A hoard of treasure has come to life after having been lost many generations ago...
17th November 2022
A hoard of treasure has come to life having been lost many generations ago...
It must be every metal detectorist's dream… the sound in the headphones of a hopeful tone, the shine in the earth of a coin lost for centuries coming to light for the first time. The first coin followed by another, then a gold coin and more silver.
This is just what happened, to one experienced and lucky detectorist! The tale of the hoard’s discovery is almost ‘fairy-tale’ like. Having spent a clear but chilly Autumn morning in a field usually used for grazing, it was only when having given up on the day, the pair turned back towards their car and within seconds a silver groat, then three more. The potential of the site was immediately clear and after careful work with fellow detectorists alongside the landowner, the full extent of the hoard was revealed.
Naturally, correct procedure was followed, and the collection of coins were recorded on the PAS scheme and a Coroner’s report compiled stating the full detail of the find. Quoting from this report, the quality and importance of the find is immediately apparent:-
“The coins belong to the reigns of Henry IV, first reign and Edward IV first reign, the period of the Wars of the Roses. They are a highly selected group of good condition, high value coins and do not simply reflect the general coinage in circulation at the time.
The majority of the coins appear to be a group of closely dated coins of the same denomination… This close grouping does not reflect the general distribution in coinage at the time and may reflect specific episodes of payment or saving of money, brought as a group from the mint.… a closure date for the hoard of 1468 or 1469 might be expected. The one Irish coin however is normally thought to date to 1470 at the earliest. … The large proportion of Bristol coins is noteworthy and the lack of other mints suggesting selection into the hoard group soon after minting before they had become mixed with the general currency”.
We could not hope for more glowing praise for the coins. Further recorded in a fully illustrated three-page article in Treasure Hunting Magazine for June 1919, this is a well recorded and properly reported find. Offered here as individual lots these are amongst the best coins from the period of the Wars of the Roses.
There is little in the coin world that excites in the way a newly discovered hoard does. The mystery, antiquity, and sheer romance of unearthing a group of coins that have remained in the earth, undisturbed for so many years, can not be rivalled. Silver and gold coins discovered together in the countryside, perhaps deliberately buried, perhaps dropped in a bag, they offer a tangible link to those who lived in the same landscape as us all those years ago.
A detectorist’s dream of finding them, this is a collector’s dream of adding coins in otherwise unrepeatable condition, history, and provenance to their collections. Lawrences Coin Specialist Matthew Denney, added that auctioneers love to offer them for sale.
The collection will be offered for sale November 24th, where the collection could sell for over £15,000.
For further information, please contact specialist Matthew Denney on 01460 73041 or by email at matthew.denney@lawrences.co.uk
