Last year, Colin Dale, an amateur detectorist, found a huge hoard of green shield stamps in a field near his home in Essex. The find became known as the Danbury Hoard and Colin became a minor celebrity, appearing on Sunday Brunch and Lorraine. The stamps would have been worth over a million pounds in today’s money.
Younger readers will not have heard of green shield stamps. The simplest explanation is that they were liked gummed nectar points that you got when buying petrol and which you stuck into little booklets. After four or five years of dedicated collecting you would have enough stamps to exchange for a paraffin heater, or ceramic ducks to put on your chimney breast. The stamps fell out of favour when petrol stations decided to ditch cheap tumblers and green shield stamps and just cut their prices instead.
Colin followed the correct procedure and submitted his find to the authorities. The Essex coroner has now determined that the find does not qualify as treasure trove and is not covered by the portable antiquities scheme. Colin was advised to take the stamps to lost property. Colin is disappointed that the local museum will not have the opportunity to buy the stamps.
Mystery surrounds the burial of the stamps. Experts believe that local crime gangs may have used green shield stamps as currency, to avoid using the banking system. The stamps may be the proceeds from people trafficking, illegal drugs, or sales of adulterated Tiptree jam. Essex police say that these days the local gangs prefer to use Clubcard points, giftcards or designer trainers to settle their debts.
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