Britain's luckiest treasure hunters of the 21st century
Tom Belger
01 August 2018
Treasure islands
An amateur gold hunter recently uncovered the largest nugget of the precious metal found in UK waters for centuries while snorkelling in a Scottish river. Many people dream of finding treasure, but few people have the good fortune to actually hit on some. Here's a rundown of the luckiest Brits to unearth huge treasures over the past decade, from lifelong metal detectorists to accidental jackpot winners.
Anonymous, Tadcaster Torc, £30,000
The anonymous metal detectorist who found an Iron Age bracelet in North Yorkshire in 2011 clearly wanted to stay out of the limelight. But they picked up their reward after the Yorkshire Museum bought the 2,000-year-old gold torc for £30,000 a year later. The object, and a similar bracelet found a year earlier in the area, were the first golden jewellery ever unearthed in the north of England.
Richard Mason, Second Lindisfarne Hoard, £31,000
Northumberland builder Richard Mason left an old pot he had found on a renovation job in his basement for eight years, before emptying it out in 2011. He was stunned to find the pot contained 50 gold and silver coins from across Europe, with one almost 500 years old. He and his son Tom drank beer from the pot to toast a discovery worth £31,000, uncovered near the site of the first Lindisfarne Hoard in 1962.
Michael Greenhorn, Escrick Ring, £35,000
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An intricate gold, glass and sapphire ring was uncovered at Escrick, near York, in 2009. It was only the second such sapphire ring ever found in Britain. The Escrick Ring is thought to have belonged to a highly wealthy individual in early Medieval times, who probably did not expect it to fall into the hands of York and District Metal Detecting Club member Michael Greenhorn. Now it belongs to the York Museums Trust, which raised £35,000 to buy it.
David Blakey, East Yorkshire Hoard, £44,000
David Blakey found one of northern England’s largest Roman hoards near the village of Wold Newton, East Yorkshire in 2014. The metal detectorist’s haul included more than 1,800 coins, reportedly worth a Roman legionary’s annual salary. It was enough to buy 700 chickens in Roman times, but its modern finder could afford plenty more than that after his treasure was valued at £44,200. The hoard is now in the hands of the York Museums Trust.
Darren Webster, Furness Hoard, £50,000
Stonemason Darren Webster could not believe his luck when he dug up a casket full of silver coins, jewellery and other objects in Furness, Cumbria in 2011. The metal detectorist was delighted when his device began beeping, and his find turned out to be around 1,000 years old. The 200 pieces of silver were valued at almost £50,000.
Anonymous, Douglas Nugget, £50,000+
A canny treasure hunter recently discovered the so-called 'Douglas Nugget' on a Scottish riverbed using snorkelling gear. He has chosen to keep the location secret for fears of prompting a deluge of amateur prospectors. Experts have valued the 85.7g (3.02oz) nugget, the largest found in UK waters for around 500 years, at £50,000, but say it could actually sell for more.
Stuart Campbell and Steve Caswell, Bedale Hoard, £51,000
Keen metal detectorists Stuart Campbell and Steve Caswell found parts of a Viking sword and a collection of jewellery in a North Yorkshire field in 2012. They had been to the same spot 25 times already before making their biggest discovery. What they thought was a power cable turned out to be an historic necklace. Natalie McCaul (pictured), curator at the Yorkshire Museum which bought it for £51,000, said it shone new light on Viking fashion.
Anonymous, South Warwickshire Hoard, £52,000
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An impressive 1146 silver Roman coins were found near Warmington, Warwickshire in 2008. The amateur metal detectorist who found the hoard inside a pot buried in a field, decided to keep his identity secret. Bought by the Market Hall Museum in Warwick, they were valued at £52,000.
Owen Johnson, Ackworth Hoard, £54,000
Hospital doctor Owen Johnson found the Ackworth Hoard in his back garden in West Yorkshire in 2011. A clay pot buried there contained hundreds of gold and silver coins dating from the English Civil War. Experts say Royalist troops may have hidden them to avoid discovery by Oliver Cromwell's men. Pontefract Museum later acquired the coins, worth £54,492.
Derek Eveleigh, Sully Hoard, £55,000
Derek Eveleigh, 79, kept one of Wales’ biggest ever Roman coin discoveries under wraps after finding two buried pots in a sheep-filled field at Sully, Vale of Glamorgan in 2008. The pots contained nearly 6,000 copper alloy coins worth £55,000. The metal detectorist told no-one about his discovery until the coins were declared as treasure months later.
Archaeologists, Second Staffordshire Hoard, £57,000
A team of archaeologists made a major Anglo-Saxon discovery in 2012 on the same field as the huge Staffordshire hoard three years earlier. The Staffordshire County Council and English Heritage staff found more than 90 gold, silver and copper objects, including a helmet, on the field near Lichfield. They've been valued at £57,000.
Anonymous, West Yorkshire Hoard, £60,000
This metal detectorist, who found a collection of Anglo-Saxon jewellery on farmland near Leeds in 2008, chose to keep their identity under wraps. The well-preserved hoard included part of a brooch and a gold ring with a garnet gemstone in the centre. It probably belonged to extremely wealthy people in the 7th to 11th centuries, and was bought by the Leeds City Museum for £60,000.
Phil Kirk, Hertfordshire Hoard, £62,000
Treasure enthusiast Phil Kirk said he was just about to head home when his metal detector began beeping on farmland near Royston, Hertfordshire in 2014. He dug out an almost complete Roman jug, and archaeologists returned to find several more objects at what turned out to be a wealthy Roman’s burial ground. The finds are now in the hands of North Hertfordshire Museum and are worth £62,000.
