First coin minted in Scotland discovered – History Blog

The National Museum of Scotland houses the earliest known coins minted in Scotland. The silver coins of King David I (r. 1124-1153) were minted in Edinburgh in the second half of the 1130s and are now being shipped home.

In 2023, a metal detector found it in woods near Penicook, Midlothian. They reported it to Treasure Houses of Scotland, and after identifying it as an official treasure, it was assigned to the NMS, who paid the finder an assessed value of £15,000 ($22,000) as a reward.

The obverse of this silver penny shows a bust of David I holding a scepter. There is a cross pattern in the center of the back and “+E(A?)BALD:E” engraved on the edge.[…]ONESBVRG” “ESBVRG” is the mint mark indicating that it was minted in Edinburgh.

Prior to the discovery of this coin, the earliest known Scottish coins were minted after David I invaded northern England and captured Carlisle in December 1135, using his royal mint to strike his own coins. Prior to this time, Scotland’s currency was not produced locally. Coins circulating in Scotland were minted in other countries by other countries.

Dr Blackwell said: “The real significance of this is that before we discovered this, we thought all of David’s first coins were produced in Carlisle because there was very little documentation to explain how the coins were produced, where, when, why they were changed, why the design was changed and so on.

“There is very, very little documentation from Scotland. So the coins themselves are the main source.

“This is the first time we’ve seen such early coinage in Edinburgh.”