Caravan man kept ancient coins worth £75k in bank
ONE of the finest private collections of Anglo-Saxon coins has been discovered – squirrelled away by a man who lived in a mobile home.
The hoard of 80 was only found after John Cross died last year aged 72 and executors clearing out his caravan found documents that led them to a bank vault.
The stash includes a 1,400-year-old gold shilling – called a thrymsa – minted in Northumbria or York between 640 and 660AD and worth around £12,000.
A silver penny minted for King Harold in 1066 before he died at the Battle of Hastings and another depicting Cuthred, King of Kent, made in 798, are valued at £2,000.
Most of the precious pieces are connected to Mr Cross’s home town of Canterbury, including a silver penny created for the Archbishop around 765 and worth up to £2,500.
Another gold shilling dated 635 to 645 featuring the bust of an emperor with a diadem – or crown – could fetch up to £10,000.
Among many silver pennies in the collection are ones minted for the ancient Anglo-Saxon kings Coenwulf, Beornwulf, Beorhtwulf, Edward the Elder and Athelstan.
A spokesman for the executors said: ‘ Mr Cross was very much into researching Anglo-Saxon and medieval history and quietly amassed a sizable collection.
‘He had a particular fascination for coinage from the period and was also interested in early buildings and churches. He attended lectures and even held a certificate in archaeological excavation, for which he qualified back in 2010 when in his 60s. ‘He amassed his collection over a 20 to 30- year period, spending particularly freely between 2016 and 2017. It became so extensive and valuable that the coins were held in a bank for safekeeping.’
The collection will be sold by Canterbury Auction Galleries from October 2 and is expected to fetch around £75,000.
Mr Cross had asked for proceeds to go to the British Numismatic Society coin collector group and the Friends of Kent Churches charity.