Rare Anglo-Saxon coin discovered in Shetland

A 1000 year old coin has been found in Shetland, and is thought to be the furthest north a coin of its kind has ever been found in the UK.

A group of archaeologists found the coin in Nesting, part of the east Shetland Mainland.

It's called a crux penny, which was money used in the Anglo-Saxon period in the late 10th century, back when Vikings arrived.

The coin has markings of Ethelred II, who was better known as Ethelred the Unready because he was unable to prevent Viking invasions of England.

The coin was discovered during a dig led by Archaeology Shetland along with the University of Aberdeen.

The university's Dr Elinor Graham, who's an expert in digs along the coast, told the BBC that the coin was incredibly well preserved.

"The writing is still so sharp and we knew immediately that it was extremely rare, actually unique in this context," she said.

Only one other coin of this era has been found in Shetland, a little further south in Old Scatness, which was an Iron Age village.

Dr Graham said she hoped the coin would go to Shetland Museum after it had been studied by the University of Aberdeen.

She actually discovered the coin while on holiday in Shetland, and said that was "exactly" how she wanted to spend her time off!