Lindsey hoard is declared Treasure

Last Friday (August 13th), a hoard of coins stashed in the reign of Charles I during the English Civil War was been declared treasure. It was found by detectorists Luke Mahoney, Daniel Hunt and Matt Brown in July 2020 in a field in Lindsey, Suffolk. It has become known as the Lindsey Hoard. The hoard contained 1,069 silver coins from the reigns of all monarchs from Edward VI to Charles I.

During the inquest, held in Ipswich, it was heard Suffolk County Council assisted with an excavation after the coins were initially uncovered. A total of 622 coins were recovered by the excavation, most still situated within a ceramic vessel, while the remainder were found spread in the surrounding topsoil. It is believed the hoard is worth £100,000. It is the second largest hoard to found from the reign of Charles I. The largest was discovered in Ashdon, Essex, and contained two gold and 1,201 silver coins.

The three friends who found it tell of how they stayed up for three nights in July 2020 to guard their find. At the coroner’s court there was some dispute about how large the find was as the finders believe 11 coins had gone missing. The coroner said “They may have been lost, may have genuinely been taken, or never have existed.” The matter has been referred to Suffolk police to investigate.