A lucky archaeologist struck gold, literally, when he discovered a trove of over 680 ancient gold and silver coins in England.
George Ridgway, 34, found the collection while metal detecting in September 2019 on the grounds of Helmingham Hall near Stowmarket in Suffolk, according to a press release from Noonans Mayfair, the London auction house that handled the sale.
Ridgway initially investigated a crop mark in a field with his Garrett AT Pro metal detector, hoping to find something connected to a nearby Roman road. His first attempt yielded nothing, but a few yards away, his detector beeped, and he found a silver coin dating back to 46 B.C., issued by Julius Caesar.
Over the next three hours, Ridgway unearthed another 160 Roman silver coins, some even stuck to pottery shards. Realizing the significance of his discovery, he contacted his father to guard the site overnight while an archaeological team was called in for excavation.
The excavation revealed more than just Roman coins, as Iron Age gold coins belonging to Cunobelin, the king of the Catuvellauni and Trinovantes tribes, also emerged. The collection of coins spanned a period from 206 B.C. to the reign of Emperor Claudius in 46-47 A.D.
Ridgway, who credits his interest in “history hunting” to Indiana Jones, was thrilled by the discovery, describing the moment as “awe-inspiring.” He had dreamt of finding a Roman hoard ever since he was gifted a metal detector by his grandmother at the age of 12.
“We are very pleased with the result of todays (sic) sale. This is one of the largest hoards containing both Iron Age coins and Roman coins found in Britain, with the latest coins of Claudius and those of Cunobelin in virtually as struck condition,” said Alice Cullen, coin specialist at Noonans.
Sixty-three of the coins were donated to the British Museum and the Colchester & Ipswich Museum for their respective collections.
The coins that went up for auction were estimated to fetch £75,000 (about $100,000), but ultimately sold for even more.
The Sept. 18 auction generated a total of £132,865 (about $177,000), Noonans announced in the press release.
The proceeds from the sale will be split between Ridgway and the landowner, according to Noonans.
When asked what he planned to do with his share of the money, Ridgway responded to Noonans, “I would like to buy my dad a pint!”