The coins are believed to have been buried by a Viking
Two metal detectorists who hatched an illegal plot to sell abroad Anglo-Saxon coins of great historical significance have been jailed for more than five years.
Judge James Adkin, sitting at Durham Crown Court, said a further two coins remained outstanding and had been “hidden away”. He was confident, having heard evidence during a trial last month, that the coins were part of a larger, undeclared find known as the Herefordshire or Leominster Hoard.The coin enthusiasts were convicted of conspiracy to convert criminal property and a separate charge of possession of criminal property and were jailed for five years and two months.
Best thought he was meeting a metals expert, employed by a broker working for a wealthy US-based buyer, but was in fact speaking to an undercover detective. Pilling, who according to the judge acquired the collection from the “black market”, was arrested at his home in Loveclough, on the edge of the Rossendale Valley, and a further 41 coins were seized.
The undercover police operation was set up after Best tried to sell coins to a real American collector, who then contacted UK-based experts about the apparent availability of extremely rare and valuable examples, and the authorities were alerted. It was believed the coins were made between 874 CE and 879 CE and were buried by a Viking during this particularly violent period of English history.
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