Coins and viking silver declared treasure trove items

Tue, 03 Apr 2012

Douglas Courthouse

A hoard of silver coins dating back to the 1300s and a piece of Viking silver have been declared Treasure Trove items by a Coroner.

Two inquests were heard yesterday to decide the fate of finds discovered by local metal detectorists.

The first was a section of a Viking arm-band found in a field in Patrick.

It was uncovered last August by Peel man Robert Middleton.

Curator of Archaeology at the Manx Museum Alison Fox says the band would have been used as currency as well as jewellery.

The second inquest was for 66 coins found on farmland near Ballasalla.

Peel man Johnny Lewis unearthed them over the space of a couple of months.

In both cases the Coroner decided that the items would have been deliberately hidden in the ground rather than accidentally lost.

It was this factor that determined they should be treasure trove.

They’ll now find homes in the museum.

Mr Lewis is happy with his discovery and looking forward to seeing the coins on display.

Full report from Amy Mulhern [play clip]