5,200 Anglo-Saxon Coins Found with a Metal Detector Go on Display in London
If you happen to be in London this week, I’d urge you to visit the British Museum. A treasure of 5,200 coins found by a man named Paul Coleman has just gone on display there. Mr. Coleman isn’t a coin collector exactly. He’s a hobbyist who found the coins last year with his metal detector in Lenborough, a small town north of London. The coins were buried in a lead container, probably in the 11th century. They are made of silver and show images of two kings named Ethelred II and Canute. Haven’t heard of them? That could be because they ruled in about the year 1,000.
You can read all about it in, “Some Weekend Wandering Yields Ancient English Coins,” an article that Christopher D. Shea wrote for The New York Times on February 11, 2015.
Anglo Saxon coins. Credit: Trustees of the British Museum.
Recent Metal Detecting Finds in the U.S.
It’s unlikely that you will find a buried treasure of 11th century silver coins here in the New World. But if you want to take a metal detector and spend some quality time outdoors, you just might find some valuable coins and other items, right here in North America.
Here are two recent finds you can read about on metaldetectingintheusa.com, a webpage where amateur metal detectives report their recent finds . . .
- Rare coins by an old wall – Using his metal detector, one amateur metal hunter found a number of old coins near an old wall that ran around a park. He believes that about 100 years ago people liked to sit on the wall, and that coins fell out of their pockets. His little treasure included a Liberty quarter from 1928, two Mercury dimes from 1917 and 1929, a 1949 Roosevelt dime, and a 1925 Buffalo nickel. He also found pennies dating from 1901, 1902, 1917, 1918, 1920, 1925, and 1927 and 42 newer coins that he doesn’t consider collectible.
- A mixed lot of coins and other items in a churchyard – Another hobbyist used his detector to search the yard of a church that was built in 1854. He found a 1917 Lincoln penny, two Indian head cents from 1890 and 1897 and four Wheat pennies from 1916-1944. He also found a belt buckle, a horse bit, a necklace, and 15 modern coins.
Are You a Metal Detective . . . Or Should You Be?
I have often seen metal-detector users on beaches in the summer. But the stories I reported in today’s post make me think that there must be many more hobbyists searching in parks, churchyards and open fields. And they are finding valuable stuff.
If you are a metal hunter already or if you decide to become one, why not write our phone number – 800-426-2344 – on a label and attach it to your metal detector? When you start to pull your metal discoveries out of the ground, we’re here to help you turn them into bright shiny new cash.
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