Forget winning the lottery, you may be able to stumble upon a small fortune right on your doorstep – if you have a metal detector and a lot of patience that is.
From hoards of ancient coins to mysterious golden chalices, here are some of the most incredible (and valuable) treasure finds…
5,000 Anglo-Saxon silver coins – Estimated worth: £1million
Last year, a hoard of over 5,000 Anglo Saxon coins was unearthed near Lenborough, Buckinghamshire – the largest discovery of coins in modern times.
The impressive discovery was had by metal detector enthusiast Paul Coleman, who almost didn’t go to the dig as he could barely afford to fill up his car with petrol.
Hours later he found the incredible stash, which experts believe was buried following the Battle of Hastings to conceal it from the Norman invaders.
The coins were in such good condition, they were set to raise at least £250 each, totalling over £1.3million for the collection – an amount which Paul was set to split with the landowner.
Iron Age ‘hedge fund’ – Estimated worth: £10million
Back in 2012, two metal detector enthusiasts struck gold and found a massive hoard of ancient coins worth up to £10 MILLION – after searching for more than 30 years.
Determined Reg Mead and Richard Miles spent decades patiently scouring fields in Jersey after hearing rumours that a farmer had discovered silver coins on his land.
They uncovered between 30,000 and 50,000 Celtic silver and gold coins dating from the 1st Century BC which have lain buried for more than 2,000 years.
The full size of their discovery – entombed in a large mound of clay under a hedge – has yet to be revealed, but experts are hailing it as the biggest single find of Iron Age coins in Europe ever.
Each of the coins is likely to be worth between £100 and £200 – but the ownership of them has yet to be worked out.
‘First try’ detector coin – Estimated worth: £100,000
Four years ago, a treasure hunter unearthed one of the largest hoards of late Roman gold coins found — on his first outing with a metal detector.
The 159 “solidi” coins date from the last days of Roman rule, making them 1,600 years old. At the time they were estimated to be worth £100,000.
The novice hunter, a car salesman, had bought an entry-level metal detector and set out in woods near St Albans, Herts, where he found the stash of gold.
Ringlemere Cup – Estimated worth: £270,000
In 2001, metal detector hobbyist Cliff Bradshaw headed out in the fields near Ringlemere, East Kent.
Little did he know that after some digging he would unearth a rare golden chalice, which would be eventually sold to the British Museum for £270,000.
The exquisite cup, the second of its kind to be found in Britain, was called the Ringlemere Cup and dated back to the very early Bronze Age.
King’s Ransom – Estimated worth: £3,260,000
In 2009, over 3,500 historical pieces were found in a farmer’s field in Lichfield, Staffordshire by a man called Terry Herbert.
The king’s ransom hoard consisted of Anglo-Saxon gold, jasper sword hilts, golden animals and opulent rings.
The treasure was valued at around £3.26million, but was confiscated by the Crown. It is now held by the British Museum.
Sherwood Forest Medieval Ring – Estimated worth: £70,000
Only this week, a treasure hunter discovered a medieval ring in the heart of Robin Hood’s Sherwood Forest which could be worth up to £70,000.
Mark Thompson, who spray paints fork lift trucks, was in the famous Nottinghamshire woodland for just 20 minutes when his metal detector sounded.
The 34-year-old, who had only taken up the hobby 18 months ago, was expecting to find something innocuous.
But as he shovelled the dirt, a glint of gold emerged on ornate piece of jewellery with a precious sapphire.
Auctioneers have since told him that the precious ring could fetch between £20,000 and £70,000.
Tudor Ring – Estimated worth: £20,000
In October this year, a Tudor ring was found in a muddy field by an amateur metal detector enthusiast using a basic eBay metal detector.
Lee Rossiter, 43, almost threw the item away after a detectorist pal said he thought it was costume jewellery.
Experts confirmed the ring was 80 per cent gold and contains rubies and emeralds and it sold for an estimated £20,000.
Golden Nugget – Estimated worth: £20,000
Prospector Ty Paulsen stumbled upon a golden booty when he was using a metal detector in California back in 1977.
The lucky man had discovered a 10 pound gold nugget consisting of 132 pieces of gold within it.
It was later named the Mojave Nugge and is now part of the Margie and Robert E. Petersen Collection of gold nuggets, which is currently owned by the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.
