Coin stash discovery is ‘early example of tax avoidance’ from Norman-era

A hoard of 950-year-old coins discovered by a group of amateur detectorists could be an early example of tax avoidance, experts said today.

Yesterday the British Museum presented the find of more than 2,500 coins, which date back to the Norman Conquest in 1066.

It includes 1,236 coins minted under the reign of the last Anglo-Saxon king of England, Harold II, and 1,310 from the time of his successor, William the Conqueror, the first Norman king.

Five amateur detectorists, including Adam Staples and Lisa Grace, 42, could receive a reward for their find in the Chew Valley, Somerset, in January.

It was the second-largest discovery of Norman-era coins and the biggest for almost 200 years. The museum’s curator of early medieval coinage Gareth Williams said: “This will change how we understand what the Norman Conquest meant for Britain.”

“Fee dodging”: the collection of more than 2,500 coins included 3 “mules”

The source of the coins is unknown but was likely buried for safekeeping. The discovery includes three illegal “mule” coins — where both monarchs’ images were imprinted on each side — as a way of “dodging” fees owed to the crown.

Mr Williams added: “The coinage system was a hidden tax.”