Coin Hoard Found By Metal Detecting Couple In England

[left-of-center2012]

£5 Million Coin Hoard = $6,107,000 U.S. Dollars

A metal detecting couple has found an amazing treasure trove of coins. They have unearthed a hoard of silver coins that date from the famous Battle of Hastings. The find is expected to make the couple overnight millionaires ... Adam Staples and his partner Lisa Grace, from Derby, were investigating an unplowed farm field when they found the treasure.

Adam and Lisa found 2571 silver coins, that are in mint condition and is “made up of King Harold II pennies from the end of Anglo-Saxon England and William the Conqueror coins.” It is thought that the coins were buried sometime between 1066 and the 1070s. They were probably the property of a wealthy individual, possibly a noble, but almost certainly not a royal. The Sun reports that the owner “probably buried them for safekeeping” as there was no banking-system in England at this time. The years after the Battle of Hastings were very turbulent and it is possible that the owner was killed before he could retrieve his riches.

The couple notified the relevant authorities, which is required by British law. The coins have since been transferred to the British Museum . For the past seven months, experts have been examining the coins ... At present, the couple is waiting to hear if their discovery will be declared treasure by the authorities. If the find is declared treasure “the museum must compensate the couple with the value of the discovery, while the landowner will also be entitled to 50 percent of the cash.” Furthermore, museums will be obliged to bid for them at an auction. If the authorities do not declare the coins to be treasure, they will then be returned to the couple and they can sell them at private auction. It looks like that either way that the couple is going to be rich.

The find is very important, but it is not the largest hoard of coins ever found in England. This distinction goes to the famous Staffordshire Hoard. This contains coins and golden artifacts from the Anglo-Saxon period and was found near Stoke in 2009.

https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/coin-hoard-0012491

[bbgrunt]

1. perfect time to plug the wonderful,

charming BBC series "Detectorists" :

The lives of two eccentric metal detectorists, who spend their days plodding along ploughed tracks and open fields, hoping to disturb the tedium by unearthing the fortune of a lifetime.
Stars: Mackenzie Crook, Toby Jones, Rachael Stirling

can be found on Amazon Prime

[912gdm]

3. Hate to bring this up, but you reminded me of a Detectorists prop mishap

"Two men who thought they had unearthed a stash of Roman gold coins had their dreams dashed when they discovered the coins were a prop for a TV sitcom.

Andy Sampson and Paul Adams had been metal detecting in a field on the Suffolk/Essex border when they found more than 50 "gold" coins with pottery."

.....

"It emerged the production crew had filmed a tractor pulling a plough through the ground, unearthing the coins as it went.
However, Mr Sampson said, "it had buried some as well", and they were the ones they found."

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-suffolk-42887063

That would have really bummed me out

[bbgrunt]

7. haha! bummer!

[TubbersUK]

31. I wasn't aware of that story - love it n/t

[PatSeg]

13. Oh thanks!

That looks like such a fun series.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

14. Well that series looks interesting.

I've added to my watch list. Thank you for mentioning it.

[OnDoutside]

22. I'd like to second that recommendation, it's a lovely series.

[musette_sf]

36. seconded

and it was wonderful to see Mackenzie Crook (aka Gareth Keenan out of the original British version of The Office) in another role.

:large

[Luciferous]

37. I love that show!

[PatSeg]

38. I started watching the show

and I'm really loving it. Excellent recommendation. Thanks again.

[wcmagumba]

2. Real Life Detectorists...

One of my favorite UK series....On Hulu and Acorn TV

[hibbing]

8. Loved that show on Netflix n/t

[shanti]

23. Not on Netflix anymore?

I just checked and couldn't find it

[hibbing]

24. previous poster mentioned Hulu

I watched Season 1 & 2 on Netflix. I don't know if they made another season or not. It must be on a different platform now. A quiet little show that I enjoyed.

Peace

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

34. It's also on Amazon Prime.

[wcmagumba]

29. Currently on Hulu and Acorn TV

Three seasons available. Just sign up for a free trial on either one...cheers!

