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Daily Mail
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Treasure hunter finds huge silver coin hoard two months after being inspired by BBC comedy Detectorists to take up hobby
A treasure hunter who was inspired by BBC comedy Detectorists to take up the hobby found a £50,000 silver coin hoard just two months later. Steve Hickman, 59, bought a second hand metal detector from eBay after watching the hit TV show starring Mackenzie Crook and Toby Jones. He secured a 'permission' to search farmland near his home in Buckinghamshire, even though he was told nothing of significance had been found there for over a century. On a wet day in February 2023 he got a strong signal on his device and dug down to unearth a pottery vessel filled with silver coins. In total, there were 1,064 coins spanning the reigns of Elizabeth I in the 1560s to Charles I in the 1640s. The latest coins had been minted a few months before the Battle of Aylesbury during the English Civil War in November 1642. The battle, at Holman's Bridge, saw the heavily outnumbered Parliamentarian forces defeat Prince Rupert's Royalists. The vessel may have been a wage pot to pay soldiers who fought in the battle, or the life savings of a wealthy individual who had planned to flee. Mr Hickman, a joiner from Princes Risborough, Bucks, carefully recovered them all and took them home to lay out on his dining room table before contacting the Finds Liaison Officer to report his historic find. He is now selling the hoard, which includes 409 Charles I silver shillings and rare Aberystwyth mint issues, at Essex Coin Auctions. He said he wanted to personally thank Mackenzie Crook, who created Detectorists, for helping him discover the pastime. The father-of-two said: 'It was complete beginner's luck and I had only been detecting for two and a half months. 'I must credit MacKenzie Crook as it was his series Detectorists that got me interested in the first place. 'Without it, I would not have started. 'It inspired me to go to my local detecting club and the people I met were just like the characters on the show, with the same banter. 'It was brilliant and I decided to buy a second-hand metal detector on eBay. 'I was searching the farm land and the landowner said his family had owned it since 1920 and nothing significant had ever been found! 'I suddenly got a really strong signal and dug down 9ins but there was nothing there, so I covered the hole up. 'I thought perhaps the para-cables were messing with the detector. 'But after 20 minutes I decided to have another try and dug the hole again, and at a foot down I saw silver and reached down to pick up a fistful of silver coins. 'One of them had Elizabeth I's face on it and I got more and more excited. 'It took 15 handfuls to fill the bag with coins which weighed 8kg. 'I took the coins home and laid them all out on my dining room table. 'For me, the monetary value is immaterial, as it is all about having that personal connection with the English Civil War. 'I crouched down at exactly the same spot as the person who buried that wage pot nearly 400 years ago.' Auctioneer Adam Staples said: 'This exciting Civil War hoard was uncovered near Aylesbury and consists of 1,064 silver coins hidden within a now broken pottery vessel. 'The earliest coins in the hoard date to the reign of Elizabeth I, and James I is represented by his English, Irish and Scottish issues. 'The latest coins were minted in the autumn of 1642, the beginning of the English Civil War and just prior to the Battle of Aylesbury, which took place a few miles away at Holman's Bridge. 'Amongst the coinage of Charles I are 409 silver shillings, including rare coins struck locally at Oxford, on which King Charles declared to uphold the Protestant Religion, the Laws of England, and the Liberty of Parliament. 'There are also very rare issues from the Aberystwyth mint. 'It is a wonderful discovery.' The sale takes place on June 12.
