Of coins and men
AN anonymous metal detectorist, a deceitful former policeman and the largest hoard of Anglo-saxon gold coins ever discovered may seem out of a novel, but they are currently key elements in a Treasure inquest by the Coroner of Norfolk. With 131 coins, the hoard— mostly Frankish tremisses, plus nine Byzantine gold solidi—beats the previous record-holder, a 1828 find of 101 coins in Hampshire. The Hampshire purse was spotted by a man out shooting, but the Norfolk coins were found by two different people between 2014 and 2020.
The majority was discovered over the years by an anonymous detectorist, who notified the authorities; 10 coins were found by another man. The latter, a policeman, did not report his discovery and tried to sell the coins. He was found out, dismissed from the police and sentenced to 16 months in prison, but not before two of the coins were sold off. The coroner is now establishing whether the coins qualify as Treasure under the 1996 Treasure Act (Treasure becomes property of the Crown to be acquired by a museum, with finders and landowners paid a reward based on a valuation by the British Museum).
Gareth Williams, curator of early medieval coins at the British Museum, calls it ‘a hugely important find’. Experts don’t yet know why the coins were in the Norfolk field, where another coin was unearthed in 1990. ‘The hoard was found with no immediate archaeological context, so there is nothing to indicate why it was buried there, or even whether it was a deliberate burial or an accidental loss,’ Dr Williams says. ‘It is perfectly possible for a hoard such as this to be accidentally dropped.’
Other artefacts may still be buried. ‘The hoard was dispersed across the field, probably by ploughing, so it isn’t certain whether all of it has been found,’ adds Dr Williams. Supported by the British Museum, Norwich Castle Museum is hoping to acquire the find, which it believes could shed light on early trade and the importance of west Norfolk in 7thcentury East Anglia. CP