 1593, the Parliament of Scotland (like a government meeting) said that a new four-penny plack could be made. This coin had two crossed scepters (royal staffs) and a thistle (Scotland's national flower). This "saltire plack" was the very last coin made from the billon alloy.
The Plack in Scottish Stories
The plack coin sometimes appears in old Scottish writings and songs. For example, in 1569, a man named Robert Constable wrote a letter. He described how rebels from England and Scotland drank ale and played cards for "placks and hardheads" at a house in Jedburgh.
The word "plack" probably came from an old coin from Flanders (a region in Europe) called a plaquette. This coin was used before French money, like francs and centimes, came to the Netherlands.
The plack is also mentioned in the poems of Robert Burns, a famous Scottish poet:
- Nae howdie gets a social night,
- or plack frae them
- (Scotch Drink)
- Stretch a joint to catch a plack,
- Abuse a brother to his back.
- (To Gavin Hamilton)
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