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. The hope is that the Crimestoppers reward and appeal, launched on Wednesday, will prompt people to come forward with information that could lead to the recovery of the missing treasures.
Jesper Ericsson, curator of numismatics at the Hunterian, emphasized the significance of the stolen coins, describing them as a loss for Scottish heritage and history. These early medieval Scottish coins were extremely rare and represented the very earliest chapter of an independent Scottish coinage. 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 spent more than 70 years building up his collection of coins, which he was in the process of cataloguing when they were stolen in 2007. His dedication to preserving Scotland’s history through these coins was evident, and his wife Lady Stewartby fully supports the Crimestoppers appeal in the hopes that someone with information will come forward.
The reward, available for three months, is being offered for information 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, emphasized the importance of the collection to Scotland’s rich heritage and urged anyone with information to come forward.
The missing coins hold significant national importance and their safe return would not only benefit scholars and researchers but also right a wrong that Lord Stewartby never saw resolved before his passing. The appeal is open for anyone with information, and anonymity is guaranteed when reporting to Crimestoppers. If you have any information regarding the stolen coins, you can contact Crimestoppers 24/7 on 0800 555 111 or complete an anonymous online form on their website at Crimestoppers-uk.org.
