A hoard of fourth and fifth century silver including coins and plates hacked up after a Roman-era "Brexit" has been unearthed in a farmer's field by three metaldetectorists, a treasure inquest has heard.

The "significant" discovery, made in the Wem area of Shropshire last year, included a brooch thought to have been used to pin together a cloth or leather bag when thehoard was buried during the Dark Ages.

Shropshire coroner John Ellery was told the haul - only the sixth hoard of Roman hacksilver found in Britain - was located by Steve Lord, Steve King and Andy Bijsterbosch afterthey detected a handful of coins in a ploughed field.

Mr Ellery ruled that the original find, and more silver objects identified during a follow-up dig last week, constituted a single hoard of treasure.

The coins and the other items should be known as the Wem Hoard, said Mr Ellery, who was told that experts at the British Museum were involved in assessing and examining theitems.

Peter Reavill, finds liaison officer for Shropshire and Herefordshire with the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme, told the inquest it was hoped the items couldbe acquired for display in Shropshire.

He told the hearing some of the coins had been chiselled into halves and quarters, as the collapse of the monetary system following "the Roman Brexit" meant they onlyretained value as silver bullion. Astonishing hoard of chopped-up Roman era silver discovered in Shropshire field - Birmingham Live Pieces of silver cups and plates were found cutinto smaller pieces, also of apparent use as a form of payment.

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