Appeal to Reduce Sentences for Anglo-Saxon Coin Plotters Dismissed

Appeals seeking a reduction in prison sentences for two metal detectorists, who intended to “delete history” through the unlawful sale of Anglo-Saxon coins, have been rejected. Roger Pilling, aged 76, and Craig Best, aged 48, received convictions for conspiring to sell 44 ninth-century coins valued at £766,000, leading to their imprisonment for five years and two months at Durham Crown Court in May 2023. The two individuals petitioned the Court of Appeal on Wednesday to lessen their sentences, with legal representatives for Best asserting to the judges that the sentence was “manifestly excessive”. However, a panel of three judges rejected the appeal, and Mr Justice Murray commented that the scheme, if successful, “would have significantly diluted the nation’s shared history”. The individuals tried to sell the coins to an undercover police officer whom they presumed to be a buyer from the US. Best, formerly residing in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, was apprehended with three coins at a hotel in Durham in May 2019 during a police sting operation. Pilling’s arrest occurred at his residence in Loveclough, Lancashire, where an additional 41 coins were confiscated. Subsequently, the two men were found guilty of conspiracy to convert criminal property and an additional charge of possession of criminal property. During the 2023 trial, it was revealed that Pilling had obtained the collection through the black market. The coins, which had not been officially declared as treasure, were estimated to have been minted between 874 CE and 879 CE. It is believed they were interred by a Viking and contained two exceptionally rare two-headed coins. The judge presiding over the sentencing determined that the 44 coins constituted a segment of a more extensive, undeclared discovery referred to as the Herefordshire or Leominster Hoard, unearthed in 2015 and valued at millions of pounds, which also remained undeclared. Chris Morrison, who represented Best during the appeal, stated that his client was “approached” by Pilling to sell the items and subsequently became the “de facto agent of the sale”. He remarked: “I concede immediately that this is serious misconduct and it is clear this court regards it as such.” He continued: “But it is my submission that, when one perhaps considers the matter, the sentence in relation to my client may be too high.” Pilling, representing himself, submitted written arguments to the court but was absent from the hearing. The court was informed that Pilling asserted “sufficient regard to his mitigation, his age, medical condition and being dependable on his wife” was not considered during his sentencing. In rejecting the appeal requests, Mr Justice Murray, alongside Lord Justice William Davis and Judge Shaun Smith KC, stated that the duo “hatched a plan to sell the coins” to purchasers in the US because “they knew the coins could not be safely sold in the UK to a legitimate dealer”. The judge noted that among the three items Best and Pilling intended to sell was “one coin that rewrites the history of King Alfred and the little-known King of Mercia”.