Television shows and movies, and sadly, real-life tragic events have familiarised the public with the concept of the coroner as the person who investigates sudden or mysterious deaths. Important as this is, it represents only one aspect of the coroner’s duties.
Coroners also play an important part in the administration of the Treasure Act 1996. The coroner is the body to whom finds of potential Treasure must be reported, and he or she decides -
a.) whether the find constitutes Treasure under the terms of the Treasure Act 1996
b.) who should be regarded as the finder or finders
c.) the nature of the find circumstances – specifically where and when the item(s) was found.
The Eastbourne Society (East Sussex) has organised a temporary exhibition at the Eastbourne Heritage Centre on the many roles of local magistrates, the coroner in particular. The exhibition ‘Crime, Punishment and Local Justice’, runs through 29 October 2011. Among other things it sheds light on the coroner’s place in the Treasure process and provides information about the various stages involved in inquests into items of Treasure, their valuation and acquistion by museums. More information on the exhibition and the Eastbourne Heritage Centre can be found here.
With upwards of 20 cases of potential Treasure reported every year since 2004 in East Sussex, the coroner’s office there has certainly been well occupied in fulfilling its duties in this respect.
The Heritage Centre is run mostly by volunteers, and looks a lovely place to visit if you have the opportunity.
An item from Eastbourne recently acquired by the British Museum
Elaborate hairstyles, choral singing and Middle English were all on the menu at the most recent themed late opening of the British Museum. The ‘Medieval Late’ evening on Friday, 8 July saw the grounds and central area of the museum, as well as many of the galleries, open until 9:00pm while a host of themed events occurred throughout. The current major exhibition ‘Treasures of Heaven: saints, relics and devotion in medieval Europe’ was the obvious source of inspiration for the evening, and the starting point for the plethora of informational activities and refreshments available to guests.
The regular closing time for the British Museum is 5:30pm, so for some guests it undoubtedly came as a pleasant surprise to find that they weren’t being ushered towards the door at that time, but rather encouraged to stay for the festivities to come. There was something for everyone on the agenda: gallery talks and lectures for the studious, art classes and chances to dress-up for the hands-on, theatre and singing for the observant and food and drink for the, uh, gluttonous.
After hearing her speak at the staff opening of ‘Treasures of Heaven’, I wanted to attend project curator Anna Harnden’s gallery talk. Swelled to capacity, the southeast corner of the Medieval gallery (Room 40) is the home of the subject of Anna’s talk, a woodcut of the Virgin and Child with Eight Virgin Saints. For someone who doesn’t know his Catherine from his Barbara, this was a lively and useful overview of the lives and legends of some of the most important virgin saints (and their attributes), which is crucial to appreciating reliquaries on display in the main exhibition. Her introduction to the cult of saints also helped to put into context many of the objects which are found by members of the public and recorded by the PAS, like this recent find of a possible badge of St Ursula from Lancashire (LANCUM-61F133).
As many will appreciate, the panoply of spaces in the British Museum make it adaptable to a variety of uses, and the organisers of the ‘Medieval Late’ took advantage of this. Colleagues spoke in admiration at the wonderful sounds and atmosphere of the Enlightenment Gallery (Room 1) generated by the Renaissance Singers, who kept to the theme by including medieval songs in their repertoire. The Mausoleum of Halikarnassos gallery (Room 2) with its two specially-lit colossal statues formed the stage for a young acting troupe’s twist on Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, which was seen by an overflowing crowd of onlookers. Even a presentation on the art of medieval hairdressing for film and theatre was given a dramatic location in front of the Nereid Monument in Room 17.
The special period menu available in the Great Court was fairly adventurous and there were several guests who appeared to sample most of what was on offer: wild boar sausage, ox tongue, and pickled vegetables. I tried the hard-boiled duck egg with mustard sauce and spinach, which proved a heart, tasty treat for a reasonably-priced £1.50. I did feel that the caterers were ambitous in their attempt to sell bottles of ‘Mead’ – actually Fuller’s ‘Honey Dew’ Ale – for £5.00 each, but obviously the general public were happy to imbibe, as the beer sold out by 7:30pm.
