How your money helps

A month before King Harold II was defeated at Hastings in October 1066, he decisively repelled a full-scale Viking invasion at the Battle of Stamford Bridge. Without this distraction, it is possible that Harold would have defeated the Normans, would not have gone down in history as the last Anglo-Saxon king of England – and English history would have been vastly different.

The York area hoard allows us to tell the story of both invasions of 1066.

Discovered by a metal detectorist in 2023, this unique hoard comprises 179 silver pennies and the findspot suggests it was hurriedly buried for safekeeping before or after the battle. The coins are solely of King Harold II, which dates them to before the Norman conquest.

The Department of Money and Medals needs to raise £200,000 to acquire the York area hoard. If not acquired by the Museum, it will be returned to the finder and likely split up and sold off, leading to its permanent dispersal.

We need your support to ensure that this singularly important hoard is kept together, forever.

In previous years donations from Members have enabled us to preserve the collection, invest in scientific technologies and acquire new objects.

If you're a UK taxpayer, you can increase your support for the Museum's work for free through Gift Aid, which means that for every £1 you give, we can claim an extra 25 pence from HM Revenue and Customs. If you'd like to, please fill out a Gift Aid declaration form.

Conservation

'The British Museum collection is cared for by a dedicated team of world-class conservators. They work to preserve and investigate more than eight million objects, leading and supporting the latest scientific and academic research into the collection, ensuring its survival for generations to come. 

Thanks to our Members' generosity, we have purchased environmental monitoring equipment which records temperature and humidity in stores, galleries and showcases, 24 hours a day, protecting the health of the collection.'

– Sandra Smith, Head of Conservation

Digital microscope and Arago Photogrammetry Rig

'At the Museum, we are committed to uncovering hidden stories within the collection through innovative technology. Thanks to the generosity of Members, we purchased a digital microscope in 2017 and, most recently, an Arago Photogrammetry Rig in 2024.

These tools have revealed extraordinary hidden details, from the fine structure of turquoise and shell mosaics to a new study of wooden writing tablets from the Roman fort of Vindolanda, helping us to understand how these objects were made and inspiring a new display in the Roman Britain gallery.

They have also transformed how we study and share the collection. Our research is becoming more accessible worldwide, including to communities of origin and those unable to visit in person. This technology has also fostered collaborations and brought the Museum's scientific work to a wide audience.'

– Carl Heron, Head of Scientific Research

The Stoney Waterloo Album

'All of us in Prints and Drawings are hugely grateful to the Friends for their generosity in ensuring we could add such a significant work, the Stoney Waterloo Album, to our collection.

The Stoney album consists of 54 drawings by Irish amateur artist Thomas Stoney (1780–1869) which record his European travels. What makes Stoney remarkable is that he seems to have been one of the first, if not the first, artist to record the blood-soaked ground on which several of the key engagements of the Battle of Waterloo took place. As the topography of the battle site has since been much altered, these drawings are of huge historic significance. The album has an added resonance in being in Bloomsbury as the collection is so rich – as was made clear in the wonderful 2015 exhibition, Bonaparte and the British. 

All the drawings in the album are accessible on Collection online. The album is also available by appointment to view in our study room and we would be delighted to show it to Friends when we reopen.'

– Hugo Chapman, Keeper of Prints and Drawings

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Phone: +44 (0)20 7323 8195

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