Anonymous, Castlederg bracelet, £95,000
A gold bracelet dating back as far as 950 BC was uncovered in a newly ploughed field in Castlederg, County Tyrone, in 2008. Experts believe the bracelet was buried at the riverside spot deliberately, rather than accidentally. The identity of whoever found the decorated Bronze Age bracelet is not known, but it was purchased by the National Museums Northern Ireland, and it's valued at £95,000.
Wesley Carrington, St Albans Hoard, £99,000
Wesley Carrington became one of the most fortunate treasure hunters in history after stumbling on gold just 20 minutes into his first outing.
He found 159 coins from across the world that turned out to be one of the largest Roman gold coin hoards buried in Britain. They went on display at the Verulamium Museum in St Albans, and are said to be worth £99,000.
Ronnie Johnston, Corrard Torc, £150,000
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Ronnie Johnston uncovered a 3,000-year-old golden belt while sweeping his own field in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, with a metal detector in 2009. It began to beep on an area of bogland, but at first he mistook the precious treasure, worth £150,000, for a spring from an old car. It was only when he glanced at a treasure hunters’ magazine two years later that he realised what he had found. National Museums Northern Ireland now has the torc.
Anonymous, Cambridgeshire Torc, £220,000
Many mysteries surround the discovery of a huge golden torc in Cambridgeshire in 2015. Not only have the identity of the discoverer and location of the find remained secret, the item itself has also puzzled experts. Most torcs are necklaces, bracelets or belts, but this one was far bigger than even a large man’s waist, prompting speculation it belonged to a pregnant woman. Now it's in the hands of Ely Museum, and is valued at £220,000.
Michael Darke and Keith Lewis, Wickham Market Hoard, £316,000
Lorry driver Michael Darke and his friend Keith Lewis, a postman, were lucky enough to unearth 840 gold coins on land near Wickham Market, Suffolk in 2008. Ipswich Museum bought the hoard, which dates back to the Iron Age, for £316,000, but the pair ended up fighting a legal battle over splitting the reward.
Dave Crisp, Frome Hoard, £320,000
Wiltshire hospital chef David Crisp won praise for resisting the urge to start digging when he uncovered one of Britain’s largest ever hoards of Roman cash in 2010. The amateur metal detectorist let local archaeologists do the work, and they pulled out a staggering 52,503 coins worth £320,000 in a pot buried in a field near Frome, Somerset.
Mark Hambleton and Joe Kania, Leekfrith Torcs, £325,000
A pair of friends hunting for treasure together in 2016 managed to find the oldest Iron Age jewellery reportedly ever unearthed in Britain. Mark Hambleton and Joe Kania had planned to go fishing, but luckily changed their minds and went out with their metal detectors instead. They hit on three gold necklaces and a bracelet on farmland in Leekfrith, not far from where the huge Staffordshire Hoard was found in 2009. The jewellery is on display at the Potteries Museum in Stoke and is valued at £325,000.
David Booth, Stirling Torcs, £462,000
The stars aligned for 35-year-old detectorist David Booth on his first ever outing with his metal detector in 2009. The Scot found four gold torcs or necklaces buried in the Iron Age, just a few inches underground in a field near Stirling. They were valued at £462,000 and bought by the National Museums of Scotland.
Martin Backhouse, Shropshire Piano Hoard, £500,000
A 61-year-old piano tuner was the unlikely discoverer of Britain’s largest ever gold coin hoard in 2016. Martin Backhouse found 913 coins from the 19th century stashed under the keyboard while he was cleaning a local school’s new piano in Shropshire. He and the college split the £500,000 proceeds as the authorities could not trace the heirs of the fortune. The unlucky couple who had owned the piano for decades before donating it to the school, also missed out on the reward.
James Mather, Watlington Hoard, £1.35 million
Metal detectorist James Mather was just about to call it a day when he stumbled on an incredible hoard of early medieval treasure in 2015.
The Oxfordshire trove included coins reportedly buried just after Alfred the Great defeated a Viking army in the late 9th century. It was valued at £1.35 million and bought by Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum.
Paul Coleman, Lenborough Hoard, £1.35 million
Paul Coleman admitted he nearly didn’t join other members of his local metal detector club on a winter trip in 2015, but it turned out rather well that he did. He found a lead basket with more than 5,000 Anglo-Saxon silver coins in the village of Lenborough in Buckinghamshire. They were valued at £1.35 million. The coins feature the heads of ancient kings including Ethelred the Unready and King Canute and ended up on display at the British Museum.
Derek McLennan, Galloway Hoard, £1.98 million
Scottish metal detectorist Derek McLennan hit the jackpot when he uncovered Britain’s largest Viking treasure in Dumfries and Galloway in 2014. Luckily for him, Scotland’s rules grant discoverers the whole reward rather than sharing it with landowners. National Museums Scotland paid £1.98 million for the gold ring, enamelled cross, silver bracelets and other rare items.
Terry Herbert, Staffordshire Hoard, £3.28 million
Terry Herbert became Britain’s luckiest treasure hunter of the past decade after finding the largest Anglo-Saxon hoard ever discovered with his metal detector. The 4,000 gold and silver artefacts, found in Staffordshire in 2009, were valued at £3.28 million. The huge payout could not stop a row breaking out over money with farmer Fred Johnson, the owner of the field where the haul was found.
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