Hoard of 1,000-year-old coins unearthed in a farmer’s field sells for $5.6 million

dsessom

I thought this was pretty neat.

"Adam Staples knew he’d found something when his metal detector let out a beep. And then another. And another.

Soon “it was just ‘beep beep, beep beep, beep beep,’” Staples said.

In a farmer’s field in southwest England, Staples and six friends had found a hoard of more than 2,500 silver coins that had lain in the ground for almost 1,000 years. Valued at 4.3 million pounds ($5.6 million) and now bound for a museum, they will help shed light on the turbulent aftermath of the Norman conquest of England."

Story Link: https://apnews.com/article/uk-norman-silver-coin-hoard-discovery-73e53a20da18ff0ae2963a22765f3ac9

ifthevamzarockin

I need to buy a new metal detector, mine only finds bottle caps.

MsMorrisine

using creative genealogy, through marriage, i am related to will.i.am the conqueror and stake a claim to my portion of this find

DCW

If anyone else was wondering how this hoard was "headed for a museum" and also sold for 5.6 million dollars, but didn't feel like clicking on the link and reading the article, here is your answer:
"An expert committee sets a value on each find, with the money divided between the owner of the land and the finders. In this case, Staples and six fellow detectorists split half of the 4.3 million pound purse."

Sweetpie

Thanks for the article.
These silver coins seem a bit over valued at $2240 average each.

Yes there 's some historical footnote to them but ...

AUandAG

@ifthevamzarockin said:
I need to buy a new metal detector, mine only finds bottle caps.

I agree, mine only finds pull tabs...... or nothing.

JCH22

They will be going on display starting at the British Museum late November Little bit more about the upcoming exhibitions:

https://swheritage.org.uk/museum-of-somerset/chew-valley-hoard/

First time seeing this Youtuber, but video seems to provide a good synopsis of the hoard.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0d5hO1INyU

Sapyx

@Sweetpie said:
These silver coins seem a bit over valued at $2240 average each.

Yes there 's some historical footnote to them but ...

Quoting from the article:

2,584 silver pennies minted between 1066 and 1068, some showing conquering King William I and others his defeated Anglo-Saxon predecessor Harold II.

If most of the coins are from those two monarchs, then it's entirely reasonable pricing. Coins of both William I and Harold II are extremely desirable to most English Hammered collectors. Not to mention anyone attempting to assemble a "one from every English monarch" collection. Prices for early English Hammered went ballistic during COVID and haven't come back down again. US$3000 for a William I coin and $5000 for a Harold II coin are entirely reasonable prices these days.

@DCW said:
If anyone else was wondering how this hoard was "headed for a museum" and also sold for 5.6 million dollars, but didn't feel like clicking on the link and reading the article, here is your answer:
"An expert committee sets a value on each find, with the money divided between the owner of the land and the finders. In this case, Staples and six fellow detectorists split half of the 4.3 million pound purse."

The British system of dealing with lost treasure is fair and equitable, though some folks from "finders keepers" jurisdictions like the US might yet find it unfair. If a hoard of coins is found (legally defined as more than one silver coin) the finder is not automatically entitled to keep any of the coins, but they will be fairly and justly compensated with full market value of the find. Or half of it, since as is usually the case there was an agreement for a 50:50 split between the detectorist and the landowner.

This equitable treatment given to honest law-abiding detectorists, combined with the harsh penalties applied to anyone caught nighthawking, means most detectorists in Britain comply with the law and report any old coins they find.

Tibor

The museum should get a twenty coin sample to display. The rest should
be sold to collectors. After they have been researched for varieties.

Typekat

@Tibor

That makes sense to me.

But the British Museum’s normal procedure is to put the whole hoard on display, piled up in an elevated glass display cube that you can walk around.

Tibor

@Typekat
i would rather have the opportunity to enjoy the coins in my hands
and collection than to view "a pile" of coins on the internet in a museum
that I won't have the chance to travel to.

BAJJERFAN

@DCW said:
If anyone else was wondering how this hoard was "headed for a museum" and also sold for 5.6 million dollars, but didn't feel like clicking on the link and reading the article, here is your answer:
"An expert committee sets a value on each find, with the money divided between the owner of the land and the finders. In this case, Staples and six fellow detectorists split half of the 4.3 million pound purse."

I wonder what the TAXMAN'S cut will be.

https://youtu.be/CehFjnuvMeM

SaorAlba

Regarding the Portable Antiquities Scheme as it is known as, finds that are unusual because of where they are found also get reported through it but it provides documentation. A detectorist in rural Shropshire in the north of England found this Irish token in a farm field in 2007:

17th century Irish tokens are not particularly common in comparison to their English counterparts, and had the token been found in Ireland it would have been a cool but somewhat ho hum find. However it was an unusual find in northern England and someone must have travelled from Ireland to the island of Great Britain which was not a normal travel pattern. The detectorist reported it to the PAS which investigated it and returned to him. He sold it on eBay but because of the PAS report he had to get an export license to send it to me in the USA.

It is a fairly worn token, found in an unusual place with an interesting tale. The export license cost nothing and took about a week. Then he posted the token to me and I have a token with a paper trail recording where it was found and why it was significant - even a fairly low value under £40 or so find.

I posted this because I think that a lot of people in N. America will think the PAS is an onerous hassle and seizes everything.
Finders and landowners are compensated equitably and most are happy with the programme.

Bochiman

Too bad it wasn't in the US with US coins....just more coins from England...