Malcolm IV penny goes on display

Believed to be only the fifth known example of its type, this penny of Malcolm IV was found by a detectorist in a field near Aberdour, Fifie in 2020. It will go on public display in the reading room at Dunfermline Carnegie Library and Galleries to June 30. Dunfermline was chosen as Malcolm is buried at the nearby Dunfermline Abbey. Kirke Kook, a curator at OnFife, which runs the exhibition venue, said: “The coin is a reminder of Dunfermline’s role as a seat of royal power in medieval Scotland and is the oldest Scottish coin in our collection.” This penny was probably minted in the Borders, at Roxburgh or Berwick.

Malcolm was only the second Scottish monarch to issue coins, the first being his grandfather David I. Malcom succeeded David at the age of 12 in 1153, his father having died the year before. throughout his reign he was dogged by ill health and was threatened by other claimants to the throne, including Henry II of England and Fergus, Lord of Galloway. He died in 1165, aged 24 and was was succeeded by his younger brother, William the Lion.