Over the past 45 years our grants have preserved 39 hoards of gold, silver and coins for the people of the UK – find out more about some of our favourites.
Among the most precious acquisitions we’ve supported over the years have been items discovered by chance, re-emerging after years – sometimes centuries – hidden underground.
Each one has the potential to reveal stories about the people, customs and events of the past. Our investment helps keep these significant heritage treasures in the UK for all of us to learn from and enjoy.
A virtual tour of heritage treasure across the UK
Discover some of the most significant hoards we’ve helped save and where to see them.
The Staffordshire Hoard
What: 4,000 items of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver discovered in 2009. It’s the largest collection of its type ever found.
Where: Birmingham Museums Trust and The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, Stoke-on-Trent.
The Galloway Hoard
What: more than 5kg of silver, gold and other materials, dating from c.900AD. It’s one of the most significant archaeological discoveries ever made in Scotland.
Where: National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, and Kirkcudbright Galleries, Dumfries and Galloway.
The Frome Hoard
What: 52,503 Roman coins dating from between 253–293AD, found in 2010 buried in a large ceramic pot. It’s been described as a landmark find for Roman studies.
Where: Museum of Somerset, Taunton.
Hoxne Treasure
What: the largest and richest treasures from Roman Britain ever discovered. The 15,000 coins and other precious objects were buried in the 5th century AD, perhaps for safekeeping at a time when Britain was passing out of Roman control, and unearthed again in 1992.
Where: British Museum, London.
Newark Torc
What: an Iron Age gold‑alloy torc (a neck ring), discovered in 2005 on farmland just outside Newark‑on‑Trent.
Where: National Civil War Centre, only a few miles from where it was found.
The Melsonby Hoard
What: over 800 Iron Age artefacts including chariot wheels, cauldrons, horse bridles and ceremonial spears, unearthed in 2021, and currently being conserved before going on public display.
Where: Yorkshire Museum, York, from 15 May 2026.
Tudor Heart pendant
What: an early 16th-century gold and enamel jewel that commemorates the love once shared between Henry VIII and his first wife, Katherine of Aragon. It is unlike any other object held by a museum in the UK.
Where: British Museum, London
A world-class collection of heritage
As a funder of last resort, we save historically significant objects, places and landscapes at risk through loss, destruction, sale or export. Our grants help preserve and make them publicly accessible.
Explore even more of the world-class heritage collection we've helped create for the people of the UK.