Detectorist realises dream of finding a gold aureus
Detectorist Rob Turrell realised his dream when he found a gold aureus of Claudius in December last year. It is in Noonans auction next week and is our Featured Lot in our preview: Rare Roman and Viking finds in Noonans July sale.
The find
Rob, who has been detecting for 10 years, describes the find:
Photo: © Noonans
“For some reason, I was on cloud nine before I even started, and I had a strong sense that it was going to be a special day. I was just finishing up metal detecting later that afternoon when I walked back across the field and got a strong signal close to a hedge near the road beside the field. My friend Jono had already left, and I was about to head home. It was sheer luck.“
“I decided to stop going methodically up and down the field and change direction and go across the field and finish for the day. Suddenly beside the main road at the edge of the field I got a positive signal on my Garrett AT pro metal detector and down about 10 inches I saw a gold coin in a clump of soil.”
“Not surprisingly, I was dumbstruck and sat there looking at it for the next 45 minutes unable to move as I realised, I had achieved my dream of finding a Roman gold aureus! I did a little gold dance too, of course, and sent a message to my girlfriend telling her what I had found, and she promptly drove over with a cold beer to congratulate me!“
Noonans Auction
The aureus is lot 1266 in Noonans auction on 18 July 20223
Photo: © Noonans
Rob said “I chose Noonan’s as a friend of mine has used them before and they are very professional and provide a great service. The money it gets at auction is expected to be £4,000 to £5,000 and that will be split with the landowner.“
“I’ll use my share to buy a new metal detector, and hopefully that will help me with the next big find. Maybe it will be a hoard or a burial, but I feel like one day I will have something on display in Norwich Museum.”