A ‘MINI hoard’ of silver coins dating back some 400 years has been discovered by a treasure hunter in a Forest field.

Rob Moore made the discovery when he was out with his metal detector and cockapoos Stan and Fifi.

He was on the land with the permission of the owner but is not disclosing the exact location to prevent treasure hunters descending on the area.

He said: “You’ve got to be careful because people will get into their cars and dive in.”

The find of 12 silver coins, possibly dating to the reign of Charles I between 1625 and 1649, has now gone to the University of Bristol for expert assessment.

They feature the Royal Standard quartered with leopards and fleur de lys.

Rob from Cinderford, who drives a lorry for Tesco, says it is his best find in 40 years of metal detecting.

He said: “I go out with the dogs and we went out to metal detect.

“I’ve found some interesting things over the time, but I'm not an expert on a coinage but these are King Charles I, 100 per cent.

“Because there's 12 of them, they come under the Treasure Act – they’re more than two and they're made of more than 10 per cent precious metal, and you have to report them by law, which I’ve done.

“They go to a finds liaison officer under the portable antiquities scheme.

“They take them and assess them and clean them. I’ve cleaned them in distilled water which is as much as I dare.

“I’ve never found anything that has had to go to them before but I knew these did. It’s described as a mini hoard or a purse spill.”

He said it is feasible that the coins were hidden during the Civil War, which saw the Battle of Coleford on February 20, 1643, but the owner never returned for them.

“I was the first person in 400 years to touch those coins. I've never found anything like this although I have found Victorian coins

“I've been metal detecting on and off for 40 years, it's always been my hobby and it's all led to this Saturday morning.”

Rob has previously gone detecting in the field but on this occasion was probing near a hedge.

He was using a detector that covered a wide area but to a shallow depth when he found the first coin after about an hour of searching.

Widening the search area, he discovered another five coins.

He returned the following morning with the dogs and a detector head which scanned a narrower field but to a greater depth.

“The first rule of metal detecting is to always check because its very easy to find something, get excited and get in the car.

“I suppose that as the ground moved over the years, the coins spread out.

“I get out at every opportunity with my detector and the dogs.

“I’m not a member of a club but I have always going out with the metal detector.”

Rob estimates the value of the coins to be around £1,000.