Largest hoard of buried coins

The Brussels Hoard contained approximately 150,000 penny-sized silver coins from the mid-13th century and was found in the centre of Brussels, Belgium, in 1908 during railway construction. The general accepted date for the deposition of the hoard is c. 1265 (no later than 1268). The great number of coins was roughly divided in two portions: one of nearly 70,000 local Flemish pennies and one of approximately 83,500 British (English, Scottish and Irish) sterlings; the sterlings were almost all of one type, the so-called Long Cross-type introduced with the recoinage in 1247.

The coins were sold at auction in October 1909 in Brussels by the coin dealer Charles Dupriez. They were divided into two lots: one for the continental coins and the other for the British coins.

At the sale, the British coins were purchased by Albert Baldwin of London dealers and auctioneers Baldwin's. It appears that Albert was able to buy them relatively cheaply as a thick fog had descended over the English Channel the night before the auction, which delayed other potential bidders. He paid 15,250 francs (plus a commission of 10%), then equivalent to about £9,000, to purchase the lot.