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A hoard of mid- 15th-century Scottish and English coins has been discovered in the Cappercleuch area, in the Scottish Borders.
The 30 gold and silver coins were discovered by a pair of metal-detectorists, who reported their find to the Treasure Trove Unit. This enabled specialists from the Unit to return to excavate the findspot with archaeologists from National Museums Scotland, recovering a further five coins.
The hoard is believed to have been deposited in the early to mid-1460s. Its 23 English coins are all silver groats, which would have been valued at 4d in England, but were worth four times more in Scotland. The earliest groat within the collection is an issue of Henry V (r. 1413-1422), and the latest is an example of the heavy coinage of Edward IV, produced in 1461-1464/1465. The vast majority, however, represent Henry VI (r. 1422-1461 and 1470-1471).
While coins like these are common in English hoards, they are less frequent in Scottish assemblages. ‘Only 12 hoards have currently been recorded as dating from 1406-1460s so far from Scotland, and most of these have poor records as they were mostly found in the 19th century,’ Dr Carl Savage, a specialist in medieval coinage in Scotland from the Treasure Trove Unit, explained.
As for the hoard’s Scottish contents, which are all gold coins, ten date to the reign of James I (r. 1406-1437; not to be confused with the 17th-century monarch James VI & I), and two were minted under his son and successor James II (r. 1437-1460). Minted in Edinburgh, they comprise 11 Demys and one half-Demy, the only Scottish coin types struck in gold between 1424 and 1451. Each bears an image of a lion on their obverse – a motif that was adopted on Scottish gold coinage from 1393. ‘This is a deliberate attempt at displaying Scottish royal power and prestige to a wide audience,’ Carl commented, explaining that this message would have been magnified by the lion’s presence on a high-value coin. ‘It would have been used in high-level trading and possibly diplomatic gifts from the Scottish Crown.’
It is hoped that, following the decision on allocation by the Scottish Archaeological Finds Allocation Panel, the coins will be acquired by a museum for public display.
Text: Rebecca Preedy / Image: Crown Copyright
