<Tr> <Th> Present location </Th> <Td> Medieval Gallery, Yorkshire Museum, York </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Identification </Th> <Td> 2007T2 </Td> </Tr> <P> The Vale of York Hoard, also known as the Harrogate Hoard and the Vale of York Viking Hoard, is a 10th - century Viking hoard of 617 silver coins and 65 other items . It was found undisturbed in 2007 near the town of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England . The hoard was the largest Viking one discovered in Britain since 1840, when the Cuerdale hoard was found in Lancashire, though the Anglo - Saxon Staffordshire Hoard, found in 2009, is larger . </P> <P> On 6 January 2007, David Whelan, a semi-retired businessman from Leeds, and his son Andrew, a surveyor, discovered the Harrogate hoard using metal detectors . The Whelans told BBC News they have been metal detecting as a hobby for about five years . </P>

Why is the silver cup from britain an important find