I think the museum did well to put on a host of activities based on a central theme whilst at the same time allowing those who simply wanted to wander the galleries, visit the shops or enjoy the restaurants, the opportunity to do so at their own pace, without having the medieval world thrust upon them. Nonetheless the sheer size of the museum means that many events can be going on in disparate locations and it can be difficult for a visitor who does want to engage with the theme to decide what is worth attending. It would be great to see a specially constructed information ‘Hub’ on the forecourt or colonnade to grab the attention of guests as they enter the museum and direct them to the ongoing events and inform them of cancellations. That aside, the Medieval Late was an enjoyable, entertaining and worthwhile programme which greatly complimented the ongoing major exhibition. If they haven’t visited ‘Treasures of Heaven’ already, I’d bet this evening inspired a few more guests to check it out.
Currently on display in the Portable Antiquities & Treasure case in Gallery 41 of the British Museum is a selection of coins belonging to a hoard which represents the largest collection of Iron Age gold coins found since the mid-19th century. The selection of 50 coins accounts for only a small fraction (6%) of the entire hoard, which has 840 coins in total.
The Wickham Market (Suffolk) hoard was found in the Spring of 2008 by two metal detectorists, who also found the base and body parts of a wheel thrown ceramic jar. After identification and cataloguing by the Iron Age curator, Ian Leins, it was concluded that the majority of the coins were struck between 40BC- 15BC. This is a period of time linked with perhaps one of the best known tribes of Celtic Britain, the Iceni. The Iceni tribe occupied the area of Norfolk and Suffolk and were immortalised after being led by Boudica in a large scale revolt against the Roman legions.
Following the reporting of the hoard archaeologists from the Suffolk County Council Archaeological service were given the opportunity to excavate the site. This allowed them the chance to assess the area of deposition and investigate for other possible features. Topsoil excavation revealed that the coins were scattered a short distance from the original burial spot. An additional 52 coins were uncovered and the archaeologists were able to make several conclusions: that the location of the hoard conforms to other sites in Norfolk, where gold items have been found buried on high ground; that the site has a continuing phase of activity up to the end of the Roman period; and although tribal affinities in the area remain complex, it is believed that the coins, due to their contemporary value, may have been deposited as part of a ritual practice . In terms of qualifying as Treasure under the Treasure Act 1996 the find is clearly a single find, confirmed by the discovery of pot sherds of a contemporary date.
The Treasure Valuation Committee has recommended a valuation of £300,000 approved by the Secretary of State and agreed by all interested parties. From May 2011 Colchester and Ipswich Museum Service will also be displaying a selection of coins to begin its monumental task of raising the funds towards the acquisition of this find. The fundraising campaign will be a testament to an incredibly important discovery for this area of the country.
This weekend, for the third year out of the last four, the British Museum plays host to the annual Current Archaeology Conference. The conference is well-known for the breadth of topics covered and the diverse array of talented speakers taking part simultaneously across two lecture theatres. It also bestows its own unique set of reader-chosen awards, and the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) featured heavily in those given out this year.
Saturday’s papers featured several appearances by members of the PAS, the co-hosting organisation. Rob Collins, Finds Liaison Officer for the North East region, served as co-chair for the popular morning session on Hadrian’s Wall. Roger Bland, Head of the Portable Antiquities Scheme, chaired the specialist afternoon session on recent finds of Treasure, which saw talks given by the PAS’s Sam Moorhead (on the Frome Hoard), Ian Richardson (on the Hackney Double Eagle coins) and Laura McLean and Stephanie White (on the Burnham on Crouch Bronze Age Hoard). The British Museum’s Nick Ashton (Dept. of P&E) also delivered a fantastic account of the current work on the evidence for Britain’s oldest humans at Happisburgh, Norfolk, and Ian Leins (Dept. of C&M) anchored a prominent session on Britain’s Iron Age Celts.
