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A hoard of more than Anglo Saxon 5,000 coins have been unearthed, including what may be a unique penny. The discovery, near Lenborough, Buckinghamshire is said to be the biggest hoard of coins in modern times.

It includes a uniquely-stamped coin which may be the results of a mix-up at the mint, more than 1,000 years ago. No valuation has officially been placed on the coins, which have formerly been declared as treasure trove, but some experts believe they could be worth more than £1 million.

The 5,248 coins were found by metal detector enthusiast Paul Coleman on December 21 last year. He almost decided not to dig the site when his metal detector beeped, believing he had come across a hidden manhole cover.

However, his persistence was rewarded when he found the silver pennies, which were buried in two sets, possibly up to 15 years apart, based upon the dates imprinted on them. He told a treasure trove inquest in Beaconsfield: ‘I wasn’t going to go [hunting for treasure] but I was talked into it.

‘We looked at the aerial photos and chose a field because there were strange markings. We decided to leave the field because there was nothing in it. When the detector started beeping, it felt like the size of a manhole cover and that’s also what caused me to nearly not dig it up. Anything of that size is normally a manhole cover or a squashed bucket.’

Mr Coleman, who is 60 and retired, believes it was fate that caused him to wander over to where the hoard was buried. He chose a different route because choosing his Deus detector was receiving interference from one belonging to another member of the Weekend Wanderers metal detecting club.

He first found 985 coins dating from the reign of Ethelred the Unready in the 990s and a further 4,263 that were minted during the reign of his successor, Canute. The coins were taken to the museum in Aylesbury before then being sent to the British Museum for further analysis.

Brett Thorn, keeper of archaeology at the Buckinghamshire County Museum, told the treasure inquest: ‘Normally hoards are fairly small - 10 to 20 coins, something of that order. The largest came in the 1840s, containing 7,000 plus silver objects, and one was recorded in the late 90s. This find is the only modern one which is comparable to those.'

He believes the coins were buried on the way to a mint in Buckingham five miles (8km) away in order to be melted down and re-cast. New coins were minted every few years, with the holders of old coins having to pay a tax if they tried using them. Alternatively, Mr Thorn said the money could have been the savings of a single family over the course of 20 years.

Despite the age gap between some of the coins, he told the inquest: ‘There’s no doubt they were deposited at the same time.’ He said that one of the coins - an Agnus Dei coin containing a lamb and flag – is possibly unique.

‘It’s a mis-struck coin. The lamb should have on the reverse a dove of peace. This doesn’t; it has a short cross. Someone has made a mistake but it is still good silver. They still sent it out. It makes the coin a rare mistake among a group of unique coins.’

Such coins were issued towards the the end of Ethelred’s reign and were a plea to God to protect them from the Vikings. Just 30 Agnus Dei coins had ever been discovered and 25 of those were in Scandinavia. There have also been just 30 Saxon coins discovered in the area over the course of 150 years because most of them were taken back with the Vikings.

Recalling the moment the hoard was brought into the museum, Mr Thorn said: ‘It was just phenomenal. I came in on Monday morning and there was an email about a hoard of 5,000 coins. I thought it was a typo - you don’t get hoards of that scale, ever. I assumed it meant to say 50; even 500 would be exceptionally exciting.

‘It was a massive amount and I couldn’t believe the condition they were in. The ones I looked at initially were in excellent condition. The first thing we did was phone the British Museum and we drove them down to London that day. Word had spread around the department this was coming in and when we arrived everyone was going “is that the hoard?" They were as excited about it as we were. This is a massively significant find, which is why we were really pleased the British Museum said they were happy to let us have it. It’s the most sensible place for it - in Buckinghamshire, where it was found.’

The museum will need to raise a percentage of the coins’ total value in order to put them on display, with an official valuation expected tin the New Year. Mr Thorn said analysis of the coins showed they had been minted in 40 different locations around the country.

Some of the coins were inscribed with the name Coleman, prompting their finder to say: ‘I joked that the hoard had my name on it - I didn’t realise it literally did.

Mr Coleman, who lives in Southampton, Hampshire said: ‘The whole thing has been surreal the whole time.’ He has been pursuing his hobby for 50 years and said: ‘I’ve found Roman coins, medieval coins and quite a few medieval broaches, the stuff that keeps you interested. The biggest thrill is when you find the personal things like a brooch that an individual has worn - if only you could read the story that went with it. It’s like holding a bit of history.”

