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The Government has bought the Celtic coin hoard for £4.25m - a sum which Jersey Heritage says could “endanger future acquisitions by setting a precedent for inflated valuations.”
Ministers also made the purchase despite strong pushback from senior civil servants, who maintained that a £2m valuation by the UK’s Government’s Treasure Valuation Committee made in 2017 was the appropriate sum to pay.
However, a separate and independently validated valuation commissioned by the hoard’s finders in 2019 valued the 2,000-year-old clump of 70,000 coins at £6m.
Jersey’s Receiver-General, who represented the official owner of the hoard, the Crown, as well as the finders, oversaw “protracted and complex” negotiations which has seen the finders, Richard Miles and Reg Mead, and Government split the difference.
The money to pay for the ‘Le Câtillon II’ hoard will not be paid by taxpayers but will come from the Civil Asset Recovery Fund, essentially seized money that was derived from corruption in Nigeria during the military regime of General Sani Abacha in the 1990s.
Arguments over the exact value of the hoard have been rumbling on in the background for many years.
Last week, Express reported on disquiet among parties involved in the negotiations.
Although today’s news that the hoard is staying in Jersey has been unanimously welcomed, that disquiet has now surfaced.
Pictured: Finders Richard Miles and Reg Mead, who discovered the hoard in a field in Grouville in 2012.
Those expressing concern include Jersey Heritage, the Government-funded body that has painstakingly curated the hoard and is displaying it at La Hougue Bie.
In a statement issued after the announcement of a settlement, which was made by Chief Minister John Le Fondré and Receiver General Alan Blair, Jersey Heritage Chair Tim Brown said: “We are grateful to the Government of Jersey for securing the Câtillon II hoard for the Island and ensuring that it remains in Jersey where it belongs.
“It will be an honour to have it in our care and we are renovating the gallery at La Hougue Bie in readiness for the hoard to go on display in a new exhibition next year.
“We look forward to learning more of how the £250,000 trust [set up as part of the settlement to promote “scientific and educational research” into the find] will be used to support the work on the hoard.”
He added: “However, the acquisition illustrates why the island desperately needs new legislation to cover the discovery of portable antiquities, such as this significant archaeological find.
“We are fully aware of the practice for valuing similar finds in the UK and have concerns that the ultimate price paid was so far adrift from expert advice from the UK’s highly-regarded Treasure Valuation Committee.
“Such a conclusion could have a detrimental impact on Jersey reputation and endanger future acquisitions by setting a precedent for inflated valuations.
“We believe that if the Island had in place a fit-for-purpose Treasure Law, similar to that in the UK and the Isle of Man, appropriate procedures would have been followed and this situation would not have arisen.
“We are pleased that the Government has committed to bringing forward this much-needed, modern legislation and we look forward to working with them on it.”
Jersey Heritage’s concerns have been echoed by archaeologist Matt Pope, who has worked extensively on the Neanderthal site at La Cotte in St. Brelade.
He said: “I find the non-acceptance of the Treasure Valuation Committee recommendation perplexing: it’s a fully independent body with established and trusted expertise in arriving at equitable rewards for responsible finders.
“Outcomes like this aren’t good for Jersey or the wider heritage community, it puts too much focus on the monetary value of ‘treasure’ and detracts from us celebrating and responsibly protecting Jersey’s past.
“Best practise was evident throughout Jersey Heritage’s work recovering the hoard, ensuring its meticulous conservation, interpretation and obtaining the TVC valuation.
“So, despite the outcome this time, which I fear will be counter-productive, I hope all stakeholders in Jersey recommit towards robustly enhancing protections for the island’s past.”
Senior civil servants also raised concerns about the £4.25m settlement, so much so that the Director General with accounting responsibility, Richard Corrigan of the Economy Department, asked for a 'letter of instruction' from ministers – a formal way of saying that the officer is not prepared to take legal responsibility for their decision.
