Midlands Investigations team
British MuseumA coin missing from a stolen Viking hoard has been discovered for sale in Croydon, London.
George Powell and Layton Davies, from Wales, dug up more than 300 silver coins and gold jewellery in a Herefordshire field in 2015.
If the metal detectorists had declared the hoard, they could have been millionaires, but instead they sold it for profit and were sent to prison.
Ten years since the treasure was discovered, more than 230 coins are still missing and police investigations are ongoing.
In 2019, Powell and Davies, from Pontypridd, were convicted of stealing the hoard of gold jewels and silver coins and hiding the find.
As he sent them to jail, Judge Nicholas Cartright told the jury at Worcester Crown Court that they had “stolen from the nation”.
Photos taken by the pair showed more than 300 coins in a freshly dug hole but only 72 of them have been found.
Police believe they are in the hands of organised crime gangs across the world and now one has been found on sale in London.
“We have been notified by colleagues at the Metropolitan Police that a coin, believed to be part of the Herefordshire Hoard, has surfaced for sale in Croydon,” said Det Insp Ben Pearson, from West Mercia Police.
“Enquiries are ongoing to establish how this coin came to be in London.
“Some of the hoard remains unaccounted for and we remain open-minded as to its whereabouts.
“We will continue to investigate any items that come to light and may be linked.”
British MuseumExperts believed the coins were Anglo-Saxon and to have been hidden by Vikings.
The hoard also included a Ninth Century gold ring, a crystal rock pendant, a dragon’s head bracelet and an ingot.
METAPHORThe hoard will soon take pride of place in the Hereford Museum and Art Gallery which is having a £22m restoration.
After £776,250 was raised to bring them back to the county, they are set to go on public display in a purpose-built exhibition space.
“We would love to have the missing pieces of this extraordinary hoard returned to their rightful place in Herefordshire,” said Damian Etheraads, from Hereford Museum.
