A QUARTER of a century after striking lucky when he found a trove of Roman coins, a metal detectorist was in the money once again after unearthing a previously unrecorded example from the time of Emperor Hadrian.

The rare find was among 11 silver coins found by David Scott at an undisclosed area in Weardale, County Durham.

Yesterday, a treasure trove inquest in Durham confirmed the find as treasure after the British Museum declared an interest in keeping the coins.

Mr Scott said he was not expecting to make a fortune from the find, adding: "I got about £125 for the last lot of Roman coins I found. But I still enjoy finding old coins - it's the same as fishing when you get that bite."

Coroner Andrew Tweddle was told the latest hoard contained 11 silver denarii coins, dating from AD101 to AD176. But it was a HADRIANVS AVGVSTVS coin that caught the eyes of experts.

The coin with the "Justitia seated, left, with patera and vertical sceptre" was not in the museum collection.

Mr Tweddle said a report from the British Museum "believed the hoard to satisfy the legislative definition of treasure both from its age and precious metal content".

Mr Scott, 64, of Seaham, in east Durham, said the first time he struck lucky was in 1983 when he found nine silver Roman coins on land owned by farmer Malcolm Nattrass.

It was the site of a large hoard of Roman coins discovered by lead miners in 1861.

Mr Scott said: "When I first searched the area in 1983 you could see the miners had sieved all the ground in the area looking for more coins.

"They obviously missed a few which I found around the area."

Those coins were declared treasure and found their way into the collection of Bowes Museum, in Barnard Castle.

Since then Mr Scott has gone on to find more than 70 pre- Roman Celtic gold coins in the East Yorkshire area.

Then in March last year, Mr Scott returned after asking Mr Nattrass for permission again.

He said: "I had a lot more experience this time. And I had a better metal detector."

The coins will now go before a valuation committee and any profits will be shared equally between the finder and landowner.