Rare medieval coin with royal link is found languishing down a drain – and is now set to sell for an eye-watering sum
A RARE gold coin dating back nearly 700 years is set to fetch an eye-watering sum after being found down a field drain.
The incredible 14th-century artefact was discovered alongside a trove of precious pieces in East Raynham, Norfolk.
It was unearthed over 100 years ago in 1911, but is going under the hammer at auctioneers Spink & Son’s next month.
Auctioneer Gregory Edmund said: “The glint of gold is as attractive to modern eyes as it was to Medieval Kings.
“For this remarkably preserved and high-value Medieval coin to have languished in a lowly field drain for centuries before coming to light is, if anything, quite romantic.”
Originally the incredible collection, dating back King Edward III’s reign, was snubbed by the British Museum.
This meant the hoard was open to bidders who wanted to pay privately to own it.
They were made between 1327 and 1377, showing the design of King Edward III on a warship with a mighty sword and shield.
It depicts defeating the French during the Battle of Sluys in 1340.
The Medieval coin has an inscription which reads: “King of England, by the Grace of God, and Lord of Ireland and Aquitaine”.
It is now on the market, after the previous owner acquired the artefact in 1970.
And, it is set to rake in a whopping £8,000 at auction.
The coin will go up for sale at Spinks auction in London on April 4.
It comes as a metal detectorist who thought he found one “lucky penny” was stunned to dig up a haul worth £200k.
Tony House stumbled across a single coin, but gut instinct told him to keep digging – and he uncovered a hoard of 570 more pennies.
A fellow detectorist, Jon Randle, found a hoard of 400-year-old silver coins – on his second outing.
The aspiring metal detector had only dug up rusty nails and a butter knife before discovering the fortune.
The loot is thought to have been buried during the Civil War of 1642-51 and contains money from the reigns of Charles I, James I, Elizabeth I and Mary I.
The 27-year-old, of Hinckley, Leics, has reported the find in Coventry as treasure.
Meanwhile, another rookie treasure hunter managed to locate one of the largest ever hauls of pre-Viking gold.
The huge fortune – including gold medallions as big as saucers – lay hidden for 1,500 years until Ole Ginnerup Schytz found it by “pure luck”.
Ole had only been out for a few hours when he heard his gadget beep in a field and unearthed 22 precious gold objects weighing almost 1kg (2.2lbs).
Archaeologists excavated the surrounding site and discovered the treasure was buried under a longhouse by a clan chief in the sixth century
Experts say it is one of the largest and most important such finds in Danish history.
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