15th c. coin hoard found in Scottish Borders

A hoard of more than 30 gold and silver coins from the 15th century has been discovered by metal detectorists in the Scottish Borders. The coins were discovered by Keith Young and Lisa Stephenson when they were scanning a field in the Cappercleuch area near St Mary’s Loch last November.

They reported the find to the Treasure Trove Unit who sent their archaeologists working with ones from the National Museum to investigate the find site. The two metal detectorists were given the opportunity to join in the excavation. The follow-up dig unearthed five more coins from the hoard.

The 15th century artefacts are a mixture of Scots and English coins, with English silver groats minted by King Henry V, King Edward IV, and Scottish gold demys and half-demys minted by Kings James I and II. […]

Antony Lee from the Treasure Trove Unit said: “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.

This was a turbulent period in Scottish and English history. Henry V had died in 1422, leaving his infant son to sit bear the crown on his 8-month-old head, and even when Henry VI was old enough to actually rule, he couldn’t match his father’s extraordinary prowess on the battlefields of France and in dealing with rebellious aristocrats in England. By the 1450s, all of the English crown’s territories in France were lost, including the Aquitaine and Normandy, and England’s nobles were split into rival factions that would explode into the Wars of the Roses in 1455.

James I had similar problems with Scotland’s nobles. Even though he was a hostage kept in the Tower of London and Windsor Castle, James had fought by Henry V’s side in France and admired his methods of war and rule. The Scottish elite disagreed, and his attempts to assert control over them ultimately ended in James’ assassination in 1437. James II, another child monarch, was more successful than his father and his English counterpart on the battlefield, but his reign was marked by internecine warfare and while Henry VI was getting into it with House of York, James II was getting into it with the powerful Douglas family.

With the strong but knotty ties between Scotland and England, high-value currency from both countries would have been necessary for trade. Based on the dates of the coins, the hoard was likely buried in the 1460s, when conflict was rife in both countries.

The coins are now being assessed for market value by the Scottish Archaeological Finds Allocation Panel (SAFAP). The monetary value of the find will then be awarded to the finders as an ex gratia payment. Museums who would like to acquire the hoard will have to apply to SAFAP and raise the awarded amount.