To the Royal Numismatic Society
Published 1841

On the evening of the 15th May 1840 workmen, engaged in repairing the southern enbankment of the river Ribble, near Curedale Hall, and about three miles from Preston, were agreeably surprised by the discovery of hidden treasure, which had for many centuries laid inhumed in that delightful and secluded vale within three feet of the surface of the pasture , and about thirty yards from the edgeof the river. A portion of the earth, under the spot where the treasure lay, having been previously removed, the leaden case, which was in a corroded state, was crushed to pieces by the fall, aided by the weight of the superincumbent soil, and disclosed its extensive and varied treasures before the astonished gaze of the workmen, who immediately set up a simulataneous shout. The attracted the attention of the hind of Curedale Hall, who, hastening to the place, found the workmen collected around the treasure in the act of the general scramble, each endeavouring to obtain the greatest share of the booty. The hind, however, lost little time in informing them that they must return the property, adding that the pieces of metal were probably of pewter or solder and consequently of little value , and that the coins appeared to be nothing more than tin counters. Upon this, the greater part was unpocketed, and being collected together, the treasure was conveyed to the hall, deposited in a tub of water and well washed with a birch-besom, and on the following day deposited in the old bank of Preston. William Asheton Esq., now in Florence, is the owner of the property where the discovery was made. The ingots of silver, annulets, neck chains and rings and other ornaments, are stated to weigh about sixty three pounds, whilst the coins, including the wooden box in which they are enclosed and a portion of the fragments of the leaden case, the hind tells me weights twelve pounds, being about half the weight given in the papers. A portion of the coins and other antiques still remain in the hall for the inspection of visitors, whilst some of the relics of by gone days are stated to have found their way in to the hands of private individuals; and this is not improbable, as several pieces, it is said, have by diligent scratching, been gleaned from the soil since the bulk was removed to the bank.

If it may be allowed to judge of the whole from those exhibited in the hall, and from casts taken from some of the coins in possession of Mr Asshetons agent, I should say, that not more than a third part are Anglo Saxon, the remainder being foreign, chiefly French, with probably a mixture of prelatical coins from other parts of the Continent, and a few even bearing characterssimilar to those of the Cufic Coins, described in a late number of your interesting chronicle.

The Anglo-Saxon coins are chiefly of St.Eadmund, Alfred, Edward the elder, and Athelstan; and as the last named monarch died in the 941, the coins have probably been buried for a period of about nine centuries. I have aalso seen a penny of Plegmund, Archbishop of Canterbury, of a type similar to Plate X11.fig.4., Ruding; this last however is stated to have been found near Ribchester. Scarcely any two of the Ecclesiastical pennies of St Eadmund have the same reverse, and most of them are probably unpublished, as well as St Eadmunds halfpenny, of which I have only seen one specimen. With regards to the coins of Alfred several types occur, and one in particular, that appears unpublished; its beautiful reverse is not, I believe, found on any Anglo Saxon coin figured by Ruding; it is in the possession of the hind at Curedale Hall. Several moneyers' names are found, not to be met with in Rudings list. The rarest however, of Alfreds coins is his halfpenny, not hitherto, known to exist ( a specimen was obtained by a collector in London sometime before the discovery of this hoard) of which a cast has been shown me, bearing the moneyers name, Aberht; and another specimen, bearing on its reverse the London monogram. With respect to the pennies of Alfred, it may be observed, that the greater number appear to be of the type without the portrait and place of mintage. Of the Oxford type, comparatively few specimens occur, and much fewer still of those bearing the portrait. Of the pennies of Edward the elder, bearing the portrait I have only seen two; they are in fine preservation, but differ materially in the form of the head from those appropriated to this monarch by Ruding.Of Athelstan's pennies I have not seen or heard of one bearing the bust.

The French coins are of Charles le Chauve, Louis le Begue, &c, ; and several occur bearing the names of towns, among which may be mentioned, Bourges, Evreux, Limoges, Orleans, Quentin, Toulouse, and Tours; and of some of these in denominations smaller than the usual size. One, of Toulouse, bears on the observe, 'Oddo Rex' . There are also several coins which I am unable satisfactorily to appropriate, bearing on one side, 'Cunnetti', and others of a nearly similar type and fabric, with 'Siefredus Rex', 'Mirabilia fecit, ' and c.

The ownership of the property is undecided, and will probably become a question between the Crown and Mr. Assheton, as agents for both parties have already put in their respective claims.

Many opinions and speculations are afloat as to the original owner of the treasure, and the circumstances under which it was buried. With these vague surmises I will not trouble your readers, but rather consult the history of the eventful times in which the property in question appears to have been concealed. We find that in the reign of Athelstan, Northumbria, was in a very disturbed state, that the King of the Scots, eagerly sought to free himself from his dependence on the English monarch, and that, with this view, he entered into alliance with Howel, King of Wales; and although the powerful army of Athelstan was irresistible, that Anlaf shortly afterwards made a desperate attempt to reconquer the Northumbrian dominions. The celebrated battle of Brunanburgh was fought, and never before, it is stated, was such a carnage known in England. Does it not appear probable, then, that some poweful Northumbrian chieftain , relying on the numerous and hardy allies of Anlaf, might deposit his property in this solitary spot, to serve under the banners of the courageous Dane, and from which expedition he never returned. Athelstan was victorious , and to him belongs the glory of having established what has ever since been called the kingdom of England.

The charitable donations of the three immediate predecessors of Athelstan to the churches of America, gave rise to an intercourse between the English and the transmarine Britons, who still lamentedtheir banishment from the land of their fathers; and when the Normans, under Rollo depopulated Bretagne , numbers of the natives sought and obtained an asylum under the protection of Athelstan. Edgiva, the sister of the English monarch, was also the consort of the French king, Charles the Simple. The circumstance, then , of a friendly intercourse thus subsisting between the two countries , may not unsatisfactorily account for the introduction of the immense number of French coins found in this hoard.

Joseph Kenyon

Preston June 10th 1840