Throughout the day, the tireless work of conference facilitator Philippa Walton kept things running smoothly and on time. In the large foyer of the British Museum’s Clore centre, amongst the collection of book and package-tour retailers, and the various other heritage advocacy groups, Wendy Scott, Adam Daubney, Stephanie Smith, Ros Tyrell, Danielle Wootton and Erica Darch manned the PAS desk and handed out numerous flyers and copies of annual reports to interested visitors.
The highlight of this first day’s events was the handing out of the Current Archaeology awards for the most outstanding work of the last year. The PAS made out fantastically well against stiff competition, with Sam Moorhead taking home the gilded trowel for Archaeologist of the Year for his work as a National Finds Advisor on Roman Coinage and in particular for his involvement in work on the Frome Hoard and for his publication of the popular ‘AD410: The Year that Shook Rome’. Sam’s acceptance speech attempted to deflect attention away from himself and he claimed his role with the PAS automatically exposed him to the type of popular interest stories that most archaeologists would not have the privilege of working on, but those voting had already taken that into account when making their decision. Sam also graciously led everyone in a toast to our recently departed colleague, the irreplaceable medieavalist Geoff Egan. The Excavation of the Frome Hoard received an award itself, for ‘Rescue Excavation of the Year’ and Sam Moorhead accepted that trophy on behalf of colleagues Anna Booth, Katie Hinds. Steve Minnit and the finder of the hoard, Dave Crisp.
Taking advantage of a unique opportunity to capture several hundred archaeologists together in one space on a Saturday evening, the organisers of the Current Archaeology conference treated all those present to a once-in-a-decade appearance by the (in)famous rock band ‘Timothy Darvill and the Standing Stones’. Displaying a surprising range of musical knowledge, the group (led by early morning presenter and lead guitarist Professor Timonthy Darvill of Bournemouth University) crooned away to songs from some of the industry’s best-known talents, from Elvis Prestly to CCR, the Beatles to the Rolling Stones, Blondie to the Kaiser Chiefs. What better way to end the evening than to pogo along with fan Julian Richards to ‘I Predict a Riot’? (Yes, we are geeks…)
Yesterday (13 December) staff from the department of Portable Antiquities & Treasure (PA&T) and Conservation and Scientific Research (CSR) took part in a host of activities as part of a ‘Treasure’ themed evening for the Friends of the British Museum. These evenings, where members have an exclusive opportunity to learn from the experts about current operations at the museum, are one of the advantages of being a ‘BM Friend’.
The Treasure Team was stationed in the Enlightenment Gallery with a selection of items that have been reported as potential Treasure and which have come to the museum for analysis and/or valuation. Hilary Orange took charge of the table and chose an array of objects designed to engage visitors with the concept of ‘Treasure’ and the intricacies of its definition. Among the items was a silver finger-ring NARC-EC8B41 from Northamptonshire, two of the largest Iron Age ingots from this case IOW-EAAFE2 on the Isle of Wight, and three Bronze Age palstaves from this hoard HAMP-4DE734 in Hampshire. Hilary and Caroline Lyons had also created a collage of press reports about finds of Treasure, and images of treasure items that had been valued, and used these to decorate the stand. The overall effect was to ensure that a constant stream of curious Friends visited with the team for over two and a half hours.
Caroline Lyons, Caroline Barton, Janina Parol and myself (Ian Richardson) also conducted gallery talks throughout the evening, taking visitors through the British Museum’s European Galleries in order to highlight a few of the more prominent cases of Treasure that the British Museum has acquired, both under the old law of Treasure Trove and under the ‘new’ Treasure Act. We also included as a point-of-interest the case in the Early Medieval gallery currently occupied by the Frome Hoard and the Hackney Hoard, and were able to use that to explain more fully about the logistics behind the Treasure Act, and that most things which come to the BM under the Act are in fact acquired by local museums. Sue Brunning, project curator in the Department of Prehistory and Europe, was at the same time drawing large crowds to her gallery talks about Sutton Hoo.
