A treasure hunter who had almost given up his search has unearthed his country’s biggest ever Viking-era hoard.
Kalle Lappinen was walking with his trusty metal detector when its signal suddenly changed.
He dug into the ground and discovered thousands of silver coins stashed inside two birch-bark pots.
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The incredible haul weighs around 9.9lb (4.5kg) and has smashed a Finnish record that had stood for more than 130 years.
The treasure was discovered near Sysmä church village in Päijät-Häme, Finland, last Thursday (3 September), as reported by Whats The Jam.
A museum spokesperson said it was the largest Late Iron Age coin cache ever discovered in the country.
Archaeologist Esko Tikkala, of Lahti Museums, inspected the site the following day.
The two birch-bark containers were found around 45cm underground between stones and approximately 12 metres apart.
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Alongside the coins were pieces of hacksilver, a silver bracelet, a silver fitting and a silver bead.
The coins have yet to be cleaned, separated or counted.
Kalle said: “First came a little disbelief, then the adrenaline and the feeling that it had paid off.
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“The work was worth it.
“Ninety-nine per cent of finds are rubbish or just metal deposits.”
Kalle had previously searched the same spots and was close to giving up before finally striking silver.
The previous Finnish record was a hoard discovered in Nousiainen in 1895, as reported by Whats The Jam.
That haul contained around 1,700 coins and other objects and weighed approximately 2.2kg – less than half the weight of Kalle’s discovery.
Lahti museum director Tuulia Tuomi said the sheer scale of the new find was particularly remarkable.
Finland’s Late Iron Age dates roughly from AD 800 to 1300.
Experts are currently describing the discovery as a Viking-era hoard until the coins can be accurately dated.
Further study will determine the exact number, weight and age of the coins.
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