[cp]

27. One of my favorites, too!

[Pacifist Patriot]

33. That was my first thought!

[RockRaven]

4. The bit in the 4th paragraph about the Staffordshire Hoard is very inaccurate, IFAIK.

The Staffordshire Hoard cannot be the "largest hoard of coins ever found in England" because it was not a hoard of *coins* at all. Not a single coin. Gold and silver (and garnets) in large quantity, yes, but not COINS.

And "largest" cannot be a reference to price/value either (ignoring for a minute the coin "gaffe" ) -- the Staffordshire Hoard was valued at 3.something M pounds, only a decade ago (inflation isn't that rampant in the UK, yet).

The author perhaps meant that the Staffordshire Hoard was made up of more discrete pieces than this find. But that's not extraordinarily relevant to just about anything. A bucket of sand is made up of more discrete pieces than my car's windshield. So what? Does that signify something? Maybe that is interesting, meaningful, or relevant; maybe it is not.

[left-of-center2012]

5. Maybe that is interesting, meaningful, or relevant; maybe it is not.

[dawg day]

6. I must confess, I've always seen "detectorists" and thought they were nerds--

And would only turn up old tin cans. It is astounding that in a country as long cultivated as the UK, they're still finding these treasures.

I am also wondering about the long-ago farmer or whatever who decided to bury his fortune, and then forgot where he put it, like the lottery winners who can't find their ticket.

[ansible]

10. I've found small gold nuggets here in California by metal detecting

Not enough to make me rich but enough to pay for the gas at least, there's still quite a bit of gold left in the Sierra Nevadas that gets washed down the mountains every year. It's a fun hobby if you're patient and like going outdoors. The US doesn't have quite the history as Europe does for metal detecting artifacts though.

[cbdo2007]

19. I'm in the Kansas City area and have a detector fantasy of finding a lost...

hoard of Jesse James' stolen money. He and his gang roamed around and robbed many areas here to the east of KC, so I wouldn't be surprised if there were some riches out in the woods around here somewhere.

[left-of-center2012]

18. My brother found a high school ring

He was able to find the woman who'd lost it years earlier and return it to her.

[JHB]

21. He may not have forgotten it

It may be that he suffered some misfortune and didn't live to retrieve it.

[Pacifist Patriot]

35. You'll see detectorists out on the beaches in Florida after a TS or Hurricane.

Unlikely to secure a massive fortune that way, but it's the best time to find an odd coin here and there from shipwrecks. My husband has a co-worker who usually turns up a small piece or two after most major storms.

[PatrickforO]

9. Quite a find. n/t

[Thekaspervote]

11. Thx for posting! Coins or no, the staffordshire hoard you mentioned was a fascinating BBC doc

A few years back.. interesting story

[Blue Owl]

12. got a little change in my pocket goin' jang a ling a ling...

n/t

[left-of-center2012]

17. Georgia Satellites -Keep your hands to yourself

[Blue Owl]

25. Don't gimme no lies!

[customerserviceguy]

15. The coins look beautiful

I clean 4th Century Roman bronze coins as a hobby, and those coins need nothing done to them except preservation.

[Raine]

16. WOW, that's so cool! nt

[parkia00]

20. Found an Old Skeleton Key Today...

Some coins, (one old), some pull tabs and trash before being chased away from the park by a nasty black storm cloud with lightning shooting out of it. I do not know why but I find this hobby very relaxing.

[miyazaki]

26. I once found a fifty cent peice

under my grandmas couch.

That's about as far as my luck goes.

[Beakybird]

28. I stayed on the same property

They provided good quarters!

[CanonRay]

30. Anybody else a fan of the Brit TV show "The Detectorists"

one of my all-time favorites.

[Vinca]

32. My metal detector find amounted to an old button. Our house is from the mid-1700's and

I thought I might turn up at least 1 lousy coin on 5 acres. Oh well . . .

[Blue_Tires]

39. Those coins are from a heist, aren't they??

[left-of-center2012]

40. From the OP

the owner “probably buried them for safekeeping” as there was no banking-system in England at this time.