Metal detectorist discovers secret hoard of ancient royal gold

A fascinating archaeological discovery, uncovered in the autumn of 2024 in a field near the town of Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, England, is set to go to auction. The hoard, which includes 16 Iron Age gold coins, was discovered by a professor of medieval history and amateur metal detectorist. As reported in the journal Futura, it is considered one of the most important collections of Celtic gold coins ever found in Britain.

The hoard was discovered when Professor Tom Lins of the University of East Anglia was scanning a field with his niece. After initially finding two silver coins from the Viking Age, he stumbled upon a Celtic gold stater, and subsequently six more. He eventually collected 16 coins after officially reporting them to the authorities in accordance with the Treasure Act 1996.

Experts, including John Sills of the University of Oxford and numismatist Alice Cullen of the auction house Noonans, determined that the coins were issued during the reigns of the Celtic kings Addedomarus and Dubnovellaunus, who ruled the Catuvellauni and Trinovantes tribes between 25 BC and 10 AD. The coins—including a stater with a wheel belonging to King Addedomarus and a coin of Dubnovellaunus minted at an unknown mint—feature well-preserved inscriptions.

The hoard will be offered for auction at the Noonans Mayfair auction house in London, and the coins will be sold individually for a total sum estimated at approximately £25,000. Professor Lins, who will share the proceeds with the owner of the field, plans to use part of the money to fund further archaeological excavations in the Suffolk area, with the aim of uncovering and connecting the local history of his ancestors in the region.