Metal detectorist who tried to flog rare Anglo-Saxon coins worth £766k to undercover cop is forced to repay £100,000
A METAL detectorist who was jailed for trying to sell Anglo-Saxon coins to an undercover cop has been ordered to repay £103,000.
Roger Pilling, 77, thought he was flogging the find to an expert working for a wealthy American buyer.
Instead the man from Loveclough, Lancashire, has three months to repay the money or he could face another 12-month prison sentence.
He was convicted with a second man of conspiring to sell 44 ninth century coins worth £766,000 and jailed for five years and two months at Durham Crown Court in May, 2023.
The coins, which were never declared as treasure, were believed to have been buried by a Viking and included two extremely rare examples of two-headed coins, showing Alfred of Wessex and Ceolwulf II of Mercia.
Pilling and his co-defendant Craig Best, 48, previously of Bishop Auckland, County Durham, tried to sell the coins to a real American collector, who contacted UK experts about how such rare pieces were available for sale, and police were called in.
Forty-four coins were recovered in the following sting operation but two – that Pilling claimed he had broken – were never found.
On April 24, Pilling was ordered to repay £103,000 after a confiscation order was granted at Teeside Crown Court.
He has three months to make the payment or he could face another 12-month prison sentence.
Adrian Foster, Chief Crown Prosecutor for the CPS Proceeds of Crime Division, said: “Roger Pilling intended to sell these rare and important coins for his own gain.
“He knew that these coins were stolen treasure and instead of choosing to report a crime, he chose to try and profit from it.
“The CPS worked with the police to value his criminal benefit from the attempted selling of these rare Anglo-Saxon coins, which should have been given to the Crown.
“The Confiscation Order set by the Judge reflects all the assets available to the defendants.
“We will always work to ensure that crime does not pay, and criminals cannot benefit from their ill-gotten gains.”
The coins were estimated to have been made between 874 CE and 879 CE.
The sentencing judge found that the 44 coins were part of a larger, undeclared find known as the Herefordshire or Leominster Hoard, which was discovered in 2015 and is worth millions of pounds, but which was also not declared.
It comes two years after Craig Best, then 46, and Roger Pilling hatching a plot to flog the 44 ninth-century coins, which are believed to have been buried by a Viking.
In 2023, Best and Pilling were jailed after they were convicted of conspiracy to convert criminal property.
The coin enthusiasts were also found guilty of possession of criminal property following a trial.
Durham Crown Court was told the coins were likely part of a larger, undeclared find known as the Herefordshire or Leominster Hoard.
Sentencing, Judge James Adkin said: “Had they left this country, they would have been likely to be lost to this nation for ever.”
Jurors heard how an undercover police sting was set up in 2019 when Best tried to sell the coins to an American collector, who then alerted the UK authorities.
He was arrested with three coins at a Durham hotel after he travelled to meet what he believed was a wealthy US buyer.
Pilling, who according to the judge acquired the collection from the “black market”, was arrested at his home in Loveclough, Lancashire.
They included two extremely rare examples of two-headed coins, showing Alfred of Wessex and Ceolwulf II of Mercia.
Experts say the discovery fills a historical gap from the time – revealing Ceolwulf was an ally or peer, rather than the “puppet” of the Vikings he was previously believed to be.
The coins are believed to have been found in Leominster, Herefordshire, in 2015 as part of a multi-million pound hoard.
Four people have already been convicted and jailed for 18 years for their role in concealing that find.
Under the Treasure Act 1996, finders have a legal obligation to report all finds of potential Treasure to the local coroner in the district in which the find was made.
“Treasure” has a number of definitions but key requirements are that it’s up to 200-years-old and over 10 per cent of its weight is precious metal.
If a reward is paid for a find it is normally shared equally between the finder and landowner.