MEDIEVAL coins discovered over a decade ago on a north Hampshire farm have been removed from display at a Basingstoke museum.

The two silver Double Patards from Charles the Bold, dating back to 1467 to 1477, and one silver Groat of Henry VII, from 1485 to 1490, had been displayed at the Willis Museum for seven years.

The coins were donated by Terry McAnish, from Old Basing, who discovered them on a local farm whilst using a metal detector with his son.

The 63-year-old asked the museum, run by Hampshire Cultural Trust, what has happened to the coins, but said: “Nobody knows where they are. These coins were kindly donated to the Willis Museum and only the Willis Museum.”

Mr McAnish is very upset that the coins are no longer on display at the museum, at the Top of The Town, because he recognised their historical value and donated them so others could benefit from viewing them.

Mr McAnish has donated items to various museums, including Basing House, after finding them using his metal detector with permission from landowners.

Janet Owen, from the Hampshire Cultural Trust, said the coins were added to the ‘Story of Basingstoke’ exhibition after they were donated in 2008.

She added: “During a conservation review in 2012, they were removed from the rather small Deane Cup case in which they were displayed in order to integrate them into the more spacious Archaeology Gallery on the top floor of the museum at a later stage.”