Found in a wooded area near Penicuik, Midlothian, in 2023, the silver coin dates to the late 1130s during the reign of King David I. Following an assessment by the Scottish Archaeological Finds Allocation Panel, the artefact was valued at £15,000 and allocated to National Museums Scotland (NMS), with the reward sum paid to the finder, BBC reports.

While King David I is credited with introducing Scotland’s first coinage, previous examples were believed to have been struck in Carlisle, Cumbria, which the King controlled at the time. However, this specific discovery bears an inscription confirming it was minted in Edinburgh. According to Alice Blackwell, senior curator of medieval archaeology at NMS, this distinction is historically vital. She notes that this is the first evidence of Scottish coinage being produced in a core part of the Scottish kingdom, rather than south of the modern border.

The coin features a portrait of the monarch on one side and a cross-based design on the reverse. As documentary evidence regarding medieval minting is virtually non-existent, the coin itself serves as a primary historical source. It offers a rare insight into how David I, who also established royal burghs such as Stirling and Perth, expanded his economic infrastructure. NMS intends to use the coin for research, with hopes to place it on public display in the future.