Shropshire coins find sparked treasure hunt row
A row between former metal detecting club members broke out at a treasure inquest over the number of Iron Age coins each man had found.
At one point coroner John Ellery, presiding over the hearing at Shirehall in Shrewsbury, had to tell those involved to "keep the temperature down". He also threatened to adjourn the inquest to a later date if the hearing "got out of hand".
Derek Lloyd told the hearing he found three gold coins while detecting with fellow members of the Four Quarters Metal Detecting Club from Dudley in a field in the Claverley area owned by Malcolm Powell.
But John Sibley, one of the club members, claimed he found the third coin that Mr Lloyd said he had found. Mr Lloyd is no longer a member of the club.
The inquest was held yesterday into seven Iron Age coins all dating between AD 20 to 50. Six of them were found on March 1 this year while the seventh coin was found on March 5. Despite them being found on different days the coins are part of the same hoard.
The dispute arose over the six coins that were found on March 1.
Mr Lloyd, from Kidderminster, said he found three of the coins, while father and son John and Martin Sibley, and Shaun Painter found one coin each. Mr Painter found the seventh coin four days later.
