Christmas came in September for a British fisherman who stumbled upon a deposit of millions of dollars in ancient Celtic coins while watching a “dog fight” in rural England.
The gold medallions – almost mistaken for an old car part – date back more than 2,000 years to the time when the fierce Celtic queen Boudicca was at war with Rome, according to assessors, who estimate the prize will be worth £ 845,000 , or about $ 1,144,000.
It is a “life-changing” sum for the lucky seeker, who is said to be 50 years old, who chose to remain anonymous in a recent interview for Treasure Hunting magazine.
“I was doing a little bird watching that night,” he said. “After watching a dog fight with a pair of roosters, I looked down and saw something lying in a part of the deep plowed ground that stretched around the edge of the field.”
He almost passed it, thinking the metal chips were an old washing machine. Then he “rubbed it and felt its thickness.”
“I saw the shine of gold and I realized that it is a beautiful Celtic gold stater, which made me sit in shock,” he said. “I saw the second coin two meters away and I rushed home to pick it up [metal detector]. He gave her a “very strong” signal that more was just below the surface.
After about 18 centimeters of excavation, he dug up a copper bracelet – probably the handle of a jug of gold coins. “Easily,” he lifted the vessel and a golden “waterfall” came out – “a vision that will remain with me for the rest of my life,” he recalled. “I had to sit down to catch my breath. I just went for a walk and found a Celtic treasure ”.
As if writing for a movie, a nearby dog passenger walked past the man and jokingly shouted, “Have you found any gold yet?” he pretended. If you only knew, he thought.
The man said he prayed that the two shopping bags filled with 1,300 gold coins – each worth up to $ 880 – would last on the way home. He then notified the local lawyer’s office, which oversees the protocol under the UK Treasury Act of 1996, including the decision of who will keep the currency: the seeker, the landowner or a local museum.
Treasure Hunting editor Julian Evans-Hart said in a statement: “Coins are a substantial, if not enormous, contribution to our academic numismatic knowledge and will no doubt be subject to much evaluation in the coming year.”
“It is possible that they will form a warehouse as a ‘war chest’ for Boudicca’s eastern campaigns,” he continued.
“The previous record was 850 and this was the Wickham Market Hoard found in 2008. At this stage, it seems very likely that the discovery could beat those in the top spot.”