Bournemouth News and Picture Service/XP DetectorsA couple have hit the jackpot after uncovering a treasure believed to be worth up to £5,000,000 on a metal detecting trip.
Adam Staples and Lisa Grace discovered 2,517 silver coins, many of which are still in mint condition, valued at around £1,000 to £5,000 each.
The couple described the ‘absolutely mind-blowing’ stash, which is slightly smaller than the infamous 2009 Staffordshire haul, but thought to be worth around £1,000,000 more.
Bournemouth News and Picture ServiceAdam and Lisa found the collection, which is made up of King Harold II pennies, England’s last Anglo-Saxon king, and William the Conqueror coins, from after the Norman invasion of 1066, in January.
The couple, from Derby, were enjoying a metal detecting session in a farmer’s field in north-east Somerset when they hit the jackpot.
They told the county’s local finds liaison officer, as required by law, and gave the coins to the British Museum to assess.
If the haul is declared as treasure, the museum must compensate the couple with the value of the discovery, while the landowner will also be entitled to 50 per cent of the cash.
Bournemouth News and Picture ServiceAs per the Mirror, Nigel Mills, a consultant for London auctioneers Dix Noonan Webb, said:
This hoard could be worth between £3,000,000 and £5,000,000.
The British Museum added:
We can confirm a large hoard of late Anglo-Saxon and Norman coins was handed in.
XP DetectorsIt seems like metal detecting might just be the right hobby to get into right now, after another fella discovered a $100,000 nugget of gold in Australia.
Matt Cook, the owner of metal detector shop in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, told the BBC about the mystery man’s shock discovery earlier this year.
As per the BBC, Cook said:
He walked into my shop and showed me the nugget in his hand with a big smile on my face.
It just a bit bigger than a packet of smokes, and the density of it was incredible, so heavy.
Finders Keepers Gold ProspectingMr Cook added that the detectorist discovered the gold with a man finder on some saltbush flats, around 18 inches below the surface.
Impressive finds like this one crop up just a handful of times a year, but it’s extremely rare for them to be discovered by a hobbyist with a single metal detector.
It’s time to quit the day job, guys. Let’s go metal detecting.
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Emma Rosemurgey is an NCTJ trained Journalist who started her career by producing The Royal Rosemurgey newspaper in 2004, which kept her family up to date with the goings on of her sleepy north east village. She graduated from the University of Central Lancashire in Preston and started her career in regional newspapers before joining Tyla (formerly Pretty 52) in 2017, and progressing onto UNILAD in 2019.