A couple into metal detecting have hit the jackpot after discovering a treasure hoard believed to be worth up to £5million.
Adam Staples and Lisa Grace, 42, unearthed an “absolutely mind-blowing” 2,571 silver coins – many of them in mint condition and valued at £1,000 to £5,000 each.
While smaller than the 2009 Staffordshire Hoard, it may be £1million more valuable.
The haul is made up of King Harold II pennies, England’s last Anglo-Saxon king, and William the Conqueror coins, from after the Norman invasion of 1066.
Mr Staples and Miss Grace, from Derby, made their find in a farmer’s field in north-east Somerset in January.
They told the county’s local finds liaison officer, as required by law, and gave the coins to the British Museum to assess.
If declared treasure, it will be up to a museum to compensate them with the haul’s value. The landowner will also be entitled to 50% of the cash.
Nigel Mills, a consultant for London auctioneers Dix Noonan Webb, said: “This hoard could be worth between £3million and £5million.”
The British Museum said: “We can confirm a large hoard of late Anglo-Saxon and Norman coins was handed in.”
