Coins expected to fetch £30,000 at auction

More than 200 coins are expected to fetch in the region of £30,000 at auction.

The collection was found 22 years ago by builders who were working on a house extension near Blandford Forum in Dorset.

Peter Gray, 79, a retired international bank inspector, said he was selling the coins because he and his wife Jackie were moving house.

"The builders discovered a pottery vessel containing 213 coins with the majority dating from the reign of Henry VII (1485-1509)," he said.

Gray added: "The builders were removing the parking area with a mechanical digger when they discovered some terracotta tiles as they removed them, they unearthed the pottery vessel."

Gray said: "It was a wonderful surprise when I was told about them – you never expect to find a hoard of coins.

"Who they belonged to, we don't know, but the cottage isn't too far from the Dorset Gap which was a route that linked the South Coast to Dorchester and Salisbury.

"It is possible that they were hidden by a smuggler."

The coins will be sold individually in an auction at Noonans Mayfair on the 10 February.

Coin specialist at Noonans, Jim Brown, said: "The Littlebrook Hoard was originally called the Okeford Fitzpaine Hoard when discovered in May 2004.

"The hoard comprises 213 silver coins, consisting of 176 groats and 37 half groats in varying condition with the bulk dating from the reign of Henry VII (1485-1509).

"The fact that the coins were discovered in a container is clear evidence that they were deposited on a single occasion.

"They represent a selected body of higher value silver coins from the currency of the early sixteenth century, before the new weight standard of 1526 was introduced."