Meanwhile, in the depths of the Clore Centre, below the Great Court, Dan Pett used an internet connection to give live demonstrations of the PAS Database. This generated intense interest from some of the guests and Dan found himself the object of much attention through the evening. In the same part of the museum, Roger Bland and Sam Moorhead packed the largest lecture theatre with an enthralled audience as they detailed the history of the discovery, excavation, cataloguing and acquisition of the Frome Hoard.
In the Great Court itself, curious Friends were given insight into the scientific aspect of Treasure by Duncan Hook and Sue LaNiece of CSR. With their portable XRF machine, they demonstrated how metallic items can be tested for gold or silver content without having to incurring any physical damage at all. The original plan was for the Treasure Team to bring over one of the items it had on display, a replica Viking comb from Devon that was originally believed to be silver until analysis showed it to be made of modern pewter, in order that Sue and Duncan could show the visitors an ‘authentic’ case. However the volume of patrons who patrolled the Treasure desk made escape impossible!
Paula Carter, the co-ordinator of Members Open Evenings said:
It was a very busy evening and the Members were clearly very much engaged in the whole of the evening’s programme, there was a wonderful atmosphere and I heard lots of excited discussions amongst members and they compared notes on what they had seen so far
What I saw certainly reinforced that. Walking through the Great Court at the end of the evening two gentlemen in important looking suits were conversing together as they strode towards the exit.
‘I had no idea Britain had its own emperor,’ said one.
‘No, no, neither did I,’ returned his companion. ‘Fascinating’.
Whether they owe their newfound knowledge to Roger and Sam, or to the fevered cramming of an Assistant Treasure Registrar, proudly regaling the history of Carausius and the gold coin DENO-651C91 in our galleries, remains unknown.
Newark and Sherwood District Council have agreed to loan the Newark Torc to the British Museum, where it is now on display.
The Department of Prehistory & Europe has arranged a case in the Britain and Europe (800BC – AD43) gallery to display the Newark Torc alongside the British Museum’s own ‘Sedgeford Torc’, found in 1965. Both torcs date to the pre-Roman Iron Age and are composed of twisted gold wire strands attached to hollow terminals, embellished with ‘La Tene’ decoration. This design allowed for a natural flex in the band to accommodate the twisting action necessary to slip the decoration around the wearer’s neck.
The pairing of the torcs from Newark and Sedgeford enables visitors to appreciate both the magnificence of a complete example and the complex craftsmanship behind its construction, for historic damage to the Sedgeford Torc has created the effect of an exploded schematic and shows clearly the object’s separate components. The larger section of the torc has been slightly unwound and makes it easier to see the technique involved in braiding the gold wires; similarly, the dislocated terminal (found separately, in 2004 by the Sedgeford Historical Archaeology Research Project) allows visitors to see the way that the wires were joined together.
The Newark Torc was found in April 2005 and declared Treasure in May of that year. Subsequently acquired by Newark and Sherwood District Council, it is awaiting the creation of a suitable display space in the region. In the meantime, the exhibit at the British Museum assumes a place across the corridor from a larger showcase displaying the Great Torc from Snettisham and an assortment of torcs of different styles. As such, the Newark Torc nicely complements the BM’s Iron Age collection, and it is sure to have an even more significant impact when it goes home to Nottinghamshire.
Today marked the launch of the official Treasure Annual Report 2008, listing all of the cases of Treasure reported between 1 January and 31 December 2008. Astute observers will note the vast difference in appearance and content between this and recent reports; absent are colour photographs and detailed description of select cases, and the report does not include items reported to the PAS that were not considered under the Treasure Act. Legislation does not allow for a combined Portable Antiquities &Treasure Annual Report to be officially laid before Parliament and so the 2008 incarnation of that report (which is forthcoming) will have to be launched separately. Under the circumstances, it was decided to produce the concise report launched today as an interim measure.
