AN ANCIENT gold coin discovered in North Yorkshire has reached top price at auction in London.

The Anglo-Saxon coin, believed to be more than 1,300 years old, was sold for £3,795 by Spink yesterday.

It was found near Bulmer Bank, near Malton, in the 1980s, but was only put up for auction this month by the finder's grandchild.

The piece was sold to a private collector, but will be kept in the United Kingdom. It had been expected to sell for between £2,000 and £3,000.

May Sinclair, head of the coin department at auctioneers Spink, said: "It is a unique coin, its sale price was very difficult to estimate as we have simply never seen one of these before.

"The seller was very pleased with the result, he was at the sale, his first auction, and he is pleased to see the item go to a good home."

Updated: 10:41 Friday, March 28, 2003