Staffordshire Anglo-Saxon treasure hoard valued at £3.3m

Staffordshire Anglo-Saxon treasure hoard valued at £3.3m

Proceeds of sale of 1800 gold, silver and jewelled objects to be split between amateur metal detectorist and farmer



The glittering heap of treasure of the Staffordshire hoard, the largest and arguably most beautiful hoard of Anglo Saxon gold ever found in Britain, has been valued at nearly £3.3m by a panel of experts, a reward that will now be shared between the amateur metal detectorist who found it and the farmer in whose pasture it lay hidden for 1300 years.

Professor Norman Palmer, chair of the Treasure Valuation Committee, whose members pored over 1800 gold, silver and jewelled objects in a session at British Museum said: "It was breathtaking – we all agreed that it was not only a challenge but a privilege to be dealing with material of such quantity, quality and beauty. It was hard to stop our imaginations running away with us."

The scramble will now begin between local museums in Staffordshire to raise the money – £3.285m to be precise – which will be paid as compensation to metal detectorist Terry Herbert, and farmer Fred Johnson.