This short document is, however, by no means something to be overlooked. Since 2005/2006, we have endeavoured to ensure that a PAS Database record has been created for each find of reported Treasure, and those associated reference numbers have appeared alongside the Treasure case numbers in those reports. In the Treasure Report 2008, one can likewise refer to the database numbers for all of the listed cases. Similarly, with the new database, Dan Pett has created a separate field for Treasure case numbers, so it is possible to search for cases with only this information to hand.
On the www.finds.org.uk site, if one clicks on the ‘Database’ tab at the top of the page, and then clicks on ‘Search database’ tab at the left, a cascading menu allows for the choice of ‘Advanced Search’. Following that link will allow for the user to tick a box labelled ‘Treasure find:’ and to input a ‘Treasure ID number’. If one inputs, for example, the number ‘2008 T200’, a database entry for that case (an Early Medieval hooked tag) is returned.
The Finds Liaison Officers, Treasure Team, and several hard working volunteers have worked to update these records as thoroughly as possible with photographs, disposition information, and 4-figure findspot information. They have also ‘promoted’ as many of these records as possible to ensure that members of the public,and not just academics, have easy access to this information. The functionality built into the website, enabling reports to be printed, photos to be zoomed in on, and information to be sorted according to a variety of criteria, means that the presentation of the Treasure report in this format is useful and adaptable.
I’d like to congratulate my colleagues on the Treasure Team, Caroline Barton, Caroline Lyons, Hilary Orange and Janina Parol on the launch of this report; to extend hearty thanks to our volunteers Siorna McFarlane and Emma Traherne and the FLOs for their untiring work on these database records, and thank Dan Pett for designing such a comprehensive and easy-to-use interface. To my mind, the integration of the database with the Treasure records proves further the degree to which the work of the PAS is crucial to the successful administration of the Treasure Act. Today’s news, that the BM will assume authority of the PAS, seems a natural transformation that will hopefully ensure the Scheme’s continued success and even greater collaboration in the administration of Treasure cases. Lastly, congratulations to Michael Lewis, the editor of this report and the forthcoming combined report, for all his work in ensuring these documents come to fruition.
7:00am is an exciting time to be at Liverpool Street Station, provided you’re heading out of town. While most of the human stream paddles off in the direction of the underground or the canyons of Bishopsgate and London Wall, you have the prospect of an empty carriage and a relaxed, takeaway breakfast to look forward to.
Three members of the Central Unit found themselves faced with such pleasant circumstances recently, as we left the confines of Russell Square for a one-day dig in East Essex, organized by Laura McLean, the indefatigable Finds Liaison Officer, and her assistant and resident expert in Field Archaeology, Kate Orr. Just a few weeks before, Laura had had reported to her a preponderance of Bronze Age artifacts from a scattered hoard, and crucially, the detectorists who had located the material had come across what they believed was an intact ceramic vessel at the bottom of the ploughsoil. Not wanting to risk damaging the item, and recognising that a more thorough investigation might provide more information about the site, the finders backfilled the hole and resolved to get further assistance. Laura, hoping to get out to the site with the appropriate resources as soon as possible, made the appeal for a bit of manpower from London.
After a short strategic meeting in the capital, plans were finalised for our trip on Tuesday the 12th of October, when Janina Parol and Caroline Barton joined me in the early morning train journey. Unbeknownst to us, we were sharing the same train as Gemma and Justin of the production team contracted for an upcoming BBC archaeology series. Our boss at the British Museum, Michael Lewis, had told Gemma about this small-scale operation, and intrigued at the possibility of filming ‘archaeology in action’, Gemma decided to come along. It was as we disembarked on the single-platform station in rural Essex that we saw Justin and Gemma (who we recognized from a filming of the Frome Hoard) and it suddenly clicked that they could only be headed to the same field that we were. Laura greeted us warmly while at the same time sarcastically thanking her luck in anticipation of having to talk in front of the camera. It was no time at all before her reluctance was a long-distant memory, and her confident explanations ensured that Gemma and Justin were able to capture reams of great footage.
