Rare coin man must pay £103k or face jail again

Roger Pilling has been ordered to pay £103,000 for two missing treasure coins

A metal detectorist who planned to sell a hoard of Anglo-Saxon coins has been ordered to pay £103,000 or face being jailed again.

Roger Pilling, 77, from Loveclough, near Rawtensall, Lancashire, was told he had three months to come up with the six-figure crime proceeds settlement.

In 2023, he and accomplice Craig Best, 48, from Bishop Auckland, County Durham, were jailed for five years and two months after being convicted of conspiring to sell 44 coins, worth £766,000.

Prosecutor Adrian Foster told Teesside Crown Court Pilling, who could be jailed for 12 months, knew the 9th Century coins were stolen treasure and "instead of choosing to report a crime, he chose to try and profit from it".

Pilling and Best were arrested in May 2019 after an undercover police officer posed as a potential buyer from the US.

The two men were convicted of conspiracy to convert criminal property and a separate charge of possession of criminal property.

The coins are thought to be part of a multimillion-pound haul of 300 coins buried by the Vikings in Leominster, Hereford, and should have been handed to the Crown to be declared treasure.

Best was found with three of the coins in his possession but another two were unaccounted for

Piling held 46 of the coins, which were issued under the rule of King Alfred the Great of Wessex. They included two rare "Two Emperor" coins distributed by King Alfred and Ceolwulf II of Mercia.

The coins were valued at more than £750,000 but only 41 were recovered by police.

Three were found in Best's possession and Pilling claimed to have broken the remaining two.

However, the court found this to be untrue and the Crown Prosecution Service sought a Confiscation Order for their value.

Craig Best was ordered to pay an additional £648 for his part in selling the coins

Pilling's hearing on Friday concludes the six-year case.

Both men have since been released from the custodial part of their sentences and are currently under licence supervision.

Proceeds of crime proceedings were concluded in the case of Best at Durham Crown Court in January.

An existing Confiscation Order he was handed was increased to £648.01 under section 22 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2022. This has been paid from cash seized during his arrest.