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The find, having been unearthed by heavy rain the previous night,
was on an
area which had been used recently for the cutting of turfs. Dating from circa.
630 - 650A.D, and later to become known as "The Crondall
Hoard", consisted of 101 gold Anglo-Saxon coins, most
of which were minted in England. One was later found to be a
forgery from that time. Also amongst the find were two jeweled ornaments, and a chain.
The
find remained in the Lefroy Family until 1895, when it was sold
to Lord Grantley becoming the 'Jewel in the Crown' of his
already superb collection of Anglo-Saxon coins &
antiquities.
This collection was itself put up for sale on a
couple of occasions in the early 1940's.The "Crondall
Hoard" was sold off in Glendining, on January 27th 1944
to Messrs. A.H. Baldwin & Sons, who after a short period of
time, & preferring not to profit from the transaction, passed it to the Ashmolean
Museum in Oxford, where the ninety seven surviving coins
are
now on display.
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