A major of a rare Anglo-Saxon coin has left experts amazed as they believe it to be the oldest of its kind. Unearthed by a metal detectorist in a field near Norwich, the item originated from East Anglia. Dr Adrian Marsden from the Norfolk Historic Environment Service, a , has hailed the discovery a "massively significant" find.

The small coin dates back between AD640 to 660. "It's the first one of this type of coin that we've seen, and new types of shillings just don't turn up," Dr Marsden said. The gold artefact depicts a man appearing to dance a jig while holding a Christian cross in one hand. A symbol linked to the Norse god Odin is also carved into the coin, who, in mythology, was responsible for guiding the dead to the afterlife.

"It's got this fascinating iconography of a little figure with a long cross - explicitly Christian - over the valknut design, which has pagan roots," Dr Marsden says, publishing his research in the Searcher.

The coin was made during a time when pagan beliefs were beginning to give way to Christianity, with the design signifying this change.

The reverse of the coin features a design that could be a cross or could be a swastika, which was a good luck symbol during that period. The sign is encircled by what is thought to be a Latin inscription.

"It's plain from looking at the letters that whoever made the die wasn't literate, the letters don't bear much resemblance to Latin - they're garbage really," Dr Marsden added.

Further analysis of the coin has proved it to contain exceptionally high gold content of up to 60%.

Norwich Castle Museum is hoping to get the coin, which has become the second item in Norfolk to benefit from revised treasure legislation based on "national significance".

In order to attempt to get more artefacts on public display, the government changed the legal definition of the 1996 Treasure Act two years ago.

However, it is up to a coroner to decide if the discovery is treasure.