From c. 1124 until 1709, the coinage of Scotland was unique and minted locally. A wide variety of coins, such as the plack, bodle, bawbee, dollar and ryal were produced over that time. Before c. 1124, coins of Northumbria and various other places had been used for trading purposes. From 1709, coins of the Kingdom of Great Britain and then of the UK have been used.

The earliest coins in Scotland were introduced by the Roman provinces of Britain that were obtained from trade with the westernmost outpost of the Roman Empire. Far from being isolated, the Celts of Caledonia, north of Hadrian's Wall, developed trade to the general benefit of the population, to the north of the Wall. Roman coins appear over a wide range across the country, especially sites near the Antonine Wall. Hadrian's Wall was also regarded as a means to regulate social traffic and trade north, rather than a military defence against the northern tribes of the Caledoni. Civil settlements arose along south of the wall with shops and taverns that facilitated trade between the Empire and the north. It is possible to recognise groupings of coins from certain periods, during the Flavian and Antonine occupations; such as Cardean Fort Angus where Roman dupondius coins AD 69–79 date to the reign of Emperor Vespasian. Other sites include coins from North Uist dating to the 4th century until recently was thought to be beyond the sphere of known trade routes. Other native sites include the Fairy Knowe broch Buchlyvie, and the broch and dun at Gargunnock in Stirlingshire. Some sites include substantial silver treasure hoards most likely buried or abandoned in either Roman or native pots. Indicating the Roman governor of Britain paid large sums of money to the inhabitants of southern Scotland and possibly bribing the northern Caledonians to maintain peaceful relations with Romans and the British. Payments to chieftains are recorded in four areas; Edinburgh, Fife, Aberdeen and the Moray Firth. This may indicate such discoveries (e.g. the Birnie hoard of between 200 and 400 silver coins) were deposited as votive offerings. Examples including coinage of Constantine II (337–342) with over 20 such hoards found throughout Scotland. Rare examples include a base silver (potin) coin of Ptolemy XIII of Egypt, 80–51 BC In 410, trade ceased as the Roman Empire withdrew from the island of Albion.

As the Roman Empire retreated from Britain, various kingdoms sprouted up to the south of Scotland. One of these, Northumbria, soon expanded into the north as far as the Kingdom of Strathclyde. Thus, it controlled the southern parts of what is now Scotland, and the bronze sceat coins of the Northumbrian Kings circulated freely in what is now Scotland. This coin was issued from 837 to 854. Anglo-Saxon coins were minted in Northumberland; however, due to the extensive trade routes of the Vikings, sceat coins were also minted in Frisia and Jutland during Anglo-Saxon times and coins of this period indicate the extent of Scottish trade not only with Northumberland but also with continental Europe. Norsemen also introduced some form of coinage, and coins from as far away as Byzantium and the Arabic countries have been found in sites in Scandinavia, including Norway which had strong links with Scotland in the early Middle Ages.

The first king of Scots to produce his own coinage was David I (r. 1124–1153). In 1136 he captured Carlisle, including its English mint and nearby silver mines from Stephen, King of England. He struck silver pennies, which were similar to those Stephen struck for England, at Carlisle, Edinburgh, St Andrews, Roxburgh and Berwick. For the next two centuries, the continued use of a profile, as opposed to the facing portrait, was about all that distinguished Scottish coins from their English counterparts. In particular, the reverse types of Scottish coins followed the English Tealby, short cross, and long cross designs. Moreover, Scottish coins followed English weight standards, allowing the two coinages to circulate alongside one another.

David II of Scotland ended the parity between Scottish and English coins, resulting in an English proclamation banning the lower quality Scottish coins from their country in 1356. Robert III of Scotland continued to devalue Scottish coins, making them worth one-half of their English counterparts by 1392. He also replaced the profile bust on the obverse of Scottish coins with a facing head, which made his coins much easier to confuse with the more valuable English issues. David II's attempt to introduce gold coins to Scotland by copying the English noble was a failure but Robert III successfully introduced the gold lion, which showed St. Andrew crucified on his saltire-shaped cross.

Under James III of Scotland English influence of Scottish coinage gave way to Burgundian models, with both his gold rider and silver plack. He is best remembered, however, for the realistic portraits on his silver groat. James III also introduced the gold unicorn. This was one of a long series of coin types which characterized continuing changes in standard and revaluations of Scottish coinage. Ordinances required Scots to turn in their old coins in exchange for new issues struck to a lower standard, thereby providing a profit to the king. James VI alone had eight issues of coins before he unified the thrones, and to a large extent the coinages, of Scotland and England.

At the end of the 16th century King James VI called in all silver coins, totally 211 stone and 10 pounds, and these were melted down to create new coins with his image, hugely reducing the surviving coins predating this point. At this point copper pennies were first minted, valued at one twelfth of a silver penny.

In 1604, the year after the Union of the Crowns, the Council ordered Scotland to use the same coinage standards as England. A new gold coin, called a Unit in Scotland or Unite in England, was valued at £12 Scots or £1 sterling. Gold and fine silver coins now had the same sizes and compositions in Scotland and England, but Scotland did maintain its own copper coinage. The Scottish and English coinages both used the same royal title, king of Great Britain, France and Ireland, and when they specified a denomination it was a Roman numeral which could be interpreted as Scottish shillings or English pence. The designs in the two kingdoms had only minor differences. In the North, coins used the Crown of Scotland, decorated by a fleur-de-lis in the center between two crosses, as opposed the English crown, where the placements of the lis and crosses were reversed. Beginning in 1610, Scottish coins also used the Royal coat of arms of Scotland, which placed the Scottish lion in the more prominent positions than the English version.