NORTHUMBERLAND has been branded a “county of treasure” after eight finds were reported to the coroner’s office in 2022.

Under the law, anyone who discovers an item which is deemed as treasure is obligated to report it to the local coroner. Not doing so could land you with an unlimited fine or even three months in prison.

According to the British Museum, the definition of treasure under the law includes any metallic object, other than a coin, provided at least 10 per cent of its weight is gold or silver, and that is at least 300 years old when found.

Prehistoric items are considered treasure if any part of it is precious metal. Furthermore, coins have to be found in groups of more than two in the same locality at the same time.

Karen Lounten, Northumberland’s manager for the coroner’s service, gave the figures during the annual report of the senior coroner at Thursday’s meeting (August 10) of Northumberland County Council’s Health and Wellbeing Board.

She said: “The very old-fashioned, judicial role of the coroner which goes back to medieval times still holds, which is a responsibility to investigate treasure. We are a county of treasure in Northumberland.

“It goes back to our historical legacy, of Lindisfarne and Vikings and Romans. We will occasionally have some treasure finds and they are reported to the coroner, believe it or not.

“You will typically find that treasure inquests take place across the east of England. We had eight this year.”

Northumberland’s coroner’s office received eight reported treasure finds in 2022, and senior coroner Andrew Hetherington conducted three treasure inquests. These are held when a museum decides it wants to acquire the find.

A coroner will decide whether or not the item in question is treasure. If it is declared so, it will be valued by the Treasure Valuation Committee at the British Museum.

According to the Government’s website, the finder may get a share of the reward, along with the landowner or tenant. However, someone who found the treasure while trespassing or tried to hide the find could see their reward reduced or removed altogether.

If the find does not count as treasure, or no museum wants it, the item will be returned to the finder.