The booty, £10 17d from the 14th century, was discovered while sewers in the city were being replaced.

Today the hoard, a mix of gold and silver, would be worth around £500,000.

The coins, hidden at the time of the Black Death, were found seven centuries later by archaeologists digging up sewers underneath Chesterton Lane.

All 1,800 coins have been given to the museum.

They will be restored before going on display there next year.