TWO men have denied charges relating to a historically-important Viking hoard of coins and silver worth almost £1 million.

Roger Pilling, 73, of Loveclough in Rossendale, and Craig Best, 44, from Bishop Auckland, County Durham, appeared briefly before Durham Crown Court to plead not guilty to all charges.

They denied a charge of conspiracy to convert criminal property – Anglo-Saxon coins – between September 2018 and May 2019.

Pilling also denied two charges of possessing criminal property – Anglo-Saxon coins and a silver ingot.

Best denied a charge of possessing criminal property, namely Anglo-Saxon coins.

They will go on trial on June 20 next year.

Durham Police said previously that officers seized a large number of coins and a silver ingot in two raids.

The hoard contained coins of Alfred the Great of Wessex and his less well-known contemporary Ceolwulf II of Mercia.

It is considered important because it fills a gap in the understanding of history at this time.

Until now, accounts suggested Ceolwulf of Mercia was a puppet of the Vikings and a minor nobleman rather than a proper king.

But the coins tell a very different historical story and show two rulers standing side by side as allies.

King Alfred inflicted a major defeat on the Vikings in 878 and experts from the British Museum believe the coins belong to a hoard consistent with the location of the Viking army at that time.