The largest ever discovery of Anglo-Saxon gold coins in England has been unearthed by metal detectorists.
The hoard of 131 coins was found in a single field, along with four other gold objects, including jewellery, and was buried in west Norfolk approximately 1,400 years ago.
Yesterday’s treasure inquest found that the haul likely belonged to a traveling merchant who deliberately buried them.
An anonymous detectorist discovered the majority of the coins between 2014 and 2020. Ten coins were discovered by David Cockle (ex-police officer), who was sentenced to 16 months in prison for theft for failing report his find.
The hoard of 131 coins was found in a single field, along with four other gold objects, including jewellery, and was buried in west Norfolk approximately 1,400 years ago.
He had attempted to sell his coins for £15,000 instead of declaring them. Two of the ten coins were lost to the antiquities market and were never found.
Any finds must be reported to local coroners within 14 days of being discovered, as per law.
Most of the coins in the collection are Frankish tremisses. Nine gold solidi are also available, which is a larger coin from Byzantine Empire.
England was not yet united after the hoard was buried. Instead, it was divided into several smaller AngloSaxon kingdoms.
A treasure inquest heard the haul was likely to have belonged to a travelling merchant who deliberately buried it
The Kingdom of the East Angles, which included modern Norfolk and Suffolk was one of the most important.
The most notable discovery from this period was Sutton Hoo’s ship burial in Suffolk. This discovery was recently filmed in the Netflix movie The Dig. It is believed to have been made sometime between 610AD & 640AD. The vessel contained 37 gold coins and other items.
Yvonne Blake, the Norwich coroner, concluded that the Norfolk hoard was a treasure trove and they became the Crown’s property. The coins are hoped to be acquired by the Norwich Castle Museum. Gareth Williams, at the British Museum, said the find would help ‘transform our understanding of early Anglo-Saxon England’.