The hoard, one of the most important finds of metal work and coins of the Christian Saxon period, was discovered in 1774 by tin-workers in a streamwork, 17 feet under the surface of the ground, at Trewhiddle, St. Austell, Cornwall. It was hidden in a heap of loose stones which Philip Rashleigh in his original publication ascribes to an old mine working. The collection of the hoard was haphazard and it seems likely that a certain number of coins, and possibly some other articles, were lost before Rashleigh could collect them together at Menabilly. It is possible, for instance, that the chalice was intact when found and, if this is so, many fragments have disappeared subsequently. When they were found it is recorded that certain objects were covered with copper from a vein in the neighbourhood.