The charity Crimestoppers has launched an appeal over the unsolved theft of one of the most important collections of early Scottish coins.

More than a thousand coins from the 12th and 13th centuries were stolen by criminals in June 2007 from the home of Lord and Lady Stewartby in Broughton, near Peebles. They cover the earliest period of Scottish coinage, from the reign of David I (r.1124–1153) to Alexander III (r.1249–1286). The collection had been built up over many years by Lord Stewartby since he was a child.

Lord Stewartby, who was a renowned numismatist, has since died. The Lord Stewartby Collection of Scottish Coins was entrusted to The Hunterian at the University of Glasgow in 2017. It is hoped that the missing coins will be reunited with the rest of the collection if the appeal is successful.

Crimestoppers is offering a reward of up to £50,000 for information given anonymously to the charity that leads to the conviction of those responsible for this heritage crime. Our charity has put up its maximum amount of £20,000 with an anonymous donor helping boost the total reward to £50,000. The reward is available for three months and is due to expire on 27 February 2025.

Angela Parker, National Manager at the charity Crimestoppers Scotland, said:

“This was the best collection of Scottish coins ever assembled by a private individual. We cannot overestimate the important of the collection to Scotland’s rich heritage.

Crimestoppers is leading on this appeal to highlight that our charity is here for anyone who knows what happened or knows who was involved in the raid of this world-leading collection. A reward is available as a potential incentive to encourage people to come forward.

Please contact us online via our website or on the phone. We are here 24/7, 365 days a year. At Crimestoppers, we never ask for your personal details - no police, no witness statement, no courts. We guarantee that you will stay completely anonymous. Your information could help protect Scotland’s precious heritage.”

Reflecting on the significance of the stolen rare coins, Lady Stewartby said:

“My late husband was five years old when he was given his first Scottish coin. Over the next fifty years, he put together a collection which included some of the earliest Scottish coins.

Lord Stewartby told me and our children that they represented Scotland’s history at a time when few people had access to books or pictures. He emphasised the importance of these rare coins to Scotland’s heritage. I fully support this Crimestoppers appeal & hope that it will encourage anyone who has information to come forward.”

Jesper Ericsson, Curator of Numismatics at The Hunterian, University of Glasgow, said:

“These medieval coins are smaller than a modern penny. Portraits of kings and inscriptions may be worn down to almost nothing and the coins might be oddly shaped, perhaps even cut in half or quarters. You could fit 1000 into a plastic takeaway container, so they don’t take up a lot of space. They may look unremarkable, but these coins are the earliest symbols of Scotland’s monetary independence.

They are of truly significant national importance. Their safe return will not only benefit generations of scholars, researchers, students and visitors to come, but will also right a wrong that Lord Stewartby never got to see resolved before he died. My plea to whoever has these coins is to contact Crimestoppers and return them to where they belong. Give Scotland back its coins.”

Crimestoppers’ UK Contact Centre is open 24/7 on 0800 555 111 or you can complete an anonymous online form at Crimestoppers-uk.org.

Anonymity:
Please note: With Crimestoppers and Fearless, when you visit these sites, computer IP addresses are never traced. Telephone calls are never recorded, there is no caller line display and no 1471 facility. The charity is completely independent of the police and guarantees that your personal identity will always be protected.

Claiming a reward:
The reward will only be payable for information passed directly to Crimestoppers and not to the police. A reward code must be asked for when calling the charity on 0800 555 111. If you contact Crimestoppers via their website, the ‘Keep in Contact’ portal must be used and a reward code must be requested on your initial contact with the charity.

More information about rewards can be found on the Crimestoppers’ website.

First published: 27 November 2024

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