Collection Highlights: Heberden Coin Room

The hoard was discovered in 1828 in Crondall, Hampshire. It remains the most important body of evidence for early Anglo-Saxon coinage. The hoard marks the reintroduction of coinage into Britain two centuries after the abandonment of the province by the Romans. The new coinage was modelled on that of Merovingian Gaul, but also looked back to Rome for inspiration. These gold coins may have been the earliest English shillings. The hoard was purchased for the Ashmolean in 1944 as a memorial to Sir Arthur Evans.