Peter Welch, who runs the Weekend Wanderers club, told the Buckinghamshire coroner: ‘This won’t be repeated. I have never had anything like this in 25 years of running the club.’

Coroner Richard Hulett ruled that the hoard should be counted as treasure after hearing the coins were made of more than 10 per cent silver - the minimum level needed to satisfy modern treasure laws.

A lead ‘basket’ which contained the coins - which fell apart during the excavation - was also ruled as treasure after fragments of it were preserved.

Author: Sarah Griffiths | Source: Daily Mail Online [November 04, 2015]

When amateur metal detector enthusiast Charles Wood picked up a faint signal in a muddy field, the 44-year -old had no idea he had just stumbled onto one of the most significant Saxon graves discovered in recent years.

Mr Wood and other members of the Muddy Boots Metal Detector Club had been permitted onto private land near the Rollright Stones, an ancient formation of Stone and Bronze Age megaliths near the village of Long Compton.

The land is farmed and each year hosts the Rollright Fayre. So at first Mr Wood thought he had discovered just another bottle cap or a broken farm implement.

Instead, close to the King’s Stone on March 28, the London-based IT professional found a well preserved skeleton, believed to be a Saxon woman dating back to about 600 AD.

“I wasn’t that enthusiastic about digging for the signal,” said Mr Wood. “The ground had been polluted by festivals and it was very deep.”

“But when we dug we exposed what appeared to be the rim of a metal bowl . We thought it was a tractor piston at first but we soon realised we had found something more.”

The group contacted finds liaison officer Anni Byard at Oxfordshire County Council and the next day experts from Oxfordshire, Surrey and Buckinghamshire made a site visit. Then began a painstaking three-day excavation.

They found a skeleton between 4’11 and 5 feet tall, buried in a north/south orientation. Affectionately known as ‘Rita of Rollright’ by some of the discoverers, the remains were buried with grave goods including silver, copper alloy pins, a metal chain, an amber bead and a rock crystal amulet attached to an iron chain. A small quantity of silver was also found.

A decorated antler disk was found under the woman’s back, which could have been a hair or dress accessory, as well as metal hinges and a lock plate which could have formed part of a wooden box. This may have contained the bronze ladle that sparked the find.

Mr Wood added:“It was a once in a lifetime find. I could detect for the next 14 years and not find anything like it.”

The skeleton and grave goods have been taken to the British Museum in London for analysis. An inquest into the discovery will be held by a coroner in Warwickshire to determine the value of the artefacts.

Anni Byard, West Berkshire & Oxfordshire finds liaison officer under the Portable Antiquities Scheme, said: “This is one of the most significant single Saxon graves discovered in several years. We are all very excited to see what the analysis shows us.”

Expert analysis will reveal much about ‘Rita’ but discoverer Charles Wood said the condition on the grave and the grave goods give valuable some clues.

He said: “The skeleton is well preserved (movingly so, the bones of her left hand reflected careful placement across her waist), and the Portable Antiquities Scheme team hope tests will reveal much about the woman and her life.

“We do already know she was a young adult of around 5 feet in height, and that she probably died in the middle years of the 7th Century.

We also know that she was loved and respected; the accompanying grave goods were prized. The well preserved long handled pan is a Saxon copy of a Roman patera.

“Also contained in the grave were a large amber bead, an amethyst set silver mount, and a large crystal ball or spindle whorl. All of these items denote respect and status, but their amulet-like nature also hints the lady may have been a healer or wise-woman.

“The position of the grave in close association with the King’s Stone is also suggestive of spiritual status. Whilst some of these elements are found in other Saxon burials their combination here is both rare and fascinating.”

Anni Byard, finds Oxfordshire and West Berkshire finds liaison officer under the Portable Antiquities Scheme, agreed. She said: “The location of the grave is of significance, and the items found with her were possibly religious in nature.

“She was definitely somebody of importance at that time, but this will take further investigation. We are currently trying to raise grants to examine the soil of the grave, this might be able to tell us something more.”

Ongoing research into the grave site is currently being undertaken by Anni Byard and Helena Hamerow, a professor at Oxford University’s School of Archeology with assistance from Historic England, the British Museum and members of the Rollright Trust.

Author: David Gazet | Source: Banbury Guardian [August 07, 2015]