In a dramatic twist to a tale of greed and deception, Roger Pilling, a 77-year-old metal detectorist from Loveclough, Lancashire, has been ordered to repay £103,000 or face an additional year behind bars. The ruling, handed down on April 24 at Teeside Crown Court, stems from Pilling’s audacious attempt to sell a trove of rare ninth-century Anglo-Saxon coins, valued at a staggering £766,000, to an undercover police officer posing as an expert for a wealthy American buyer.
Pilling, alongside his accomplice Craig Best, 48, from Bishop Auckland, County Durham, was convicted in May 2023 at Durham Crown Court for conspiring to sell 44 ancient coins, believed to have been buried by a Viking over a millennium ago. Among the hoard were two exceptionally rare two-headed coins depicting Alfred of Wessex and Ceolwulf II of Mercia, crafted between 874 CE and 879 CE. These treasures, part of the larger undeclared Herefordshire or Leominster Hoard discovered in 2015, were never reported as required under treasure laws, marking a brazen violation of heritage protections.
The scheme unraveled when the duo attempted to sell the coins to a legitimate American collector, who grew suspicious of the rare artifacts’ sudden availability. Alerting UK experts, the collector’s tip-off triggered a police sting operation, leading to the recovery of 44 coins—though two, which Pilling claimed he had broken, remain missing. The sting culminated in Pilling’s and Best’s convictions, with Pilling sentenced to over five years in prison.
Adrian Foster, Chief Crown Prosecutor for the CPS Proceeds of Crime Division, condemned Pilling’s actions, stating, “Roger Pilling intended to sell these rare and important coins for his own gain. He knew they were stolen treasure but chose to profit from them instead of reporting the crime.” Foster emphasized the CPS’s collaboration with police to assess Pilling’s ill-gotten gains, ensuring the confiscation order reflects his available assets. “We will always work to ensure that crime does not pay,” he added.
The court’s ruling sends a clear message: plundering history for personal profit comes at a steep price. Pilling now has three months to repay the £103,000 or face an additional 12 months in prison, a stark reminder that the law will not tolerate the theft of cultural treasures. The recovered coins, part of a hoard worth millions, stand as a testament to Britain’s rich past, now safeguarded from the hands of those who sought to exploit it.