The Staffordshire Hoard has been on display in the West Midlands & is now going to the British Museum for valuation. Almost everyone who has been asked though sees this as something that should be kept in the area where it was discovered, to allow people to see it in the region where it was discovered – to create something which people can identify with as from their area & be proud of. This principle ought to be applied by the government & museums to many other restitution cases – unfortunately though it rarely is.

From:
BBC News

Page last updated at 17:25 GMT, Tuesday, 20 October 2009 18:25 UK
‘Admirable’ if gold haul remained

It would be “admirable” if the haul of Anglo-Saxon gold, recently unearthed in Staffordshire, could remain in the West Midlands, the government has said.

Culture Secretary Ben Bradshaw told the Houses of Parliament he was working with the regional development agency and others to make sure that happened.

He was responding to a question from West Bromwich East MP Tom Watson.

The 1,500 pieces found in a field in July are being looked at by British Museum experts in London.

The collection of gold and silver pieces was found on a farm by a man using a metal detector and is thought to be the most important Anglo-Saxon find in the UK to date.

From:
BBC News

Page last updated at 12:25 GMT, Friday, 23 October 2009 13:25 UK
Bid to keep treasure in Midlands

A summit of council and government agencies has agreed to combine to raise the money needed to keep a hoard of Anglo-Saxon treasure in the Midlands.

The Staffordshire Hoard was found in a field in the county and is being valued at the British Museum in London.

More than 40,000 visitors saw it when it was shown at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery in September. Experts said it was worth a “seven figure sum”.

West Midlands Minister Ian Austin said he was sure the cash would be raised.

‘No question’

An official evaluation is expected to be given at the end of November.

It was declared treasure by the South Staffordshire coroner Andrew Haigh, which means the artefacts are in the temporary custody of the Crown.

The hoard of about 1,500 gold and silver items were found by metal detector enthusiast Terry Herbert, 55, of Burntwood, Staffordshire, in July.

Under the Treasure Act of 1996, Mr Herbert and the landowner will share the monetary value of the hoard, which has to be paid for by the bodies or organisations wishing to display it.

Mr Austin chaired the summit in Birmingham on Friday and said: “There’s no question about it. This was found in the West Midlands and it has to stay in the West Midlands. We’ve got to raise the funds to get it back here and working together I think we can do this.”

Mr Austin said the impact of having it in the region would be “incalculable” in terms of the tourism, education and heritage benefits.

He said both the government and the British Museum wanted to see treasure on permanent display in the region.

Among the delegates at the summit were council leaders from across the region, senior officials from the Department of Culture Media and Sport, as well as representatives from the regional development agency Advantage West Midlands and the Heritage Lottery Fund.