THE Art Fund charity is leading a campaign against the clock to save the Staffordshire Hoard for the West Midlands and are asking for help from the Sky Blue Army. The Staffordshire Hoard is the largest collection of Anglo-Saxon treasure ever found on UK soil, discovered by a metal detectorist in a field in the West Midlands in July 2009. It is made up of over 1,500 items of gold, silver and precious stones, which are believed to date back to the 7th Century, and the Art Fund charity have until April 17 to raise £3.3 million to prevent the collection from being sold on the open market. The Hoard is unique - no collection of gold and silver objects from this period has before been found. During the Anglo-Saxon era, Staffordshire was part of the kingdom of Mercia - one of Britain's largest and most aggressive kingdoms, stretching from the Humber to London. The Hoard could give valuable insights into the so-called 'Dark Ages', answering many questions about the lives of the Anglo-Saxon people, and giving an understanding of the role that Mercia played in history. The Art Fund, the UK's leading independent art charity, is spearheading the campaign to buy and jointly acquire the treasure for Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery and the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery in Stoke-on-Trent, working in partnership with the councils of Birmingham, Lichfield, Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent and Tamworth as well as Advantage West Midlands, Staffordshire University, British Museum, Museums Libraries and Archives Council and the Government Office for the West Midlands. If successful, the Hoard will go on show in Birmingham as one of the proposed highlights of the UK City of Culture Bid Programme of events in 2013, and a series of other displays will also be planned across the region, as part of a Mercian Trail that will explore the history of the Hoard. Items from the Hoard can be seen at the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery in Stoke-on- Trent until 7 March. Donations can be made at: www.artfund.org/hoard or by calling 0844 415 4004.