Only a matter a miles from the wide expanse of the Thames Estuary, we parked up on the side of a narrowing lane, next to a cluster of vehicles whose owners were concentrated in a tight group about ¼ mile away in the abutting field. The finders had been more than willing to make an early start with Kate and Laura, and we saw as we approached the site that a 2 x 2 metre grid had already been marked out around the location of the pot. Detectors in hand, the four finders were also marking with stakes the spot of strong signals in the vicinity, while the farmer, his wife and mother welcomed us warmly. Their wellies and warm coats told us they were determined to stick around for a while on this crisp but clear morning in order to see what we uncovered. After a short series of introductions, I enjoyed a chat with Mr W Hill about the known archaeology of the fields and town whilst the girls threw themselves into the manual labour.
The 2 x 2 grid encompassed not only the ceramic vessel but another group of bronze items the gentlemen had located and then reburied, and a third strong signal. These were marked with thin sticks and we undertook the sweaty task of mattocking through the turf-like layer of vegetation. It was impossible to disregard the influence of agriculture on the land here, for even as we removed a layer of plants and exposed the looser soil, in the background churned an indomitable blue beast of a tractor, ploughing the adjacent field into rigid waves of dirt. The farmer told us there had once been an orchard taking up part of the site, but all evidence of the trees had disappeared many years earlier when they were expertly ripped up from the ground. So we weren’t surprised that below the turf level there were no visible features in the soil, other than the obvious holes that the finders had refilled.
With that knowledge in mind we were content to clear the entire trench down to the bottom of the ploughsoil. This task greatly increased the size of our spoil heap and the finders dutifully checked it over at regular intervals for anything metallic we may have missed. Small copper-alloy stains in soil regularly caught our eye as we trowelled through the fairly loose earth. Everyone found minute copper-alloy and ceramic fragments, which were dutifully bagged and set aside. It was during this process that I unearthed the largest fragment found so far
Caroline’s favoured implement, ‘Neville the Northern Trowel’, who came by that nom de guerre on a University College London dig, proved his worth in displacing large quantities of loam. By tea-time (which was really about noon) we were down to the bottom of the ploughsoil in most parts of the trench. The farmer fetched a lorry’s load of hot water, tea bags, instant coffee and biscuits and we took a short break from playing in the dirt. Staring at the work done so far and checking the progress of the sun across the sky, we decided we would have to concentrate on the still barely visible pot. Taking it in turns, with the finders themselves chipping in, we cleared out the remainder of the backfill surrounding the pot and then slowly excavated down around it. Kate and Janina were the first to appreciate the increased frequency of charcoal flecks in the soil to the south-east of the pot and the marked difference in its resistance to the trowel compared to the soil on the other side of the trench. So it was that to our eyes emerged a distinguishable cut, running to northeast across the trench, the border of which housed a tight group of bronze items, about two feet from the port, that Laura meticulously excavated.
Meanwhile we took it in turns to slowly take down the soil around the pot, inch by inch, revealing a broken but largely intact vessel, skewed to one side. One of the gentleman produced a ‘magic wand’ (as I am taking to calling the hand-held precision detector which proved to be very handy) and it gave off a strong reading on the pot itself, and so it was that even before we had brushed off the remaining soil from the top and seen the tell-tale blue-green assortment of items inside, we knew the pot would be very heavy to lift. The excitement grew as a small but distinctive handle appeared on one side. Despite the severe damage it had suffered, the large pot was held intact by the mud on both sides, and we started wrapping it in cling film at the earliest opportunity. Thankfully Claire has supplied us with more than enough! Every few inches, another sheet of film was wound around the vessel, with the result that while we have a good idea of its overall shape, none of us present that day were able to see the pot in its entirety.
