Treasure hunters unearth 1000-year-old silver coins from Norman Conquest | BBC News

A hoard of 2,584 silver pennies from the time of the Norman Conquest has been bought for £4.3m - making it the highest-value treasure ever found in the UK.

The South West Heritage Trust has bought the "unprecedented" hoard of coins from the Crown.

The metal detectorists who found the coins will split the proceeds with the landowner.



#UK #History #BBCNews

[jaker]

The £4.3 million used to buy the hoard of coins was split 50/50 between the landowner and the finders/detectorists. So the landowner got £2.15 million, and the seven finders got £307, 142.85 each. I believe the payments are considered as gifts of cash and hence were tax-exempt.

The money used to buy, and finance the display of, the coins came from: the National Lottery Heritage Fund (£4, 420, 527), the Art Fund (£150, 000) and smaller grants came from the Friends of The Museum of Somerset and the Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society.

[ChaosSpectra]

Isn't it sad how in this day and age, the ability to buy a house is synonymous with extreme wealth

[smaswqa]

Just imagine how these coins lived through all these historical events century after century, just sitting there and now they're unearthed.

[karlosjeffers]

Finally a good news story to smile about! 🙏👌🤗

[Liberty]

That is the coin i lost. thanks for finding it please sent it to me

[rnvaamonde]

"The only thing standing between us and treasure is the ground." - Terry (I think)

[_ArsNova]

The fact that this man who "won the lottery" is just happy to be able to afford a home says a lot about the current state of real estate.

[tsurukijiro]

"In the UK, 2, 584 silver coins from the Norman dynasty period of the 11th to 12th centuries were unearthed and purchased for £4.3 million. This is said to be the highest price ever paid for a treasure unearthed in the UK. Additionally, the excavation video shows that the coins exhibit little sign of sulfide tarnishing, suggesting they might be silver coins made from a silver alloy with a high gold content, or it may be due to the nature of the soil."

[BillyGold]

Good for them for reporting it. A lot of unscrupulous people wouldn't have reported it and landed in jail. A lot of archaeologists hate people who do metal detecting, but so many archaeological finds come from amateur people doing it as a hobby.

[kiujht-xh]

Great time to find it because silver is worth a lot at the moment so is gold.

[majorlaff]

Years ago, I found a ten-shilling note. I was frightened to spend it in case someone claimed it as lost. I kept it under my pillow for weeks before plucking up the courage to use it. The chocolate I bought was delicious.

[caesar]

A metal detector must have sounded like sorcery to the Normans

[waqasahmad]

Its amazing to see how the world is full of treasure you just never no your luck you might stumble upon something that will change your life

[aldosigmann]

what struck me is how thin they are with some bent 90 degrees...

[Deus-Vult]

What amazes me is that there’s still loads of it left to be discovered, get yourself a detector and go find yourself permissions for fields or land owners

[FarzanSajid-bc]

Oh blimey! this is really really astonishing.. this treasure is special by the way, a coins those very antique and has been discovered by treasure hunters that is much on the top 😮😮😮😮😮😊😊😊😊😊

[TobeBetter]

A sign of the relative degree of social turmoils at that time.

[TeddyBelcherkultrawide]

The hardest part was hiding it there before pretending to find it

[WayneTulip-zmgw]

Lovely to hear some nice good news for a change.

[HolloMatlala]

Well Done Adam Staples….Paitence and Hardwork eventually pay off