Man accused of plot to sell Viking coins told undercover police ‘I’m not greedy’, court hears

Craig Best, from Bishop Auckland, took three ancient coins to a meeting at a hotel, Durham Crown Court heard. Credit: ITV Tyne Tees

A collector accused of an illegal plot to sell an historically-important Viking hoard of coins worth £766,000 to an American buyer told an undercover officer “I’m happy to do a deal, I’m not a greedy man”, a court heard.

Metal detecting enthusiast Craig Best, 46, is charged with conspiring with Roger Pilling, 74, to sell criminal property – 9th Century Anglo-Saxon coins which have never been declared as Treasure and not been handed to the Crown.

The defendants, on trial at Durham Crown Court, each also deny a separate charge of possessing the criminal property.

Best took three ancient coins to a meeting at a Durham hotel with what he thought was a metal expert acting for a broker working for a wealthy American buyer, jurors were told.

But the intermediaries were undercover officers and Best, of South View, Bishop Auckland, was arrested in the hotel room.

Another raid followed at Pilling’s home in Loveclough, Lancashire, where a further 41 coins, believed to have originated from the Herefordshire Hoard which was also not declared, were recovered.

The coins at the heart of this court case were similar to these. Credit: The Trustees of the British Museum

On the second day of the trial, Matthew Donkin, prosecuting, played audio recordings of phone calls between Best and undercover officers, setting up the May 2019 meeting which was supposedly to validate the coins.

Speaking to an officer he believed was a broker named Hugh, Best discussed possible prices.

When Hugh suggested “a complete package” could lead to a deal being done on the price, Best replied: “Why aye, I’m happy to do a deal, I’m not a greedy man.”

The court has heard that the undercover police operation was set up after Best tried to sell coins to a different American collector, who contacted UK-based experts about the apparent availability of extremely rare and valuable examples.

The Crown does not allege that either of the defendants, who were both interested in metal detecting, made the find themselves.

It was believed the coins were made between 874 and 879 and were buried by a Viking during this particularly violent period of English history.

They included two extremely rare examples of two-headed coins, showing Alfred of Wessex and Ceolwulf, a figure who was discredited by Saxon writers as a Viking puppet ruler.

The trial continues.

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