Leominster/Eye Hoard Items Sold with False Provenance

Raven Saunt and Alexander Robertson 'Hunt for £12million hoard of Anglo-Saxon coins and jewellery as metal detectorists who found it but refuse to hand it over are jailed for ten and eight years' Mail Online 22 November 2019) have part of the judge's summary of the Leominster hoard case at the sentencing in Worcester Crown Court. He told the men that the 'responsible thing' would have been to stop digging and notify the authorities. But he added:

'The two of you, of course, acted very differently indeed. 'Having realised immediately this was a very significant and valuable find, even if you didn't have the detailed expertise to know exactly what each item of jewellery and these coins represented, you acted in a way that was greedy and selfish. 'You clumsily dug out everything you could find, put the soil back and left without speaking to the farmer, the farmer's mother or anybody else.'

Apparently, Powell's barrister James Tucker told the judge that 'if the coins had laid undisturbed, they wouldn't necessarily have been discovered. Reporting what was said in court, Saunt and Robertson reveal some of what Judge Nicholas Cartwright added to what we know from other reports. He starts off (of course) by praising responsible collection-driven exploitation of the archaeological record:

'Most significant finds of historical artefacts and treasure come about as a result of responsible and lawful metal detecting. 'It has brought great benefits and will continue to do so. The reward system in this country is generous in order to encourage the declaration of finds. 'Items are valued accurately by a committee which includes a representative of the metal detecting community as well as other experts. A true value is arrived at and that is the value of the reward. 'George Powell and Layton Davies. You both knew this. On June 2, 2015 the two of you went to these fields to metal detect. 'On this day the two of you found and dug up a gold Anglo Saxon ring. It is a thing of astonishing beauty. It is over 1,000 years old. It is very valuable. 'Nearby you found a piece of jewellery even more spectacular and even older. 'Near to that you found an Anglo Saxon arm bracelet and some silver ingots which would have been used by vikings as currency. You also found coins. 'Those 31 which have ultimately been recovered are mostly Anglo Saxon coins. 'There are also others including a coin from ancient Persia. These items comprise a hoard of treasure and that was obvious. 'As to the number of coins found, the two of you have never been honest to the police or the court in saying exactly how many were unearthed.

After noting that the 'Two emperor' (sic) coins are very valuable and that other types of these Anglo Saxon pennies are also worth several thousand pounds each, Judge Cartwright went on:

'The financial value is only one part of the true value. The true value of this treasure is the archaeological value. The jewellery is of course also artwork in itself. 'You cheated the farmer, his mother, the landowner, but also the public. 'This treasure belongs to the nation. The benefit to the nation is that these items can be seen and admired. 'Exhibitions encourage visits to museums which supports them financially. 'Stealing items as you did, denies the public. 'When treasure is found it belongs, from the moment of finding, to the nation. The responsible thing to do is to stop digging and to notify the local museum.'

The judge said the metal detectorists 'realised immediately' the haul was a 'very significant and valuable find.' He added:

'There and then you acted in a way which was greedy selfish. You clumsily dug out everything there and put the soil back. 'You did not notify the farmer or any archaeologist. You took the items to South Wales and set about finding someone to tell you what they were and what they were worth. 'Because you did not have an agreement in place as to the share of the huge reward you would get, you set about a course of conduct designed to maximise your own return without any regard to the rights of anyone else. 'Your preferred option was to sell the coins through someone with better credentials than you.

The judge details how they went about this and reveals some details of the modus operandi of Wicks, the antiquities dealer:

'You George Powell swiftly contacted Simon Wicks and arranged a meeting at a motorway service station to show him some of the coins. 'He was plainly willing to sell on your behalf. You, Simon Wickes, took coins away and tested the water with a consignment you put in for auction. 'You had a false cover story ready should you need it. 'You later fabricated the contents of a letter to pretend that some coins had been above ground since the 1970s. 'You Layton Davies were the one principally involved in the conspiracy with Paul Wells. 'He as one of two Cardiff antiques dealers you first approached with a small part of the hoard. 'While his colleague behaved responsibly, he did not. He hid five coins by gluing them into a secret hiding place in the handle of a fold-out magnifying glass. 'He knew full well that the existence of these coins was being kept hidden from the crown, the farmer, and the landowner.

It would be interesting to know more about this other Cardiff dealer and his 'responsible' behaviour - did it go as far as to notify the police? Judge Cartwright expands on the guilt of the two finders:

'The only sensible inference to draw is that the objective was to manipulate the farmer and landowner with lies and limited disclosure in order to keep as much treasure as possible for yourselves and turn it into cash. 'Lies were told to the Finds Liaison Officer. Treasure was hidden and 90 per cent of the coins remain hidden. 'All four played your parts in these crimes. 'The irony is that if you George Powell and Layton Davies had obtained the permissions and agreements which responsible metal detectorists are advised to obtain [but no, they had not, the landowner did not give permission to search and take]. 'If you had gone on to act within the law when you found this treasure, you could have expected to have either a half share, or at worst a third share of over £3million to share between you. 'You could not have done worse than half a million pounds each - but you wanted more. 'There was significant planning. The theft involved visits to the farmer and his wife to trick them. 'It involved a charade at the National Museum of Wales in which you both played your parts telling lies which were never put right in the coroner's inquest. 

Presumably this refers to the inquest into the circumstances of finding the few objects that were handed in at the National Museum of Wales in July 2015, a gold ring, crystal pendant and gold arm-band. It is interesting to note that there is currently no apparent online trace of this inquest having taken place. What was the original Treasure case number? Neither are these three objects in the PAS database, while other Treasure finds are. Why? What is being hidden here and why? The article continues, and suggests one reason is that it was felt at the time that the men were lying: 

Only 31 of the coins have been recovered, although mobile phone photographs - later deleted, but recovered by police - showed the larger hoard, still intact, in a freshly dug hole. Davies, who chose to give evidence in his defence, claimed during the trial that the pair dug the jewellery out of two separate holes but photographs taken on his phone and later deleted clearly showed the trove as one. He also alleged Powell had then planted some coins, which he already owned, in the hole for 'staged' photographs, to give the items greater provenance and value. One of the images appeared to show many more silver ingots than the one recovered by police but the men claimed these were simply bullet casings. Both men also claimed talk of a 300-coin hoard had been a rumour, insisting that the only coins they found were declared to the National Museum Wales, in Cardiff, at a meeting on July 8. However, they were undone by evidence including deleted photos of a much larger hoard on Davies's phone and the recovery of various coins, including five concealed in a magnifying glass case and volunteered to police by Wells.