Amateur metal detectorists in Scotland have discovered a 600-year-old treasure trove of gold and silver coins they’re calling “the find of a lifetime.”
Initially, the detectorists unearthed a total of 30 coins from both Scotland and England that were minted throughout the 15th century.
This rare find was discovered by Keith Young and Lisa Stephenson, who had been exploring near the village of Cappercleuch, in the Scottish Borders region.
“The hoard is the find of a lifetime,” Stephenson said in a statement from Scotland’s Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.
Some of the coins were English silver groats, minted by both Henry V (ruled from 1413 to 1422) and Edward IV (ruled from roughly 1461 to 1483), while others were Scottish gold demy and half-demys, minted by James I of Scotland (reigned from 1406 to 1437) and James II (ruled from 1437 to 1460). The coins were marked with the likeness of each monarch at the time of their minting.
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The groat was a large silver coin first introduced in England by Edward I in 1279, and was valued at four pence. The Scottish gold demy was named after the French word “démier,” meaning “half,” since it was roughly half the value of a noble (a gold English coin), and was typically valued at nine shillings in Scottish money. The gold half-demy was a smaller version of the demy, valued at about 4.5 shillings.
The pair reported their find to the Scottish Treasure Trove Unit, which is responsible for investigating any archeological discoveries that are unearthed around the country. An initial investigation by archaeologists at the unit revealed that the coins may have been left at this site in the early- to mid-1460s. The archaeologists then discovered five additional coins lurking nearby, bringing the hoard’s total to 35 coins.
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“Coin hoards containing a mix of both English and Scottish coins are not unusual, but we do not see many hoards from this period in Scotland, so it’s a fascinating find,” Antony Lee, who runs the Treasure Trove Unit, said in the statement.
“Keith and Lisa acted promptly and correctly in reporting it to us,” Lee said. “In turn we, along with archaeologists from National Museums Scotland, were able to attend and excavate the site, finding five more coins and documenting the circumstances of the hoard alongside the finders.”
After the Treasure Trove Unit has finished its analysis, the coins will be passed to the Scottish Archaeological Finds Allocation Panel (SAFAP), an independent panel that will make them available for museums to display.
The SAFAP will also assign a monetary value to the coins, which will then be paid to the finders as a reward for their discovery. Any museum hoping to display the coins will be expected to raise the funds for this “ex-gratia” reward themselves.