Finally the sides tapered off and we neared the bottom, and operations were halted to allow for planning of the trench and the objects inside. Kate employed Janina to help her plot out everything in scale. We had by that time also decided that the delicate task before us required a full stomach so we wolfed down the sandwiches we’d brought along for that purpose. The camera crew hurriedly changed a tape and made us promise not to lift the pot until they were ready, and we were more than happy to oblige.
When everyone was ready to go the actual lifting of the pot happened quickly and smoothly. Like the decisive blow of an axe that fells a mighty tree, so it was that one last probe with the trowel was enough to break the earth’s hold on the vessel and in a single motion it was lifted by several of us and placed in a plastic box, cushioned against any movement. At virtually the same time, Laura released from the ground the last of the intentionally broken bronze axeheads that she had been operating on and stored them safely away.
With that, much of the precision work was complete. Caroline aided several of the finders who were investigating signals outside of the trench, but these largely came to naught, and the work turned to the filling in of the trench. As the finds and equipment were packed away, the spoil head was thoroughly redeposited and in a short time we were walking away from a large brown square in an otherwise uniformly green field, with no other sign of our days’ work. But tucked safely away we carried with us knowledge of two sorts; the ancient Bronze Age artefacts themselves and the information about their precise location in the landscape and within the soil. We’re hoping that taken together, and combined with the items already handed in by the finders, we can begin to piece together a better picture of the activity taking place on this field 3,000 years ago.
It was refreshing to spend a day with a group of people so excited about the prehistory of the area. Looking out to the unspoiled horizon, Mr G Starr told us of his and his friends’ role in a local debate about the building of new wind turbines and their campaigning for an archaeological impact assessment as part of the approval process. Laura’s car was full of passengers, and Mr C Mann kindly gave us a lift to the station in his van and pointed out the highlights of the High Street as we trundled down the road. On the train back into London, empty again, we spread out across the benches and dozed, happy to have taken part in a small way in a case that occupied one folder of the 800 hanging in our filing cabinet.
Stay tuned for more on this story, as Laura updates us on the research into the items, and we provide updates on the hoard’s progress through the Treasure system.
The American gold double eagles from Hackney, for which the coroner has recently opened an inquest, are now on display at the British Museum. They can be found in the Portable Antiquities & Treasure case in the Early Medieval Gallery (Room 41) on the 1st floor. The coins are intended to remain on show until the conclusion of the inquest in early February 2011.
The Treasure Team are thankful for the cooperation of colleagues from the Museum of London and the British Museum for making this display possible.
An inquest was opened at St Pancras Coroner’s Court on Monday, 18 October 2010, in relation to a hoard of American gold twenty-dollar coins found in the borough of Hackney, Greater London.
The inquest has been opened to determine whether the hoard qualifies as Treasure. Because the coins are less than 300 years’ old, in order to qualify as Treasure they need to meet the following criteria:
1. Made of gold or silver
2. Deliberately concealed by the owner with a view to later recovery
3. The owner, or his or her present heirs or successors, must be unknown
The inquest will be resumed and concluded at the Poplar Coroner’s Court on the 8th day of February 2011.
The coins were reported to Kate Sumnall, Finds Liaison Officer for the Portable Antiquities Scheme, based at the Museum of London. They number 80 in total and were minted in the United States between 1854 and 1913, and all are $20 denominations of the type known as ‘Double-Eagle’.
The coins, some of which are less than 100 years’ old, would not be the youngest items to fall under the definition of ‘Treasure’ or the earlier legal category of ‘Treasure Trove’ – there are cases of more recent British coins, including a hoard of silver threepences from Abbey Hulton, Staffordshire dating to 1943 which were declared Treasure Trove. However, this find is totally unprecedented in the United Kingdom. The value of the coins at the time of their deposit would have been very substantial; this coupled with the fact that the coins are a specific type of foreign currency, points to a compelling story behind their collection and concealment.
As the coins are composed predominantly of precious metal, they will qualify as ‘Treasure’ under the terms of the Treasure Act 1996 and thus become the property of the Crown, if the coroner finds that they have been buried with the intent of future recovery. However if the original owner or his or her heirs are able to establish their title to the coins, this will override the Crown’s claim.
