A unique and unpublished silver coin from the reign of David I of Scotland (1124 to 1153) that was minted in Carlisle realized £39,680 ($52,580 U.S.) including the 24% buyer’s fee, at Noonans Mayfair Sept. 19 sale of British and world coins and historical medals.

A collector bidding via the internet bought the silver coin, which had a pre-sale estimate of £15,000 to £20,000 ($19,877 to $26,502 U.S.).

Jim Brown, coin specialist at Noonans, said there was a lot of interest in the coin from both private collectors and institutions who recognized its importance and rarity.

The firm reports that the coin was found in 2016, but does not detail where or how.

Prior to the sale, Brown said that the coin, “is a find of considerable historical and numismatic importance.”

“It is not really surprising that new varieties of medieval coins turn up from time to time — this is to be expected. What makes this find so different is the unique nature of the design — a complete and totally unexpected departure from the norm,” he said.

The original medieval fortress at Carlisle was constructed in 1092, after William Rufus captured the city from the Scots. Some 30 years later, Henry I decreed it be rebuilt in stone and “fortified with a castle and towers.”

This is probably the medieval keep that can be seen at the site today, albeit much altered in the interim. The exact occasion of the silver coin’s striking, however, can only be surmised, Brown said.

It was a tumultuous period of alliances, battles and treaties changing with the ebb and flow of the political and military struggle. The obverse type may be commemorate David’s fortification of his new power base in Cumbria  — an issue unparalleled in British medieval numismatics, he said.

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