Metal detectorist planted coins he bought on eBay to claim glory and nearly changed history
A metal detectorist who planted his own coins to make himself look good has been accused of trying to change British history.
Michael Jones bought the rare silver deniers on eBay himself to claim he found them at a metal detecting rally in Titley, Hereford magistrates’ court heard.
He placed the five coins in the ground and pretended he found them, but his fellow detectorists were suspicious as no other similar treasures had been found in the area.
Archaeologists even said if they had genuinely been found in the field it would have changed the history of the Herefordshire and the Welsh borders.
Peter Reavill, who was the finds liaison officer for the county at the time, said: ‘They are very rare and very important, especially if they could be linked to the Knights Templar. Such coins have never been found in the region before.’
A detectorist later found five very similar-looking coins had been sold on eBay.
When officials contacted the seller they found they were the same weight and look of the ones Jones had ‘discovered’.
He was arrested and admitted planting them in the soil, saying he wanted ‘the fame and bravado that goes with it’.
Jones said: ‘It was stupid, I know. It was a feel-good thing, I just wanted to make myself look good.
‘It was a moment of insanity, I just didn’t think.’
During the dig, detectorist Adrian Harris said Jones had asked him to go with him into the corner of the field, where he saw freshly dug holes.
The pair found the crusader coins very quickly, but Jones didn’t appear to be surprised.
Mr Harris said: ‘I was ecstatic, jumping up and down, but Mike wasn’t really shocked.’
Jones was acquitted of fraud by false representation, saying there was no proof he intended to take money from it.
‘You did make false representations, but the crown could not prove financial gain, therefore we find you not guilty,’ Sue Furnival, the chairwoman of the magistrates, said.
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