Lenborough Anglo Saxon coin hoard to go on show

A total of 5,251 coins were found during a metal-detecting rally

Part of a hoard of Anglo Saxon coins found in a Buckinghamshire village is to go on display at the county's museum before its inquest is heard.

More than 5,000 coins were found buried in Lenborough, near Padbury last year.

The find is still being catalogued by the British Museum but the coroner has given permission for "about 20 coins" to be displayed at Bucks County Museum.

A spokesman said: "It's another milestone on the path to getting them into the museum."

It is the largest Anglo Saxon coin hoard discovered since the Treasure Act was introduced in 1996 and is thought to be worth up to £1.3m.

Brett Thorn, from the museum, said because there were so many coins, the cataloguing process was taking a long time and it wanted to "keep the public interested".

He approached the British Museum to ask if some could be displayed, but until the inquest they are still legally under the control of the Buckinghamshire coroner.

The coins were found wrapped in a lead sheet

"I asked if he would be happy for us to display some of them and he was very supportive," said Mr Thorn.

'Particularly rare'

The 5,251 coins were found wrapped in a lead sheet by Weekend Wanderers Detecting Club member Paul Coleman, from Southampton, on 21 December.

They depict the heads of kings Ethelred the Unready and Canute and come from 40 different mints around England.

Depending on the final valuation, the museum hopes to acquire them and will use the display to launch an appeal for pledges to assess the amount of local support there is.

The coins came from 40 different mints around England

"If we get the chance to buy them, it looks good to funding bodies if they can see significant local support," said Mr Thorn.

"We've already had £3,000 of pledges from events held."

The museum said it is due to display the coins until the inquest, the date of which is still to be decided.