There being no banks for anyone but the wealthy merchants and nobles. peasants and townsmen of means with spare cash would bury, or otherwise hide, a hoard of coins. These savings were used for emergencies, such as times of crop failure or other natural disaster. Commoners would also pool their savings to take an overlord to court when there was a major dispute over feudal rights and duties. The peasants often won these cases, and lawyers saw no problem in representing commoners against nobles in such situations. Many of these coin hoards were lost when the owners died without passing on the location. As a result, many of them are now being found with the aid of inexpensive metal detectors.