In his letter to the Chief and Deputy Chief Minister, he writes: “In this matter – and after careful reflections – I feel unable to fulfil those legal responsibilities and seek your instruction to complete the purchase on the basis resolved by the Council of Ministers [the £4.25m sum]."
CLICK TO READ: Mr Corrigan's letter to Ministers.
Mr Corrigan adds in his letter that he has “discussed this matter thoroughly” with the Principal Accounting Officer, who is the Government’s Chief Executive.
A direct quote from interim civil service head Paul Martin in the letter says: “The interests of the public purse are served by a strictly commercial negotiation in which the Government’s focus is wholly on the interests of taxpayers and that does not exceed a reasonable and defensible valuation.
“I am also influenced by a meeting with the Chair and Chief Executive of Jersey Heritage and representations made by them to the Government.
“Finally, I am mindful of the risk of precedent being formed here. I therefore support the conclusion of the Accountable Officer.”
In a reply, Senator Le Fondré says he understands Mr Corrigan’s position but “formally instructs” him to proceed with the purchase.
The Chief Minister explains that, in the absence of any Jersey treasure legislation, the negotiations followed a code set out in the UK’s Treasure Trove Act, which allows more than one valuation to be commissioned.
CLICK TO READ: The formal 'letter of instruction' reply from the Chief Minister to Mr Corrigan.
He says: “It was therefore appropriate, fair and in accordance with natural justice that the finders were given the opportunity to submit the Chris Rudd Limited valuation [which they commissioned] in this case, which valued the hoard at almost £6.1m.”
The Chief Minister also highlights the brevity and “arithmetical inconsistencies” in an updated valuation given by the Treasury Valuation Committee in 2018, contrasting it with the 800 pages of the Rudd report.
The letter also refers to a third valuation by a French company in 2019 which agreed with the Rudd valuation figure, on the basis that that the hoard was sold in separate lots.
Today, Senator Le Fondré said: “The Crown was not obliged to sell to us, and it became clear that anything below £4m would not have been acceptable, from their perspective of fairness.
“I think also, from our perspective, we were aware that there were two valuations. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter whether you think something is worth x, or y or z, if the person you’re seeking to buy from is never going to sell at x, then you’ve got to come to a different negotiation position.
“And ultimately all parties - certainly at the political level, at the Receiver General level, and I assume, on the finders’ side as well - are satisfied that this is a fair outcome.
“It is a midpoint between two valuations - one of around £2m and one of around £6m, which has been validated.”
“And I’d also like to make clear that ministers have not negotiated the fee - that’s done at the right level, at officer level - but we are very satisfied with the outcome.”
The £4.25m sum, which includes a previous interim payment of £737,000, was paid to the Crown last Friday. The exact amount the finders will receive remains confidential.
The final figure includes £250,000 which was paid to Jersey Heritage for their work disaggregating the treasure trove to determine its contents, and the £250,000 that will be used to establish the trust.
Delighted to announce today the purchase of the Le Catillon II Hoard for the people of Jersey. This historic hoard, the largest of its kind ever found, has been secured using the Civil Asset Recovery Fund rather than taxpayers’ money. pic.twitter.com/6O0wgFPWby
— John Le Fondre (@John_Le_Fondre) December 23, 2021
Pictured: Chief Minister John Le Fondré tweeted the news this morning.
The Chief Minister added: “This is an outcome which will ensure that this unique part of Jersey’s history remains in the Island for this and future generations.
“Since its discovery nine years ago, Jersey Heritage conservators, archaeologists and volunteers have unpicked and studied the hoard, but there is still much that it can reveal about Jersey and our place in the world at the time of Christ.
“Had it been decided to split the hoard into its component parts for sale to the highest bidders, considerably more money could have been raised and the treasure trove would have been dispersed across the world and its inherent value to Jersey lost.
“The Crown was under no obligation to sell to the island and, although it has taken time, we have reached an agreement which satisfies the interests of the finders, the Crown and the island.”
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