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The Prestwich Hoard
In early 1972, construction work in a school playground in Sedgley Park led to the chance discovery of national importance. Mr Tasker the school caretaker was overseeing bulldozer work to level the area to create a playing field for the school. A stash of buried coins was found, buried just yards from what is now Bury New Road.
The coins were in a pot vase that was damaged during the discovery.
When King Henry I died in 1135, he had declared his daughter Matilda to inherit England. However his nephew Stephen, with the backing of the church, succeeded him, which upset Matilda.
One theory as to how the hoard came to be buried, was that it was a tax return from 1240, when Pope Gregory IX had imposed a tax of 50% on all the churches in England to finance his war against Emperor Frederick II of Rome (1194-1250). During the collection, which you can imagine was highly resented by the population, the Pope died (1241) and the tax collectors fled for their lives, burying their collections for their return under safer times. If this is the case then the coins might have been collected from St Mary's Church in Prestwich.
A notable local find in May 1947 was a loose hoard of 66 silver coins found by a boy in a sandpit, South of the site of Lumns Lane Recycle centre. They were dated to between 1133 and 1189, and again it mixed 61 English short cross pennies, one Irish penny, three Scottish and one of Emperor Otto IV of Rome (1175-1218). Also found were Coper-alloy coins and a copper alloy bracelet.
The land had originally been part of the estate of Sedgley Hall, then in 1854 , Richard Fort of Sedgley Hall sold his land. A property called Sedgley Mount was built on a plot of land alongside Bury New Road, which had been turnpiked in 1826).
The gateway to Sedgley Mount.
Between April and October 1972 excavations of the area found over 1,065 coins, the majority dating from King Henry I, the 4th son of William the conqueror who reigned 1100-1135, and King Stephen (1135-1154).
The above coins show portraits that each have a coronet, and the reverse mentions Henry Earl of Northumberland, and Willelm, who was one of three a moneyers of Newcastle under King Stephen. Willem was appointed in 1230 helping to date the hoard.
The hoard eclipsed one found in Watford in 1818, that contained over 1,130 coins because the Prestwich Hoard included more variety of coin, 40 different mints in total. However the style of coins go by the description of "Watford type". The hoard included coins from Henry Earl of Northumbria, Empress Matilda (of Normandy), and King David I of Scotland it also expanded our knowledge of how far North the economy of the 12th century had become established.
The mix of coins indicates the turmoil that the land had experienced during the 12th century, and the civil war known as the Anarchy (1138-1153).
Knowing trouble was brewing, Stephen signed a peace treaty with King David I of Scotland so he could focus on Matilda. Henry, the son of King David I of Scotland, had been granted Northumberland as part of that treaty in 1139. The treaty excluded Newcastle and Bamburgh, but the Henry Earl of Northumberland took them anyway !
Matilda came to England in 1139 with help from King David I of Scotland, so much for the peace treaty! She captured King Stephen at Lincoln in 1141 but was was stopped from being crowned Queen by crowds in London, and ended up trading Stephen for her half brother, Robert of Gloucester. She escaped from Stephen's siege of Oxford Castle and returned to Normandy in 1148.
As the photos show, the hoard also included clipped and halved pennies. Pennies were halved to make for more accurate payments, but also clipped so that opportunists could melt the clips down and sell them on, as coins were made of valuable silver. Later issues included a larger cross that went to the edge of the coin to clearly show if a coin had been clipped. The previous coins are now referred to as "short cross".
Modern coins are made from a mix of less valuable metals to avoid such clipping.
The hoard was declared Treasure Trove, and split up, with 12 and a half coins going to Bury Museum, 9 to Bolton Museum, some to Manchester and 185 that are at the British Museum. Nine coins are currently located at Liverpool Museum.
Several auctions took place in 1974, with 107 coins sold via Southerby's and two Auctions in Glendining's of London led to the sale of 348 coins from the hoard. A private sale also took place with one of the finders listing 300 coins for sale. At one of the Glendinings auctions 127 coins fetched £24,260, with 54 coins fetching over £100 each, the highest valued coin going for £1,050
You can see 9 other coins from the Prestwich Hoard Here
You can see another 2 coins from the Prestwich Hoard Here
A hoard of short cross coins was found in Eccles in 1864 and numbered 6,217, including about 100 Irish coins,two German and two of Emperor Frederick II of Rome (1194-1250). This hoard was found beside a path along the side of Monks Hall in Eccles, and was very similar to the Prestwich Hoard, being found in a fragile earthenware pot (damaged during removal), had coins of similar dates including coins minted by Willem (1230).
These very similar finds may add some credence to the hidden tax returns story.
Though of a different time period entirely, a find in a field in Simister 2015, was confirmed as a copper Roman coin and was dated to between AD 161-169. Also discovered at the same time was a post-medieval copper alloy cup, both found by a metal detectorist.
Another find designated as a 'Simister' discovery was a lead alloy decorative plaque showing an animal and which dates to the post-medieval period. It was found in August 2016.
Another hoard but from the 3rd century, was found in Booths bank, Boothstown in Salford 1989. It was located in a straw lined hole, a few hundred yards south of the Roman Road to Wigan. The coins were originally in stacks of 20-30 pieces but had since slid and fused together.
