Saturday, January 3, 2015

British metal detectorist finds hoard of Anglo-Saxon coins worth $2 million

BY
NY Daily News





Paul Coleman, 59, could barely afford to fuel his car to go on the trip with the Weekend Wanderers Detecting Club. But after finding over 5,000 ancient coins in Aylesbury, he says he'll never have to work again.

"This find means I will never have to work again," Coleman said afer discovering the loot. Coleman, a father of two and grandfather of four, almost skipped the detecting trip because he could barely afford to put gas in his car.

A cash-strapped British treasure hunter was given the perfect early Christmas present — after he unearthed a buried hoard of Anglo-Saxon coins worth an eye-popping $2 million.
Amateur metal detectorist Paul Coleman was scouring farmland near Aylesbury, Bucks., on Dec. 21 when he made the astonishing discovery, reports the Daily Mirror.
It's one of the biggest finds ever made in Britain.
"I found a piece of lead and thought it was junk. But I looked back in the hole and saw one shiny coin. Then I lifted a larger piece of lead and saw row upon row of coins stacked neatly," he said.
"By that point the excitement had built up and I was grinning from ear to ear," he added.
The coins are believed to be from the reigns of of Ethelred the Unready (978 - 1016) and King Canute (1016 - 1035).
The coins are believed to be from the reigns of of Ethelred the Unready (978 - 1016) and King Canute (1016 - 1035).
Experts think the 5,251 coins, hidden in a lead box two feet underground, could have been buried after the 1066 Battle of Hastings to protect them from Norman invaders.
They are each valued at $390.
The metallic money hailed from the reigns of Ethelred the Unready (978 - 1016) and King Canute (1016 - 1035).
Granddad-of-four and dad-of-two Coleman, 59, said the find — the sale of which he will share with the landowner and metal detectorist friends — had changed his life.
Weekend Wanderers Detecting Club/SWNS.com
And he revealed that he'd almost not gone on the Weekend Wanderers Detecting Club hunt because he couldn't afford to fill his car with gasoline.
"This find means I will never have to work again — it's a massive weight off my mind," the Southampton resident said.
The coins have since been taken to the British Museum to be identified. A coroner will rule it is treasure before bidding can be opened on the haul.

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