November 27th 1601

The price of counterfeit

A trial took place in Edinburgh in 1599 of five men who had been operating a widespread and successful counterfeiting operation. John Murray, a physician from Dunfermline, his brother Walter from Crieff, William Thomson from Coupar Angus, William Simpson from Whitfield and Thomas Fraser from Banff were all charged “with treasonable forging, falsifying and counterfeiting of false coin, such as false ten-shilling pieces, two-mark pieces, five-pound pieces, fifty-shilling pieces, hat-pieces (a James 6th coin representing him wearing a hat), pistolets (a type of foreign gold coin) and crowns.” 

All were found guilty and were sentenced “to be tane to the Castle-hill of Edinburgh and there to be wyrreit at ane stake, and their bodies to be brunt in ashes.” 

At the trial mention was made of the “treasonable forging, coining and printing of false pistolets”  by George Drummond, saddler of Perth. George Drummond himself proved somewhat elusive but his name cropped up again when in June 1601, Thomas Glass was sentenced to death for uttering spurious money which he had procured from George Murray.

Finally, George himself was caught and charged in Edinburgh on November 27th 1601 with “the treasonable outing (circulation) of false adulterate money, such as hat-pieces, crowns, four-pound pieces and four-mark pieces amongst our sovereign lord’s lieges, as true money and coin, at the fairs of Perth, Stirling and in other markets in the north parts.” 

He was also sentenced to death at the Castle-hill in Edinburgh.