Right facing bearded bust of James VI with a tall presumably fine-fur Renaissance style hat, Latin legend "James the Sixth, by the Grace of God, King of Scots" ending with a cinquefoil and beaded borders surrounding both sides. A thistle to the left of the bust.

The thistle has been the national emblem of Scotland since the reign of Alexander III (1249–1286) and was used on silver coins issued by James III in 1470. According to a legend, an invading Norse army was attempting to sneak up at night upon a Scottish army's encampment. During this operation one barefoot Norseman had the misfortune to step upon a thistle, causing him to cry out in pain, thus alerting Scots to the presence of the Norse invaders.

Depicts a crowned Scottish lion seated upon a throne to the left, holding a scepter that seems to pierce the heavens above with 'Jehovah' written in Hebrew above it, surrounded by two sharply beaded borders within which is enclosed the Latin legend "Thee alone do I fear" and the date finalized by a cinquefoil.

Jehovah is a Latinization of the Hebrew יְהֹוָה, one vocalization of the Tetragrammaton יהוה (YHWH), the proper name of the God of Israel in the Hebrew Bible and one of the seven names of God in Judaism.

The earliest recorded use of the Lion rampant as a royal emblem in Scotland was by Alexander II in 1222. This emblem occupied the shield of the royal coat of arms of the ancient Kingdom of Scotland which, together with a royal banner displaying the same, was used by the King of Scots until the Union of the Crowns in 1603. Since 1603, the Lion rampant of Scotland has been incorporated into both the royal arms and royal banners of British monarchs in order to symbolise Scotland.