In an extraordinary discovery, a massive hoard of 131 Anglo-Saxon gold coins and four additional gold objects has been unearthed in west Norfolk, England, dating back approximately 1,400 years to the early 600s AD. This find, described as “hugely important” by Gareth Williams, curator of early medieval coins at the British Museum, is the largest Anglo-Saxon coin hoard ever discovered, surpassing the previous record set in Hampshire in 1828, which contained 101 coins.
The Norfolk hoard, found by an anonymous metal detectorist between 2014 and 2020, with the first coin identified in 1991, offers a remarkable glimpse into the economy and cultural connections of early Anglo-Saxon England. The coins, scattered across a wide area likely due to centuries of ploughing, were discovered near an Anglo-Saxon cemetery, suggesting they may have been part of a barrow-burial. According to numismatist Dr. Adrian Marsden from the Norfolk Historical Environment Service, many of these coins were struck using the same die as those found in a purse at the famous Sutton Hoo ship burial in Suffolk, a site from the same era renowned for its royal treasures
Most of the coins in the Norfolk hoard are Frankish tremisses, small gold coins from the Merovingian dynasty, which ruled over modern-day France and parts of Western Europe. Nine larger gold solidi from the Byzantine Empire, each worth three tremisses, were also uncovered. These coins, minted in regions such as Frisia (modern-day northern Holland), Austrasia (parts of modern-day Germany and Austria), and the French regions of Aquitaine, Burgundy, and Provence, indicate extensive trade networks across the European continent. Dr. Marsden suggests the hoard likely belonged to an English individual with strong ties to the Merovingian kingdom, possibly a traveling merchant, as proposed by Ian Richardson, senior treasure registrar at the British Museum.
In addition to the coins, the hoard includes four gold objects: a gold bracteate (a stamped pendant used as jewelry), a small gold bar, and two fragments likely from larger jewelry pieces. These artifacts, some previously known only through a lost 1666 book of drawings, add to the hoard’s historical significance.
Area coroner Yvonne Blake noted that the coins’ dispersal over a wide area was likely caused by agricultural activity. While the anonymous detectorist responsibly reported the finds, a second detectorist, David Cockle, a serving police officer, was caught attempting to conceal and profit from part of the hoard. He was convicted, suspended from duty, and sentenced to 16 months in prison in 2017.
This remarkable discovery, close in date to the Sutton Hoo burial, not only doubles the size of the previously largest known Anglo-Saxon coin hoard but also promises to reshape our understanding of early medieval England’s economy and its connections to the wider world. As Williams stated, “It must be seen alongside other recent finds from East Anglia and elsewhere, and will help to transform our understanding of the economy of early Anglo-Saxon England.”