Treasure trove unearthed by metal detectors in Northumberland

Sep 16 2009 by Katy Simpson, The Journal

A RARE hoard of medieval coins has been unearthed by treasure hunters in Northumberland.

Friends Lee Brown, Wayne Derbyshire and Keith Dodds could barely believe their eyes when they came across more than 100 silver coins, believed to date back to the 12th Century, while they were metal detecting in the Blyth area of Northumberland.

The well-preserved artefacts are unusual ‘hammered’ coins, which were made by hand and feature the image of a king, although experts have yet to establish which monarch is depicted. Henry II and Richard the Lionheart were among the kings who reigned in that period.

Mr Brown, 35, of Cramlington, only took up metal detecting in November last year and enjoyed beginner’s luck to be the first one of the group to find the coins. “I was absolutely gobsmacked to find hammered coins so soon,” said the dad-of-one, who works in the construction industry. “People wait for years and years and they never find one.

“It would be any metal detector’s dream to find something like this and then to find a hoard of them.”

Mr Brown has reported the group’s find to the Portable Antiquities Scheme, run by the British Museum, as required by law under the Treasure Act.

The coins will be collected by a liaison officer from the scheme in about two weeks, and a coroner will then determine how much they are worth and what should happen to them.

Coin expert John Naylor, from Oxford’s world-famous Ashmolean Museum, advises the Portable Antiquities Scheme on finds of this kind.

He said: “Northumberland doesn't tend to produce all that many medieval coin hoards compared to southern England, due to likely levels of population and the nature of the economy of the area, so this will no doubt be an interesting find.”