Treasure hunters descend on county for tours
US tourists are paying thousands of pounds to come to the county and join in treasure hunting tours.
Hundreds of metal detector enthusiasts are taking part in specially led trips every year, that are being fuelled by posts on Instagram.
Posts of coins and artefacts are attracting hundreds of likes online, and in turn providing a surge in visitor umbers.
One of those who is enjoying the boom in tourists coming over looking for old coins is Chris Langston.
Mr Langston, 45, runs Metal Detecting Holidays near Oswestry, after launching the business back in 2017.
Guests pay £1,499, excluding flights, for a 12 day tour and they stay in a house in the village of Whittington, near Shrewsbury and scour 500 acres of land that lies close to the village's castle.
Mr Langston said: "I've been detecting for six or seven years and realised I wanted to make a business out of it — give Americans their bucket-list holiday of a lifetime.
"My business partner has the accommodation and land that could make it happen."
60 per cent of his clients are from the US, and they also get visitors from Australia and Canada.
Tours take place from February to June and September to November.
Mr Langston added: "Because European settlement in America was so recent, it's very unusual there to find artefacts such as coins from before the 1700s.
"For Americans, even a coin from the 1800s is really old.
"They're mostly keen to find Roman, medieval and Bronze Age artefacts, especially hammered coins."
