Staffordshire hoard worth over £3m
Updated on 26 November 2009
A massive hoard of Anglo Saxon gold, discovered beneath a Staffordshire field by a man with a metal detector, has been valued at £3.28m.
Terry Herbert was unemployed in July this year when he invested £2.50 in the metal detector that led him to his discovery.
Today it has made him a millionaire, sharing the proceeds with the landowner.
The hoard, which is thought to date back to the seventh century, comprises 1,600 items including sword pommels, helmet parts and processional crosses.
Part of the hoard is currently on display at the British Museum in London.
Professor Norman Palmer, of the treasure valuation committee, told Khrisnan Guru-Murthy: "We had to assess whom the potential buyers would be and how much they would pay for it.
"Of course, this is an unprecidented hoard and we took a number of valuations before we even attended our meeting yesterday (Wednesday).
"There was a vast amount of analysis of the material - of grouping and regrouping of objects into collections that would enable them to be valued more easily.
"We spent around a week looking at the papers, then a whole day yesterday (Wednesday) coming up with the result."
