Michael Scot and the Augustalis Gold Coins

Abstract

Herein is shown Michael Scot’s potential involvement in the minting of the Augustalis gold coins introduced by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Hohenstaufen II in the early thirteenth century. Michael Scot was definitely helpful in two aspects: measure and calculations. Additionally, it is shown how his knowledge of alchemy could have been helpful in metallurgical issues such as gold extraction and purification, suggesting that the  century experienced a prototypical “entrepreneurial alchemy” that preceded Newton’s use of alchemy for the British Mint, centuries later.