Telegraph
28-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
British men held in Norway over £1.5m haul of silver coins
Two British men have been imprisoned after transporting £1.5 million in silver coins across a Norwegian city. Samuel Cook, a 31-year-old father of one, and an unnamed former Royal Marine are being held in a high-security Norwegian prison, accused of money laundering. Last month, they were hired by a UK-based company to move 500kg of silver coins between two locations in Oslo, according to Mr Cook's family. The pair, who did not know each other before the job, were on their way to drop off the package when they were stopped by police and arrested on suspicion of aggravated robbery. A month on, Mr Cook, from Exeter in Devon, and his companion remain in the Ringerike prison. On May 22, police successfully appealed to keep them detained for a month longer, according to Mr Cook's father. 'It was legal and above board' He said the pair, who deny any wrongdoing, did not know why they were being held and thought they had been employed to transport goods. Odd Martin Helleland, Mr Cook's solicitor, confirmed that the 31-year-old had been charged with negligent money laundering. Mr Helleland said Oslo district court felt there was 'reasonable ground for suspicion' and detained him for a further four weeks. Steve Cook, Samuel Cook's father and a Royal Marine from Exeter, said: 'I got a phone call four weeks ago saying they have been stopped by police. 'As far as Samuel and his co-worker were concerned, it was all legal and above board. The role is to do secure deliveries and escort people, but you don't really know your mission until you arrive.' He said they had been hired as couriers 'in good faith' at a rate of £250 a day for three days, adding: 'Who would risk prison for £750?' The pair were hired on April 21 by an unnamed company, which contacted their workplace. Their transport and accommodation were arranged for them, Steve Cook said. They then flew out to Oslo from Heathrow, but were arrested on April 22. 'Negligent money laundering' He said the British embassy informed him this week that the reason for their detention was now considered alleged 'negligent money laundering' rather than robbery. The pair appeared at a hearing at Oslo district court with solicitors last Thursday, when they were told they would be detained for another month. Translated court documentation said it was deemed highly probable that the silver coins were proceeds of illegal activity. The Court of Appeal argued that the circumstances suggested that the two 'most likely understood' that the coins may have been obtained through criminal offences. But Mr Cook Sr said his son, who is registered disabled due to having bipolar disorder, ADHD and depression, had no criminal record and would not knowingly commit a crime. A Foreign Office spokesman said: 'We are supporting two British men detained in Norway and are in contact with the local authorities.' The Norwegian Correctional Service said it was 'prohibited by law from disclosing information about individual inmates'. A spokesman for Oslo police said: 'This case has been transferred to the National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime [Okokrim].' The state prosecutor Jon André Hvoslef-Eide, of Okokrim, said: 'We can confirm that the arrests are linked to an investigation in Norway. The investigation is ongoing and we therefore have no further comments.'
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Man Finds Nearly 1,500 Priceless Ancient Coins While Out for a Walk: Thought He Might Be 'in a Dream'
A man recently discovered nearly 1,500 silver coins from ancient Rome while hiking in a field in Romania Local Marius Mangeac was walking with his metal detector, as he "often" does, when the detector emitted a "strong signal," so he started digging Mangeac ultimately turned the coins over to local authorities, but says he hopes to show his child the treasure in a museum someday, "where I can explain I was lucky enough to discover a page [from] the history of our people"A man recently discovered nearly 1,500 silver coins from ancient Rome while hiking. Romanian man Marius Mangeac made the discovery in April while walking with his metal detector in a field near Letea Veche, a small village in the southern part of the country. Mangeac posted about the find in a Facebook post translated from Romanian, writing that he 'did not predict anything would come' of the excursion when he left his home to take a walk that day — and definitely did not think he would come "face to face with history." 'I took my detector and left alone, as I often do, to exercise and to relax in the fields and the forests,' he wrote. Mangeac went on to explain that he uncovered the coins after his metal detector generated a 'strong signal' from a specific spot of grass, adding, 'I could feel my heart beating quite hard and I even thought about pinching myself to convince myself that I was not in a dream.' Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. The local said that — after spending 'two days' meticulously 'taking pictures of every coin" — he ultimately handed them over to the local town hall. 'I hope that one day I will go with my child to the museum, where I can explain how I was lucky enough to discover a page [from] the history of our people,' he added in his post. Mangeac told Romanian news station TVR Info that he hadn't even originally planned to go walking in the field that day. 'Initially, I wanted to go to the forest, but there was tall grass, and I saw this field, and I thought I should go to the field, try it,' he told the outlet. He says he started digging and eventually hit something. 'There was a loud noise from the shovel, and when I dug further, I saw that there were shards and coins,' he said, recalling that he initially did not know what to do. TVR noted that two officers carefully counted the coins after Mangeac brought them to city hall, and the town's mayor, Marian Negru, told the outlet that tourists now have yet another reason to visit their town, which is steeped in Roman history. The silver coins — called denarii — were introduced in Rome in 211 B.C. and were the dominant form of currency for about 500 years, per the Art Institute of Chicago. The coins typically featured the faces of key gods and goddesses on one side, and depicted things like animals, natural resources and other important symbols to the empire on the other. The Institute notes that the goddess Roma, who was 'the personification of Rome,' was the most popular image on the silver denarii for many years. Read the original article on People
