I eventually worked out that my little soft blue shoulder bag had probably been stolen in York, possibly at the railway station or from the train. Wherever this incident took place, it was extremely inconvenient.

Months later I was very surprised when the handbag resurfaced at my workplace. I was so pleased to find that my keys were still in there. Now I wouldn’t need to bother the school office staff every time I needed a key to get into my office.

LO and I sat down together to examine the bag’s contents. LO counted out the coins left in the purse while I examined the sorry state of my credit cards.

“I think they must have been an international gang” LO suggested. “Just look at these serrated eastern European beer bottle top coins!”

I peered over to her side of the table and spotted something else: half a dozen newly minted silver commemorative British crowns.

We both wondered where this currency had come from. None of these coins had been in my handbag on the day that it was stolen. Now that these items were in our possession, were we in danger?