Rare coin without monarch's face to be auctioned

It is believed the coin was minted between 1136 and 1141 on the orders of King David I of Scotland

A rare medieval coin minted when Scotland ruled parts of northern England is set to be sold at auction.

The coin was likely minted in Carlisle, Cumbria, between 1136 and 1141 on the orders of King David I of Scotland, according to Jim Brown, a coin expert at auctioneers Noonans Mayfair in London.

He said it was one of the few coins minted during the reign of a monarch which does not feature their face, adding, "it's so unexpected".

The coin is expected to sell for between £15,000 and £20,000.

Castle theories

Mr Brown said a coin of this specific type had never been discovered before.

He said the seller had not disclosed where it had been found.

"If I had to guess, it was probably found somewhere on the borders between England and southern Scotland," Mr Brown added.

It depicts a castle on one side and a cross on the other, with a name of the Carlisle mint where it was made.

He said the team can be so sure about when it was minted because the cross design was similar to other coins minted from the area in that time period.

Mr Brown said the castle on the coin was probably Carlisle Castle.

"I can't think of any other reason [to put the castle on the coin] other than [King David] was really happy that he'd actually managed to conquer parts of north-west England and get a city and castle out of it," he said.

Carl Savage, a coin expert at the National Museum of Scotland, said another theory about the castle was that it was Jerusalem's Tower of David.

"King David was known to have links with holy orders such as Knights Templar who participated in the second crusade," he added.

"This coin design may fit with his wider religious innovations in Scotland when the idea of crusading was quite popular."

The coin will go for sale at auction on 19 September.