The Unite

James I had an ambition of uniting the English and Scottish crowns when he acceded to the throne, and he used his coinage to further emphasise this. He chose to issue a new gold coin called the unite, which had a value of 20 shillings. One of the first designs also featured a Latin inscription from the Bible, ‘FACIAM EOS IN GENTEM UNAM’, which translates as ‘I WILL MAKE THEM ONE NATION’. However, the inscriptions varied throughout the reigns of different monarchs and across different fractional denominations.

The unite became an important coin for James I and was even struck for the Commonwealth administration. A half-unite was also struck throughout the lifetime of the denomination.