Two men charged over £1m Viking coins hoard

Police previously said the recovered coins were similar to these four from the British Museum

Two men have been charged after a hoard of Viking coins worth nearly £1m was found by police.

The coins and silver ingot, of major historical significance, were seized from properties in County Durham and Lancashire in 2019.

Craig Best, 44 and of Bishop Auckland, and 73-year-old Roger Pilling, of Loveclough, are accused of conspiracy to convert criminal property.

They are also charged with possessing criminal property.

Mr Pilling has also been charged with a second count of possessing criminal property.

The men will appear at Newton Aycliffe Magistrates' Court on 7 September.

Durham Police said the haul contained coins of Alfred the Great of Wessex and his less well-known contemporary, Ceolwulf II of Mercia.

King Alfred inflicted a defeat on the Vikings in AD 878, and experts believe the coins belong to an undeclared hoard consistent with the location of the Viking army at that time.

When the coins were recovered in 2019, Dr Gareth Williams, curator of early medieval coins and Viking collections at the British Museum, described the collection as a "nationally important hoard" which could "add significantly" to the understanding of the political history of England.