‘Drink can ring-pull’ that turned out to be a £10k gold treasure
AN Elizabethan signet ring found by a metal detectorist is to be sold at auction for up to £10,000.
Ben Bishop assumed he had found a drink can ring-pull when his device pinged.
But when the amateur history buff dug into the earth, he spotted the tell-tale lustre of gold.
Ben, 30, from Bridgwater, Somerset, said: “I wasn’t expecting to find anything except a few coins, buckles or buttons.
“I thought it was another Coke can ring-pull – I’ve found tons of those over the years along with lots of rubbish.
“But I saw something shining and, when I broke off the mud, this beautiful ancient gold ring appeared before my eyes
“It is something I will remember forever.
“It’s the first gold I’ve ever found. I was so gobsmacked I just sat down on the ground staring at it for about 40 minutes.”
The ring was unearthed last August in a farmer’s field near Glastonbury, Somerset, where Ben, a metal detectorist for seven years, had permission to dig.
He registered the find as treasure trove but it was returned to him after examination.
Throne
Now the gold signet ring, featuring a double-headed eagle, will be sold at Hansons Auctioneers in Derbyshire on September 27 with an estimate of £7,500 to £10,000.
Signet rings were used to mark a wax seal on documents identifying who was sending them.
Ben, a factory technician, said: “I thought it may have been Eastern European but it turns out that the eagle symbol was used on lead tokens when Elizabeth I was on the throne
“The ring was taken away for a couple of months to be examined and the British Museum did a report on it. No museums wanted to buy it so it was returned to me as the finder.
“I had an agreement with the owner of the field that if I found anything of high value I would sell it and split the proceeds.
“It’s a man’s ring and fits my finger really well, but I have to part with it.
“I have no idea who it originally belonged to but it would have been a person of wealth and importance. Glastonbury Abbey isn’t far away.”
Gems expert Kate Bliss of TV’s Bargain Hunt and Flog It! said of the find – confirmed as Elizabethan and dated to between 1550 and 1650: “This gold signet ring bowled me over.
“Depicting a double headed eagle on a flat oval bezel with beaded border, the ring weighs in at an unusually heavy 17gm.”
Ben said: “I don’t do this for the money – I love history. England is one of the biggest treasure troves because we have so much history on these isles and things were so well-made in past times.
“I will be a metal dectectorist for the rest of my life.”