A PRECIOUS hoard of Saxon coins will go on tour if £26,000 can be raised by the end of the month to save them for the nation.

In October a £70,000 appeal was launched by Oxford's Ashmolean Museum’s to save the historic coins collection from going abroad.

Former marketing executive James Mather discovered the coins in a farmer’s field in Watlington in October 2015.

So far the public appeal has raised £46,000 but time is running out to raise the rest of the funds.

The hoard of about 200 silver coins, seven items of jewellery and 15 silver ingots date back to the ninth century, including many coins of Alfred the Great, who was born in Wantage and King of Wessex from 874 to 879.

Sophie Carp, who is leading the fundraising bid at the museum, said: "There are only a few weeks to go so we are urging visitors to make a donation as this collection would be a fantastic asset.

"There is a donation box in the gallery where the coins are on display and money has been coming in.

"We have got lots of activities planned for the hoard over the coming year, with the coins due to go to the Oxfordshire Museum in Woodstock in February for a couple of months.

"After that the coins could then travel to the Viking museum in York before returning to the Ashmolean.

"Replica sets of the coins could be made so that they could be sent out to schools."

If the money is not raised, there is a danger the collection could be dispersed and sold at auction.

Mr Mather, 61, said that as King Alfred had been born in Oxfordshire, he thought the Ashmolean was the 'natural home for a hoard of this kind'.

The treasure has been valued at £1.35m by the Treasure Valuation Committee.

It has already received some donations towards the cause and a £1,102,500 donation from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

If the Beaumont Street venue raises enough cash by January 31 the treasure will remain on display alongside the museum's Alfred Jewel, the most famous surviving object associated with King Alfred.

Curators said £900,000 from the grant would support the acquisition, with the remainder given for its conservation, display, touring and education programmes to engage as wide an audience as possible.

The hoard was declared Treasure by the coroner for Oxfordshire in February and Mr Mather and the landowner both stand to receive half the proceeds each if the treasure is acquired by the museum.

Mr Mather said at the launch of the fundraising campaign, he would invest some of the money on a book about the psychology of metal detecting.

It is believed the hoard was deposited in Watlington in the late 870s by Vikings but it is not known why the treasure was abandoned.