London: A hoard of 5,200 silver coins discovered by an amateur archaeologist was unveiled at London's British Museum Tuesday, as new figures showed a sharp rise in buried treasure discoveries.
One of the largest ever finds of Anglo-Saxon coins from the 10th and 11th centuries was made by Paul Coleman while out on an organised dig in central England on December 21.
The treasure, dating from the reigns of King Ethelred II (978-1016) and Canute (1016-1035), was buried in the village of Lenborough, Buckinghamshire, and is unofficially estimated to be worth over £1 million ($1.52 million, 1.34 million euros).
The coins were found "covered in mud and had very little corrosion ... because they were wrapped in a lead sheet like a Cornish pasty," Pippa Pearce, the curator in charge of cleaning the treasure, told AFP.
"It's a very rare treasure, and (it's) rare to find so many coins all together and in such good condition," she added.
"One of the coins is so rare that it immediately took up exhibition in the money gallery."
Coleman has said that he nearly did not make the 100 mile (160 km) trip from his Southampton home to the dig site to avert the cost of filling up his car with fuel.
"It was almost written on the cards," he said at the unveiling.
"It was a long way to go, we don't normally travel that distance. I had that feeling that the day would end well -- it's pure fate!"
He immediately knew that the find was a big one, explaining "the signal from the detector was so large and so deep that when I first uncovered the first coin, I knew there was more to it than just that coin."
The treasure is currently being officially valued, and Coleman will share the bounty with the landowner.
He said he hoped to buy a bigger house for entertaining his grandchildren.
The presentation of the treasure coincided with the release of the latest "Treasure Annual Report."
It reported discoveries had increased significantly in recent years, with 990 in 2012, 993 in 2013 and 1,008 in 2014. There were only 201 finds in 1998.
The number of discoverers waiving their right to a reward also doubled in five years, allowing museums to acquire them cheaply, according to the report.