Christmas came in September for a British bird watcher who came across a million dollar storehouse of old Celtic coins while following a ‘dogfight’ in the English countryside.
The gold medallions – almost mistaken for an ancient part of a machine – date back more than 2,000 years, when the fierce Celtic queen Boudicca was at war with Rome, according to appraisers, who estimate the price at £ 845,000, or about $ 1,144,000.
It’s a “life-changing” sum for the lucky finder, reportedly in their 50s, who chose to remain anonymous in a recent interview with Treasure Hunting magazine.
“That night I did a little birdwatching,” he said. “After seeing a dogfight between a buzzard and a pair of magpies, I stared down and saw something lying in a patch of deep plowed ground that lined the edge of the field.”
He almost passed it, thinking the metal chip was an old ring. Then he rubbed it and felt how fat it was.
“I saw the glint of gold and realized it was a beautiful Celtic gold stater, which left me sitting in shock,” he said. I then saw the second coin a yard away and rushed home to get mine [metal detector]. It gave him a “very strong” signal that there was more just below the surface.
After digging about 18 inches, he found a brass bracelet, probably the handle of a jug of gold coins. “Carefully,” he lifted the barrel and a “waterfall” of gold appeared – “a vision that will stay with me for the rest of my life,” he recalled. “I had to sit down to catch my breath. I just came for a walk and found a Celtic treasure. “
As if written for a movie, a neighborhood dog passed the man and jokingly shouted, “Have you found gold yet?” he claimed. “If you only knew,” he thought.
The man said he prayed that his two shopping bags filled with 1,300 gold coins – each worth up to $ 880 – would hold up on the walk home. He then notified the local coroner’s office, which oversees the protocol in accordance with the Treasure Act of 1996, including the decision as to who can keep the coins – the finder, the land owner or a local museum.
Julian Evans-Hart, editor of Treasure Hunting, said in a statement, “The coins make a substantial, if not tremendous, contribution to our academic numismatic knowledge and will undoubtedly be subject to much evaluation in the coming year.”
“It is possible that they are a down payment like a ‘war chest’ for Boudicca’s eastern campaigns,” continued.
“The previous record was 850, which was the Wickham Market Hoard found in 2008. At this stage, it seems very likely that the discovery might take that find off the top spot.”