A coin dating back to the Battle of Benfleet in 894AD has been sitting in a shed for eight years, it was revealed today.
Coin find - Paul Elmy Picture: ROBIN WOOSEY
Paul Elmy, 33, from Hall Farm Road, Benfleet, discovered the ancient bronze coin when digging the footings for an extension to his house.
He recently showed his find to experts at Southend Museum who confirmed it was from the Byzantine empire dating from 850AD to 950AD.
However, he failed to connect these dates with the bloody Battle of Benfleet, when an encampment of Danes was driven out by the troops of King Alfred the Great.
He simply left the coin in his shed.
Mr Elmy, a lorry driver, said: "I honestly didn't get the significance of this coin until historian Norman Chisman saw it and told us.
"We all thought it was quite nice to have found something that old, but other than that we didn't really give it much thought."
Published Thursday August 5, 2004
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