The coroner has suspended the inquest until 8 February 2011 order to allow possible claimants to come forward. Anyone with any information about the original owners of the coins, their heirs or successors, should provide this to me, the Treasure Registrar, at the British Museum. Claims should be submitted before the coroner concludes the inquest. We will require evidence about how, when, where and why they were concealed and evidence upon which the Museum can be sure of the ownership by any potential claimant. Our office will work in cooperation with the Coroner and with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, on whose behalf we perform the administration of Treasure cases, to evaluate claims of ownership.
There is no penalty for mistaken claims made in good faith but any false claims may be reported to the police for consideration of charges of perverting the course of justice, or other offences of dishonesty.
If no valid claim is made for the coins, and the Coroner finds them to be Treasure, the coins would then be valued by the Treasure Valuation Committee at their full market value. Hackney Museum has expressed an interest in acquiring the coins, so upon agreement of the valuation, it would have up to four months to raise the money to pay for the hoard, and this sum would be divided between the owner of the land and the finder.
The Treasure Act 1996 established a set of criteria that archaeological finds have to meet in order to be classed as ‘Treasure’, among which is a requirement that the item be over 300 years old at the time of recovery. For instance, finds made in 2010 would normally have to date from 1710 or earlier to qualify. But the Treasure Act also made provision for any finds that would have qualified as ‘Treasure Trove’ under the old legislation (items of precious metal, buried with the intent of future recovery, whose owners could not be traced) but which fail the other tests to nevertheless be classed as ‘Treasure’. This is one such circumstance, and the first in recent years which has not been disclaimed by the Crown.
Dr Barrie Cook of the British Museum (Department of Coins and Medals) stated in his report to the coroner:
The 80 coins are all gold 20-dollar pieces of the United States, issued between 1854 and 1913. The coins are thus all the same denomination, introduced in this form in 1850, and were struck to the same standard, 90% gold, used from 1837 until the end of US gold coinage in 1933. The catalogue shows that the coins gradually increase in number across the decades from 1870 to 1909 (13 coins from 1870-9; 14 from 1880-89; 18 from 1890-99; and 25 from 1900-9). Over a quarter of the total were issued in the last 6 six years represented. Together these factors suggest that the material began to be put aside during this later period, rather than being built up systematically across a range of time represented. The main element among this latest material are the 17 coins dating to 1908, which suggests that a single batch of coins from that year might have formed the core for the group.
A catalogue of the hoard runs as follows:
Date Mint Total number in find
1854 San Francisco 1
1867 San Francisco 1
1870 San Francisco 1
1875 Carson City 1
1875 San Francisco 1
1876 San Francisco 5
1876 Philadelphia 2
1877 San Francisco 2
1877 Philadelphia 1
1881 San Francisco 1
1882 San Francisco 2
1883 San Francisco 3
1884 San Francisco 2
1885 San Francisco 1
1888 San Francisco 4
1889 San Francisco 1
1890 Philadelphia 1
1891 San Francisco 1
1893 San Francisco 1
1894 San Francisco 4
1896 San Francisco 3
1898 San Francisco 4
1899 San Francisco 4
1900 San Francisco 2
1901 San Francisco 3
1902 San Francisco 2
1905 San Francisco 2
1907 Philadelphia 1
1908 Philadelphia 17
1909 Philadelphia 1
1910 Philadelphia 1
1913 Philadelphia 3
1913 Denver 1
The images above are copyright the Museum of London.
Contacts:
Ian Richardson, Treasure Registrar, British Museum, London WC1B 3DG, tel.: 020 7323 8546, e-mail: treasure@thebritishmuseum.ac.uk
Kate Sumnall, Finds Liaison Officer & Community Archaeologist, Department of Archaeological Collections and Archive, Museum of London, 150 London Wall, London EC2Y 5HN; tel.: 020 7814 5733; e-mail: ksumnall@museumoflondon.org.uk
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