News, Articles & Research

Here you will find some of our past research and published articles on a variety of topics, we love to really research special finds and feel that knowing the background to a coin only enhances the pleasure of owning it.

Coin Hoards are often found in Britain and are a great source of numismatic knowledge. When found they can be studied and often reveal fascinating facts about our past coinage. Most often seen are Roman Coin hoards (especially dating to the 4th century A.D.) but others from the Iron Age/Celtic period, Anglo Saxon, Viking, Norman & Medieval times are sometimes discovered. Many are acquired by museums through The Treasure Act but sometimes they are returned to the discoverers and that is where we come in. We can conserve, research and publish a hoard in such a way that the coins and information surrounding it will be available for future generations to enjoy and further study. We are happy to offer free advice and would love to hear from anyone who has been lucky enough to find/own a hoard today.

Below you will see examples of our work and previous finds we have dealt with. We have more experience in this field than any other dealer/auction house so are well placed to help you, our Director has even found a few hoards himself!

Spring Newsletter 2024

Welcome to the first Newsletter of 2024 and we're thrilled to see Spring blossoming after a very wet winter here in Gloucestershire! We've been buzzing with activity, not only researching exciting new stock and sprucing up our website but also jazzing up our listings.

Winter Newsletter

We hope this newsletter finds you well and looking forward to the upcoming Christmas period. Silbury Coins has been very busy these last few months, producing two articles, inspired by the Fort Collection, focusing on Scottish Coinage and today brings the exciting launch of the Clark Collection. ...

The Scottish coinage of James VI and Charles I

When James VI acceded to the Scottish throne upon the abdication of his mother, Mary Queen of Scots, in AD 1567 he was only a year old. A council of regency ruled on his behalf until he was a teenager and took up personal rule in the early 1580's.

An Introduction to Early Scottish Coinage

Scotland did not have its own coinage until over a millennium after England. Each timea coinage was established in England, be it during the Iron Age, Roman or Anglo-Saxon periods, Scotland was excluded. This doesn’t mean that some of the English coins didn’t make their way north through trade, r...

Silbury Coin Autumn Newsletter

Welcome to our latest Newsletter, Autumn is almost upon us and we can’t believe this will be our first Newsletter of 2023! Moving forward we hope to keep in touch more regularly and to help with this have welcomed a new starter, Nadine, to the Silbury team. Nadine will be on hand to provide commu...

The War of the Roses Hoard

There is little in the coin world that excites in the way that a newly discovered hoard does. The mystery, antiquity and sheer romance of unearthing a group of coins that have remained in the earth, undisturbed for years, cannot be rivalled. Silver and Gold coins discovered together in the countr...

An Introduction to Roman Coinage – Hugh Smith

Although the systematic conquest of Britain by the Romans did not take place until 43 AD under the Emperor Claudius there had been increasing contact and trade between the two cultures since the expeditions carried out by Julius Caesar nearly 100 years earlier. This led to a certain Romanization ...

The Borden Hoard and History of King Cunobelin

This story begins on the 1st of January 1873 with the chance finding of three ancient gold coins in Kent, England. Robertson 2000, 8-9 no. 35: “Near the boundary of the parish of Borden, while digging ground for a garden, “Mr. Prentis’ men discovered three gold coins. At first two were found toge...

The Ropsley Hoard

Sometime, during AD 150-152 in the North Eastern corner of the Roman province of Britannia, a citizen was compelled to bury his hoard of 522 silver denari, equivalent in value to around £12,500 in modern day currency. A substantial amount given that a Roman soldier would have been paid around 300...

The South Norfolk Hoard

Approximately 190 roman silver denarii dating to the 1st century AD found scattered in plough soil over several years.

Anglo Saxon Kingdoms

The Middle Anglo-Saxon period in British history is a complex tapestry of kings, kingdoms, vassals and the concept of regional identity – mostly set against the looming backdrop of raids and invasion from Scandinavia. Starting with Offa of Mercia’s reign in c. AD 757, this period lasts for almost...

Ewerby Civil War Hoard

The year was 1643 and the English Civil War was raging with battles being fought by Royalists and Parliamentarian’s around the country. King Charles I was fighting to retail control while Parliament was doing it’s best to remove him from power

Background History of the Normans

Following the death of childless Edward the Confessor in 1066, the English throne was seized by the powerful Earl Harold Godwinson; a man who had endured a period of disfavour and exile in the 1050’s...

The Westbury Sub Mendip Hoard

Sometime during mid to late AD 193 in the South West corner of the Roman province of Britannia, a citizen was compelled to bury his hoard of 188 silver denari. They lay untouched until May 2016 when they were discovered by a metal detectorist.

Celebrating 10 years at Silbury

The team at Silbury Coins Ltd have just celebrated its 10 year anniversary, while the people behind Silbury have been involved in numismatics all their lives it was only in February 2010 that they came together to create the well-respected company.

A Coin from Cricklade: Discovering a New Mint of Henry I

The somewhat sleepy North Wiltshire town of Cricklade (Fig. 1) today sits about halfway between the towns of Cirencester and Swindon, bypassed by the busy lanes of the A419. Notable as the first downstream town on the river Thames, its relatively unassuming modern prospect stands in stark contras...

The Falmouth Roman Coin Hoard

The Falmouth hoard of approximately 600-1000 roman bronze coins of the 3rd & 4th Century AD was found on farmland near Falmouth while ploughing on the 18th April 1865.

The Martock Hoard

21st July 2012. On a typical British summer morning two metal detectorists headed for a ploughed field near the village of Martock on the edge of the Somerset levels. They had targeted the field due to it being near the famous Fosse Way Roman road and on previous visits found evidence of Roman oc...

The Vine Leaf Hoard (AKA The Chawton Hoard)

Here at Silbury Coins we are very pleased to be able to offer for sale a selection of gold staters from the Vine leaf hoard, an important treasure find unearthed by metal detectorists whilst searching in Hampshire. Each coin sold will be accompanied with a booklet providing a detailed history beh...

The Winterbourne Stickland Hoard

Discovered in summer 2013 by two avid metal detectorists, the finding of the Winterbourne Stickland hoard is an exciting event and one which most metal detectorist’s dream of, only a lucky few are involved in such an event.

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