A RARE coin collection from nearly 500 years ago has been unearthed – and they’re worth an eye-watering sum.
David Cliffton was stunned when he discovered the hoard while out with his metal detector in Worcester.
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The 65-year-old had only been out for a few hours on the hunt, with Spade dig club Crusade, and was still an amateur detectorist.
Dave, a retired local government officer from Halesowen, West Mids, told BNPS news agency: “It was a day like any other really. The sun was shining, we had a team talk then got the go ahead to commence digging.
“I got a signal that indicated iron. Most people would not have bothered digging that because they want something better, but I though it sounded like there was something better just on the edge of that signal so I decided to take a chance on it.”
After digging about five inches down, Dave discovered a horse shoe, but instinct told him there was a more valuable prize waiting below.
“I dug deeper and saw the edge of three silver coins. I couldn’t believe my luck, I felt a bit giddy,” he continued.
“I removed them and then picked up further signals both in the side of the hole and deeper.”
When he kept unearthing more coins, his “heart was pounding” and he “was shaking” with excitement.
Across the next four hours in a 13ft area, the lucky detectorist retrieved a whopping 335 coins, along with an experienced team.
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A further 15 were discovered the next day, bringing the total to 350.
It is believed the artefacts were buried during the English Civil War in the 1640s.
The rarest in the impressive collection are Shrewsbury hald crowns, one worth an eye-watering £6,000, while the other damaged one around £2,000.
A James I gold unite was also unearthed which could rake in a staggering £4k.
They are branded with royal mints from the reign of Edward VI, Elizabeth I, James I and Charles I.
Dave said: “Now that the immediate excitement has worn off I’m a bit shell shocked about it all.
“I’d like to thank the guys who founded Crusade with a Spade – Andrew, Pod and Ryan – for giving me and everyone involved the chance to save this amazing history from such troubled times.”
Metal detectorist Stephen Grey, a club member who helped on the life-changing dig said: “They almost certainly went into the ground at the time of Charles I and the Civil War.”
The expert explained there are several reasons the expensive hoard may have been left there.
“A royalist payroll used to pay the much harassed troops of the King’s army is a strong possibility or it could have been Cromwell’s troops ill-gotten gains which they buried to come back to later,” added Stephen.
“Or it could have been a rich landowner who saw all the fighting going on around him and decided his money would be safer buried.”
The seasoned detectorist praised Dave for continuing to look past the iron horse shoe as many “wouldn’t have bothered”.
“Hoards are quite often dug by beginners because they dig every signal they get,” he added.
This comes as other fortunate coin hunters have stumbled upon rare collections.
One amazed family were shocked when they discovered more than 1,000 valuable pieces hidden around a house.
The secret treasure trove included a William III crown dating back to 1696 and is estimated to go under the hammer for almost £18k.
Meanwhile seven men unearthed a set of rare gold coins worth £150k in a field.
The treasure – found in Buckinghamshire – is the biggest gold and silver collection discovered in the UK for around a decade.
Plus, a metal detectorist who thought he found one “lucky penny” was stunned to dig up a haul worth £200k.
Tony House stumbled across a single coin, but gut instinct told him to keep digging – and he uncovered a hoard of 570 more pennies.
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