13th century coin hoard dug up on farmland

A haul of coins dating back to the 13th Century has been discovered on a farm in the region. Amber’s Digs, a metal detector group, made the discovery while searching land at Sutton Bank, near Thirsk, North Yorkshire, on Good Friday.

The find consisted of 22 Edward I coins and one Richard I coin and was unearthed by about ten members of the 30-strong group who were out searching an area of about 25sq metres.

Sue Jewitt, 57, who runs Amber’s Digs with her partner, Graham Duff, said it was the first time the group had found a haul, which is believed to be from a purse or a stash that was never collected.

The couple, from Willington, County Durham, were not among those who made the discovery but said it was really exciting watching people find the coins.

They plan to show the farmer the coins before passing them on to the coroner, who is expected to class them as treasure because they are more than 300 years old.

“We are still taking it in,” said Mrs Jewitt. “This was our first visit to this farm and although we do research it is often just pot luck. We have found a lot before but this is the first time we have found a haul.

“We have no idea how much it is worth. We were only saying that morning it was only a matter of time before someone found a big haul.”

Amber’s Digs, which has been up and running for just over a year, has about 60 members from across the country. It searches land across the North-East and North Yorkshire each week, depending on what permission it receives from farmers.

Members have found coins and other items relating to Henry I, Viking, Saxon, Roman and Medieval periods.

Mr Duff, 46, said: “We have found hundreds of coins before, including Edward I, but this is the first haul. I wanted to look myself when people started finding the coins but I was too busy taking pictures of them.

“It is a very interesting hobby.

We research the land first but there are no guarantees you are going to find anything. The majority of finds are in the top six inches.”