Rare 12th Century coins unearthed in North Yorkshire have been declared treasure by a coroner in Harrogate.
The silver coins were found on remote farmland near Knaresborough by amateur metal detector enthusiasts in 2008.
Dating from the reign of Henry I, the haul of 178 coins is believed to be one of the biggest hoards of its kind.
The find will be valued, with any proceeds being split between the landowner and the team from West Yorkshire who found them.
Fifteen members of the West Riding Detector Group made the discovery.
Peter Spencer, from Leeds, said he was astounded when one of his colleagues unearthed the first coin.
'Outstanding' find
He said: "I looked at one side of the coin and couldn't make out much but the design on the reverse side made it clear that we had a Henry I penny. In 10 years we've never found anything from the Norman period."
A short while later other members started finding more coins.
Mr Spencer added: "You'd have to be a detectorist to understand how we feel about this find. You would have to have been out in all weathers finding smashed-up tin cans and pieces of lead to really understand what an outstanding find this was for us."
The 1996 Treasure Act legally obliges finders of historic metal objects to report their discovery to the local coroner who determines whether or not it constitutes treasure.
Source: BBC News