ELEVEN coins dating back more than 500 years have been declared treasure following a find in north Herefordshire.

The coins date back to the time of Edward IV and Henry VII and were found at Richards Castle in two separate finds at the same location.

At a treasure inquest in Hereford, Barrie Cook, curator of medieval and early modern coinage at the British Museum, said the first find featured eight coins which at the time would have been equivalent to today’s bank notes. He said they would have been in circulation around 1500.

Two of them relate to Charles the Bold who was Duke of Burgundy between 1467 and 1477.

The second find again featured coins from the reigns of Edward and Henry and were discovered during metal detecting in the area.

Deputy coroner for Herefordshire Mark Bricknell declared the 11 items, currently at the British Museum, as treasure under the Treasure Act.

He did not make public the exact location the coins were found or who found them.

Edward IV was King of England between March 1461 and October 1470 and again from April 1471 until his death in April 1483.

Henry VII was King of England from when he seized the crown in August 1485 until his death in April 1509.

He won the throne having defeated Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field, the last King of England to win his throne in the field of battle.