Find Spot record MDO22587 - Shaftesbury Hoard of Anglo-Saxon Silver Coins

A hoard of 92 silver coins dating from 1002-3 was unearthed just outside the town centre of Shaftesbury, in the New Road area around 1939-1942. The discovery may have been made during the construction of an air raid shelter. The coins were concealed in a wooden box and buried, possibly by a trader before entering the town of Shaftesbury.

In the 1941 issue of the British Numismatic Journal Mr. A.H. Baldwin [the London coin and medal dealer] recorded that a most interesting parcel of Anglo-Saxon silver coins had been "discovered among certain property left by an inhabitant of Shaftesbury". The parcel comprised 65 coins of Aethelred II Long Cross type. They had been meticulously described by Mr. Derek Allen, and his notes were preserved by Mr. Baldwin. Thirteen of the coins were retained by Mr. Baldwin [the rest presumably being disposed of in the course of business] and one was traced to the possession of Mr. Elmore Jones.

A second parcel of the same hoard was reported "recently" by Mr. Teulon Porter. The hoard was found on the outskirts of Shaftesbury, not a couple of hundred yards outside the defences of the Saxon Burgh. It had evidently been contained in a wood or leather coffer with iron bands, and was found by two workmen "only a few months prior to the appearance of the coins on the London market" [i.e. about 1939-40.] No other antiquity was found in the vicinity. The hoard numbered roughly 100 coins all told and Mr. Teulon Porter sent 27 to the British Museum, so that 92 coins were accounted for in all.

These 92 coins were from 64 obverse and 65 reverse dies. No fewer than 48 personal names occur on the reverses and the coins were probably the work of 54 separate moneyers. They were from 21 different Mints, just under a third of them from the York Mint, while Lincoln and York together provided very nearly half of the total. The types suggest that the hoard was deposited between 997 and 1003 AD, and the preponderance of coins from the York and Lincoln Mints, coupled with the fact that they had been contained in a durable coffer, and not in the usual pottery vessel of domestic hoards, might mean that the deposit was made by a merchant from the Danelaw as a precaution before entering Shaftesbury. If this was the case it is possible that he perished in the St. Brice's massacre of November 13th 1002. <1>

In 1942 a hoard of about 120 Saxon silver coins was found by two workman digging an air-raid shelter [the find-spot was indicated by Mr. Teulon Porter as "within 6 ft. of "ST 86182313]. The hoard was about two feet below the surface and according to one of the men was found "with fragments of iron enclosed in a brown muddy material". The coins were sold privately, most of them to an individual who took them to Canada. Of those which remained in the neighbourhood 27 were recovered and sent to the British Museum. The coins were of Etherlred's reign and in mint condition. The exact number is not known. Many of them were given to evacuee children.

The only air-raid shelter in the vicinity of the spot indicated by Mr. Teulon Porter belongs to Mr. Pike, a Garage proprietor. He stated that the shelter was erected about the time of Munich, but doubted if anything was found.

At Mr Teulon Porter's request field investigation was restricted (the circumstances of the find are wrapped in some secrecy for fear of Treasure Trove proceedings), but the discovery of a hoard of unidentified silver coins, the subject of a Coroner's inquest in 1931, was brought to light and some of the circumstances attached to it bear a resemblance to those described above, though the find-spot was apparently different. <2>

<1> 1953, British Numismatic Journal, 212 ff (Serial). SDO18627.

<1.1> 1941, British Numismatic Journal (Serial). SDO18628.

<2> Rigg, J, Field Investigators Comments JR, F1 JR 17-MAR-56 (Unpublished document). SWX1255.

<2.1> Teulon Porter, Noel, Oral: N Teulon Porter, 1.2.56 and 17.3.56 (Verbal communication). SDO18629.

<3> Dolley, R H M, Oral: Letter from R H M Dolley, Assistant Keeper, Dept of Coins and Medals, The British Museum, 17.7.56 (Verbal communication). SDO18630.

"...While in Sweden I did further work on the Shaftesbury hoard and I think there can be no doubt but that the date is 1002 or 1003. I very much favour the St. Brice's Massacre theory."

<4> National Record of the Historic Environment, 206499 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Apr 11 2024 12:12PM