Hunters sell UK’s ‘most expensive treasure ever found’

Dating back to an important period in English history, the silver pennies became the most expensive treasure ever found in the United Kingdom, selling for just £4.3 million.

In early 2019, seven metal detectors discovered a hoard of at least 1,000 years old with 2,584 silver coins from the Conquest of Normandy in a field in Cheve Valley, southern England.

When the treasure hunters reported their unprecedented discovery to British Museum officials through a public archaeological find recording tool called the Portable Archeology Project, they were in disbelief.

“It’s amazing, it’s unbelievable,” said Adam Staples, one of the citizens who discovered the treasure, according to ArcheoNews. “It definitely changed my life. It was like having history in your hands. And the financial side of it was brilliant.”

The coins are a mix of Saxon and Norman coinage, marking a turning point in English history and involving the transition from Saxon to Norman rule (between 1066 and 1068). Experts believe the coins may have been buried for safekeeping during the turmoil of victory.

Michael Lewis, chief instrument maker at the British Museum, said the find was “incredible” and would help us understand one of the most famous dates in English history: 1066, when William, Duke of Normandy, defeated Harold at the Battle of Hastings. Saxon kings of England were replaced by Norman French rulers.

Although the invasion marked a historical divide, the coins in the treasury are remarkably similar regardless of whether they were minted before or after the conquest.

Below half of the coins are Harold II of 1066, the last crowned Saxon king of England. William I (also known as William the Conqueror), the first Norman king, was more than half. Apart from the ruler they represent, the two types of coins are very similar, each bearing an emblem on one side and a king’s head in profile on the other, while Harold has the word “Peace” written on it. as “backs,” and Williams has an ornamented cross.

The treasure was purchased by the country, named after the area where it was found, and has a permanent home at the Somerset Museum in Taunton, 200 kilometers southwest of London, after being displayed in the British Museum and other museums in the country. United Kingdom.