"The silver penny of King David I (r. 1124-1153) was struck in the second half of the 1130s in Edinburgh and is now heading home. It was discovered in 2023 by a metal detectorist in the woods near Penicuik, Midlothian. They reported it to Scotland's Treasure Trove and after it was determined to be official Treasure, it was allocated to the NMS who paid its assessed value of 15,000 ($22,000) as a reward to the finder."
"What makes this really significant is that until we found this, we thought all of David's first coinage was produced in Carlisle because there are virtually no documentary sources that explain how coinage was produced, where, when, why things changed, why the designs changed, any of that. There's very, very little documentary sources for that for Scotland. So the coins themselves are the primary source. This is the first time that we can see this very early minting of coinage in Edinburgh ."
The silver penny of King David I, struck in the second half of the 1130s in Edinburgh, has been acquired by National Museums Scotland after being discovered in 2023 near Penicuik, Midlothian. The finder reported the coin to Scotland's Treasure Trove and received a reward when the coin was allocated to the museum for its assessed value of 15,000 ($22,000). The obverse shows a crowned bust of David holding a scepter; the reverse bears a central cross and the inscription +E(A?)BALD:E[]ONESBVRG, with ESBVRG identifying the Edinburgh mint. The find establishes locally produced coinage in Edinburgh earlier than previously known and provides primary evidence where documentary records are scarce.
Read at www.thehistoryblog.com
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