EDWARDIAN silver coins dating back 700 years have been found in the Millom area.

Found by Lee Heseltine, the 21 pennies were declared treasure at an inquest held in Cockermouth.

The pennies will now become property of the British Museum and Mr Heseltine and owner of the land on which the treasure was found, Mr Hartley, will receive a cash sum once the value of the coins has been determined.

The money from the British Museum will be split evenly between the two.

David Roberts, senior coroner for Cumbria, declared the coins as treasure due to their age and the quantity of precious metal they were made of.

In the inquest, Mr Roberts said the coins had been damaged in the ground but were still deemed “good silver”.

Reading from a report on the coins by the British Museum, Mr Roberts also said the pennies had been minted in Durham, Canterbury and London and were dated between 1310 and 1314 under the reign of Edward II.

The coins were found on November 13, 2014 by Mr Heseltine, of Barrow, who reported them to Mr Robert as he is legally obliged to do under the Treasure Act 1996.

The coins are now on display in the London museum.

n Under the act, any finds that are thought to be over 300 years old or contain gold or silver must be reported to the local coroner or to the finds liaison officer, which for Lancashire and Cumbria is Stuart Noon.

For any queries on reporting treasure, contact Mr Noon on stuart.noon@lancashire.gov.uk