£50,000 reward offered in hunt for some of Scotland's rarest coins stolen in 2007

A £50,000 reward has been offered in the hunt for a nationally important collection of early Scottish coins stolen from a renowned private collector 17 years ago.

More than 1,000 coins from the 12th and 13th centuries were taken from the home of Lord and Lady Stewartby in Broughton, near Peebles in the Scottish Borders, in June 2007.

The late Lord Stewartby entrusted the remainder of his collection to the Hunterian Museum at the University of Glasgow in 2017 but the missing coins have never been found.

It is hoped the Crimestoppers reward and appeal, launched on Wednesday, will prompt people to come forward with information which could lead to the recovery of the missing treasures.

Jesper Ericsson, curator of numismatics at the Hunterian, said the theft of the coins was an “irreparable loss for Scottish heritage and history”.

He added: “The coins that were stolen from Lord and Lady Stewartby’s house in June 2007 were not only a devastating loss for Lord Stewartby, but also for Scottish numismatics as a whole.

“These early medieval Scottish coins were extremely rare and represented the story of the very earliest chapter of an independent Scottish coinage.

“For example, the Hunterian doesn’t hold many of these types of coins in its collection, so for the missing coins to be able to rejoin the rest of the Lord Stewartby collection here at the Hunterian would be extraordinary, not only for the students and teaching here at the university, but also for wider researchers and scholars, and especially for the Scottish nation.

“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.”

The missing coins span a period of almost 150 years, from around 1136 during the reign of David I up to around 1280 and the reign of Alexander III.

Lord Stewartby was five years old when he was given his first Scottish coin and spent more than 70 years building up his collection.

He was in the process of cataloguing the early Scottish coins when they were stolen in 2007 in what was thought to be a targeted theft.

Lord Stewartby died in 2018, the year after entrusting his remaining collection of around 6,000 coins to the Hunterian.

His wife Lady Stewartby said: “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 and hope that it will encourage anyone who has information to come forward.”

The reward, available for three months until February 27, is being offered for information, that can be given anonymously, that leads to the conviction of those responsible for the crime.

Crimestoppers has put up its maximum amount of £20,000, with an anonymous donor helping boost the total reward to £50,000.

Angela Parker, national manager at Crimestoppers Scotland, said: “This was the best collection of Scottish coins ever assembled by a private individual. We cannot overestimate the importance of the collection to Scotland’s rich heritage.

“We feel that this reward, and it’s a significant amount, will motivate someone to do the right thing, to tell us who stole the coins in 2007 – we believe it’s a targeted theft – and where they are.

“They could be abroad. They could be in the UK, they’re very small, they could be overlooked.

“But we’re really just appealing to someone to do the right thing and help return these coins to the Hunterian at Glasgow University.

Crimestoppers can be contacted 24/7 on 0800 555 111, or people can complete an anonymous online form at Crimestoppers-uk.org.