Hat Piece Publique Deposited
A Scottish gold coin issued in 1591 to 1593, upon which the King, James VI, is represented wearing a high crowned hat.
On the reverse is a lion sejant, holding a sceptre in his paw, above which, in a cloud, are the Hebrew letters for Jehovah. The legend is TE. SOLVM. VEREOR., i.e., "Thee only do I fear." The weight is seventy grains.
It is claimed that this coin was issued "for the purpose of harmonizing the Scottish currency with the English, and to lessen the inconvenience caused by their disagreement."
It must have been counterfeited at a very early period, as Pitcairn, in his Criminal Trials of Scotland, 1599 (ii. 99), mentions "False hat-peiceis, pistulettis, and crownis."
- Frey's Dictionary (American Journal of Numismatics, Vol. 50, 1916)