Gold has been mined in Scotland for centuries. There was a short-lived gold rush in 1852 at Auchtermuchty and Kinnesswood, and another in 1869 at Baile An Or on the Kildonan burn in Helmsdale in Sutherland. There have been several attempts to run commercial mines. In the Lowther Hills, Leadhills, and Wanlockhead areas gold prospecting and the extraction of lead metal went hand in hand. From 1424, under the Royal Mines Act, until 1592, gold and silver mined in Scotland were deemed to belong to the crown. The 1592 Act vested rights for gold, silver, lead, copper, tin, and other minerals in the king's feudal tenants or other leaseholders, who would pay 10% of any profit to the crown. The Act also established a Master of Metals as a crown officer, a position held from June 1592 by Lord Menmuir. followed by Thomas Hamilton of Monkland in March 1607.

The Crown of Scotland is the centrepiece of the Honours of Scotland. It is the crown that was used at the coronation of the monarchs of Scotland, and it is the oldest surviving crown in the British Isles and among the oldest in Europe.