The Anglo-Saxons were and are renowned for their metalwork. This is not the crude metallurgy of an uncultivated barbarian horde, but the beautiful design work in the noble metals of silver and gold that only a truly cultured people could produce. Nowhere is this exemplified more than with the Staffordshire Hoard, the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon metalwork ever uncovered, even larger than the famous Sutton Hoo Hoard. 

Most of the treasure hoards we have covered elsewhere on this site (namely the Hoxne, Staffordshire, and Cuerdale Hoards, among others) come from the West. But we will now turn our attention toward the Levant, where, in February 2015, a vast hoard was found in the Holy Land. Much like the other treasure troves we have discussed on this site, this was uncovered not by professional treasure hunters, but by hobbyists simply doing their thing who hit the proverbial lottery. 

The Hoxne Hoard, uncovered in Britain in 1992, stands as one of the strongest arguments in favor of what a well-trained amateur can discover using a metal detector. It is the largest find of late Roman gold and silver found on the island of Great Britain -- or, indeed, in any Roman territory. Not only were there over 14,000 gold and silver coins, but the Hoard also boasted 200 pieces of silverware, in addition to historically significant pieces such as the Empress pepper pot. And it all started as innocuous as one of your own outings with a metal detector, on a hunt for a friend’s missing object.

The biggest buried treasure ever found in the United States was, to put it mildly, nothing to sneeze at: $10 million in the form of over 1,400 gold coins. Known as the Saddle Ridge Hoard, it is shrouded in mystery because no one has any idea who buried the treasure in the first place. 

We want to hear your best treasure find stories! The ones you tell all the time and the ones you haven't told in years. We will feature the best treasure finds on our website and maybe even on social media!

When a permission, some persistence, and a Minelab Equinox 800 combine, you're bound to find something memorable.