Detectorist finds haul of 'treasure' coins in field

A former lorry driver has relived the moment he discovered a hoard of 18 post-medieval silver coins in Derbyshire that have been declared as treasure.

Derby Coroner's Court heard on Tuesday the coins found by detectorist Tim Cox on 1 August in the parish of Longford dated from between 1564 and 1604.

As the items were more than 300 years old and at least 10% precious metal, they were deemed to meet the requirements of the Treasure Act 1996.

Speaking after the treasure inquest, Cox, 62, told the BBC he couldn't believe it" when he first found the collection of coins which depict the faces of monarchs Elizabeth I and James I.

"Part of being a metal detectorist is many many days you're finding rubbish," he said.

"We go through long periods of time finding nothing, and then you get a find like the one I made on 1 August, and it's just wonderful."

The 62-year-old retired long-distance lorry driver said he first bought a metal detector in 1979 when his dad took him to Birmingham and he had got back into it about four years ago.

He said he found the collection of coins on land he had covered "many times before" and he had probably walked very close to the spot previously.

"I got this signal, I started digging and I thought 'oh it's probably a tin can' because a tin can can give you such a good signal like gold or silver," he said.

"I looked down and when I found the first coin I couldn't believe it."

Cox said he rang his wife and told her "come and have a look what I found", adding "I'm not sure what it is yet, but it's looking good".

"In the time from making the phone call I was just digging one up after the other in quite a smallish spread, " he said. "It's just amazing, it's a wonderful experience."

Items designated as treasure become the property of the Crown and can be acquired by museums for public display.

Concluding the hearing, Sophie Lomas, assistant coroner for Derby and Derbyshire, said she would notify the British Museum of the findings and she understood Derby Museum had expressed an interest in acquiring the items.

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