DERBYSHIRE SILVER COIN FIND DECLARED TREASURE

Silver 12th Century coins found in a field in Derbyshire have been declared treasure by a coroner.

The 10 coins were unearthed by several metal detectorists in 2014 and date from the reigns of King Stephen and King Henry II.

Historians believe they were probably originally in a purse dropped by a trader and amounted to about a week's wages. The coroner's decision paves the way for a museum to acquire them.

The exact location of the hoard cannot be revealed but was in a field near Clowne, which historians say was sparsely populated in the medieval period.

The oldest of the coins dates from 1154 - the last year of King Stephen's reign - while the the rest date from the early years of King Henry II's reign.

They were struck at different mints around the country, with several made in Lincoln and the others from Oxford, London, York, Winchester, Bury St Edmunds and Thetford.

The find is not considered of national importance - the British Museum does not want to acquire the coins - but it is rare for the East Midlands.

"We don't get an awful lot of hoards from this period - maybe two or three in the last 20 years," Mr Williams said.

To read the complete article, see:
Rare silver coins found in Derbyshire declared treasure (www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-derbyshire-37109225)

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