Hoard of coins found by detectorist in field is Elizabethan

Mark Dignam found a hoard of coins dating back to the reign of Elizabeth I in a field in Claydon, near Banbury.

A member of the Oxford Blues Metal Detecting Club, he also found a hoard of old coins in Stanton St John.

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Mr Dignam said at the time: “I found one hoard – the Elizabeth I coins – in the parish of Claydon, and the other in Stanton St John.

“I search for relics using a metal detector – I have been detecting for many years.

“With the Elizabeth I coins, I thought it was only one coin and then got another signal, and it was another coin then another and so on – there were 18 in total in an area of two square metres.”

Elizabethan coins found by Mark Dignam (Image: Mark Dignam)

Mr Dignam added that the Stanton St John hoard was found on a club dig with his metal detecting club with the coins all discovered in one hole.

 A gold object was also found at Cuddesdon on a dig.

The detectorist said the coins found in Claydon have been classified as treasure under the Treasure Act, and he has been told that they will be purchased.

The Aylesbury-based Metal Detectives Group is also active in Oxfordshire, and its members last month found some Roman brooches. The location has not yet been revealed.

If a metal detectorist finds coins and those coins meet the criteria outlined in the Treasure Act of 1996 for England and Wales, they are classified as treasure. 

This means the find is not the property of the detectorist, but belongs to the Crown. 

The Treasure Act applies if the coins are at least 300 years old and there are at least 10 of them in the find. 

This means the find is not the property of the detectorist, but belongs to the Crown. 

Finders of treasure must report it to the local coroner within 14 days.

The Crown becomes the owner of the treasure, and museums can then acquire it.

However, if you find treasure you may be in line for financial compensation from the Government.

In England, Wales and Scotland, you need permission from the landowner to go metal detecting, unless the site is historically protected, in which case all metal detecting is illegal.

The popularity of the BBC comedy drama series Detectorists is likely to have encouraged more people to try out metal detecting.

Starring Toby Jones, who was a pupil at Abingdon School, and Mackenzie Crook, Detectorists ran for three series between 2014 and 2017.

The series is set in the fictional small town of Danebury in north Essex.

The plot revolves around the lives, loves and metal-detecting ambitions of Andy and Lance, members of the Danebury Metal Detecting Club.

The main filming location for the series was Framlingham, a small market town in Suffolk.

Christmas specials were screened in 2015 and 2022.

In 2024, a ‘magical’ medieval ring found in a field near Abingdon raised thousands of pounds at auction.

The Drayton Medieval gold ring set with a sapphire and bearing an inscription dated from about 1200 -1300AD.

The ring was found by Chris Weir, who was out with his metal detector near Drayton, in 2018.