Braveheart coin found in field by treasure hunter
Penny from era of William Wallace buried for 700yrs
A MAN was left shocked when he discovered an old coin from the era of William Wallace buried in the ground for 700 years.
John MacEachen was using a metal detector to hunt for treasure in a field in Perthshire when he found the medieval penny
The tour guide, originally from Glasgow, filmed the moment he unearthed the silver hammered coin fully intact, describing it as “absolutely fantastic”.
John, who runs Visit Scotland Tours, explained the coin, known as a Longcross penny, dates back to about 1290 to 1300 and pictures Edward I – who famously had William Wallace executed in London.
In the clip, posted on YouTube and TikTok, he says: “Look what I’ve found. Do you see that? That looks like another silver coin. It’s a hammered coin. It has gothic lettering. Oh my goodness look at that. It’s intact as well, it’s whole. So often these are broken or cut in half.”
John removed some of the dirt from the coin, revealing the face of Edward I. He said: “That’s as much as I’m willing to clean it just now, but you can clearly see the head in the middle facing straight towards us, he’s wearing a crown on his head he’s got flowing locks either side.
“At the top you can see a cross and immediately to the right of that you can see EDW – it’s difficult to read because it’s in gothic-type print.
“However, I believe this is Edward I. Edward Longshanks – and it’s what’s called a Longcross penny.
“Even better, this probably dates to sometime around 1290 to 1300 and Edward I – if any of you have seen the film Braveheart – had William Wallace of Scotland captured and executed in London. Absolutely fantastic.”
The video has racked up more than 100,000 likes on social media, with one person commenting: “That coin is older than the USA”.
In 1305, Sir William Wallace was captured and handed over to Edward, who had him hung, drawn and quartered for high treason and crimes against the English.