A £3.3 million fundraising campaign to keep the Staffordshire Hoard in the West Midlands was launched today, with a half-a-million pounds pledged to the fund.

Charity The Art Fund has kickstarted the fundraising campaign with a donation of £300,000. But campaigners warned that if the money is not raised by an April deadline, the hoard could be sold on the open market.

Birmingham City Council which runs Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery, announced that it is giving £100,000 to the campaign, with Stoke-on-Trent City Council which runs the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery also giving £100,000.

The Art Fund wants the Anglo-Saxon treasure to be jointly acquired by Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery and the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery in Stoke-on-Trent. To be successful the cash must be in place by April 17.

The treasure was discovered in a field on the Staffordshire border near Brownhills in July last year by Terry Herbert of Burntwood. The Hoard is made up of 1,500 items made of gold, silver and precious stones. It is the largest find of Anglo-Saxon gold ever.

Historian and TV presenter Dr David Starkey is supporting the campaign and was at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery for today’s announcement. He said: “The Hoard is the largest and most valuable collection of Anglo-Saxon gold ever.”

A statement from The Art Fund said: “The worst case scenario is if the money can’t be raised by a UK museum, the Hoard would go back to the landowner and finder, which could mean selling it on the open market.”