A SEAL commissioned by Robert the Bruce for Dunfermline Abbey has emerged, having been thought lost - and it could fetch £120,000 at auction.
King Robert sanctioned the Cocquet Seal of the Regality of Dunfermline to be cut on July 10, 1322.
It was used to impress wax seals for documents, allowing the Fife abbey to collect taxes "wherever it was produced" from items such as wool, skins and leather.
The 692-year-old brass matrix - or double seal - comes in two parts, one depicting the Lion Rampant "Royal arms of Scotland" and the other St Margaret.
They were considered lost since the late 19th century. They were put in a velvet-lined wooden box which has emerged after "decades" in a drawer, the significance unrecognised until now.
The seals will be sold at Timeline Auctions in London on December 4. Collectors and national institutions are expected to make bids of £80,000 to £120,000.
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