| Details |
Coin hoard of 13th to 14th century coins found inside a three- legged copper alloy-cauldron in 1886. This is the largest of three coin hoards (see also NJ90NW0113 and NJ90NW0114) found in the centre of Aberdeen and together they form the largest concentration of medieval coin hoards found anywhere in Britain, and possibly Europe. The hoard of over 12,000 silver coins comprised mostly English ranging from the reigns of Alexander III (1249-86) to Edward III (1327-77), although Scottish coins up to the reign of Robert I (1306-29) were present. The Upperkirkgate hoard is one of the largest of its type in Britain. Its size together with the fact that English Soldiers were present in Aberdeen in the 1330s has led to the belief that the hoard represents the pay-chest of the English army. However, large though it is, its 12,000 silver pennies would only have been enough to pay the army for a few days and there is really no reason to suppose that the hoard is anything other than the savings of a prosperous Aberdonian. The coins were examined in 1975 by N J Mayhew. Given that the latest dated coin, a penny of King Edward III, was minted no later than 1335, he was able to determine that the earliest possible date when the hoard could have been concealed was 1335. However, it would have taken some time for new English money to circulate as far as Aberdeen and so the likely date of deposition of the hoard would be a few years later. This almost certainly means that the presence of the large Upperkirkgate hoard had nothing to do with the events of 1336 when an English army sacked Aberdeen.
|
Historic Environment Records (HER) 
Aberdeen City
HER -
NJ90NW0068 - UPPERKIRKGATE, ABERDEEN