This large ring was obviously a man's ring, but the ring was so large that it would not fit on the average man's hand. It could have only fit on the hand of a giant. Historians believe this particular ring was so large because it would have been worn over a leather glove. Historians also believe this ring would have been used by an important officer, but they are not sure who.
The Raglan ring is very old. Historians believe the ring was made somewhere between 1440 and 1475. The ring is currently on display at The British Museum. It is on loan from the National Museums & Galleries of Wales.
You can see this impressive find yourself at the following web address: http://www.britishmuseum.org/images/loan12077a_l.jpg
Could you imagine what it would have been like to discover this impressive ring?
The Escrick Ring
Michael Greenhorn did not plan on making history when he went metal detecting in a field near the village of Escrick, south of York, England, but that is exactly what he did in 2009.
This particular find is a ring, but it is a ring that is full of mystery. A team of over 30 archeologists and historians have gotten together to discuss the origins of his incredible find.
At first glance, the team determined the ring must have come from the early 10th or 11th century, but it appears that this ring is even older, possibly 600 years old. That would mean this ring was over 1600 years old. Think about that for just a second.
The Escrick ring is a beautiful ring made from gold. Its craftsmanship is unlike anything anyone has seen. It is approximately 1 inch (2.5 cm) across. It holds some beautiful glass and a magnificent large sapphire is mounted in the middle.
See this impressive work of art yourself at the following web address:
http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1062562/thumbs/o-ESCRICK-RING-570.jpg
Who owned this ring over 1600 years ago? That is a question the group of historians and archeologists have been asking themselves. They initially thought this ring would have belonged to a bishop, but now they think this ring belonged to royalty, possibly even the king of France!
This is what metal detecting dreams are made of. Michael Greenhorn sold the ring to the Yorkshire Museum for just over $50,000 or £29,792. It looks like Michael paid for more than his metal detector with this incredible ring find.
These are just a handful of the incredible ring finds people are making every single day using nothing more than a metal detector.
The Newark Torc
Finding a ring is always nice, but could you imagine what it must be like to discover a ring that is big enough to go around a person's neck. I don't mean a necklace. I mean a torc, or as we would call it in modern times, a choker. Maurice Richardson knows exactly what it feels like.
Maurice was no newcomer to the hobby of metal detecting. He had been at it for about 40 years before he made this once in a lifetime discovery, and he was not using a new fancy machine either. He was using his old faithful metal detector that was over 30 years old.
In February of 2005, Maurice was searching in a field on the edge of Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire, England. It was no picture perfect hunting day either. It was cold, wet and rainy, but that did not stop Maurice.
His trusty old metal detector alerted him to possible treasure and his initial thoughts were to leave it. It was raining far too hard and he was getting tired, but he just could not get the thought of possible treasure out of his mind. He had to dig it up. Who knows, it could be the find of a lifetime he thought.
He started to dig and dig and dig. Whatever it was, it was buried deep down in the earth. At two feet, Maurice decided to get down on his belly and start digging with his hands. As he started scraping away the soil, he caught a glimpse of gold down in that two foot hole.
As he removed more earth, the gold piece kept getting bigger and bigger. It took him over a half an hour to remove this huge piece of jewelry. This was no little trinket. It was a huge torc that weighed 1.5 pounds or 700 grams. It was 7 inches or 20 centimeters in diameter. Could you imagine pulling this thing out of the ground.
The craftsmanship on this piece of jewelry is simply amazing. The end pieces are covered in floral and point work designs, and the center piece is made from eight thin rope like pieces that were twisted together. The entire torc is made from a material called electrum. Electrum is a natural mixture of gold, silver and copper. It was used to make some of the first coins known to man.
Maurice was so nervous about his find that he hid it under his floorboards until he could get it to the authorities. Upon arriving at the local authorities, Maurice set his find on the table. The first words spoken in the room were, “My God! Where did you get that?”
The torc was in such good condition that the officials told Maurice that it could not possibly be real. It had to be a fake and it was buried in that field as some sort of cruel prank, but they were wrong. The impressive torc was real and it sold for a nice sum of £350,000 or $587,860.
The torc is over 2000 years old and it would have been worn by the most powerful men and women of ancient times. Maurice was well rewarded for his years of metal detecting with this one amazing find. The torc is now owned by Newark's Millgate Museum.
The Crosby Garrett Helmet
There are a few items on my “must find” treasure list that still remain “not found.” One of them is an ancient sword. I thought I found one of these once, but it turned out to be nothing more than an old car jack. Oh well. It was still fun to dig. The other would be an ancient helmet like the Crosby Garret Helmet.
Image courtesy of Portable Antiquities Scheme from London, England
There is some controversy surrounding this incredible find. The helmet was not determined to be “treasure” by the authorities because it was not made from a precious metal like silver or gold. Because it was not determined to be “treasure,” the helmet was allowed to be sold and handled privately. In other words, archeologists were not allowed to look, touch and analyze the piece.
When the helmet was found, it did not resemble what it looks like today. It was found in over 67 pieces in May of 2010 by an anonymous group of metal detecting enthusiasts. The 67 pieces were reconstructed behind close doors by a private party. Archeologists were not allowed to see the pieces before they were put back together.
The archeologist community has expressed outrage at the way this piece was handled and recorded and some of them say that its original find location of Crosby Garrett, Cumbria, England was a complete hoax.
Unfortunately, we may never know the true story of what lies behind this mask.
Because it was not declared “treasure,” the mask was also allowed to be sold at private auction. This meant that the mask could be purchased by anyone who had the money. It could end up in a private collection behind closed doors. The local Tullie House Museum raised £1.7 million or $2.8 million for the auction. This would not be enough to secure the mask and keep it in its homeland.
The mask was purchased by a private bidder for £2,281,250 or $3,629,469. For something that was not declared treasure, this find sure did sell for a lot of money!
In 2012, the anonymous owner of the helmet decided to let the world see this incredible find. It has been on display at the Tullie House Museum and it has also been on display at the British Museum as well. A truly incredible metal detecting find.
One Final Story
I will leave you with one more story that I think is pretty incredible. This is another personal story of mine from my book: Metal Detecting the Beach.
One summer afternoon I was hunting a stretch of beach that I was very familiar with. The breeze was fresh and beautiful. It was a great day to be out there.
About half way into my hunt, I find a nice crucifix. I wipe the sand from the cross and toss it into my pocket. I was working a good area that was loaded with small change.
The path that I was taking was right towards two women that were enjoying the summer breeze. They were sitting in beach chairs, and each woman had thei
r purse sitting at their feet.
One of the woman looked at me and said, “Finding any treasure?” I nodded and kept on going. The other woman got out of her chair and approached me. This is not unusual. I often get approached by people that are curious about metal detecting. I took off my headphones as she approached.
She looked at me and asked, “Do you ever find anything really good?” “Sometimes.” I said.
She asked me if I found anything good today. Usually when someone asks me this, I just say no, but for some reason I felt I should show her the crucifix I found.
I said, “I did find something pretty interesting.” I was looking for the crucifix in my pocket. I fumbled with some coins, and then I located the crucifix and pulled it out.
I said, “I found this nice looking crucifix right back there.” I pointed in the direction I had just come from.
The woman's face changed, and she turned and walked back to her chair. She started looking through her purse. She came back to me and said, “Can I see that.” I handed her the crucifix, and she started to cry.
Now I was in what I would call a very awkward situation. The woman looked me in the face and then she wrapped her arms around me and started hugging me. Her friend approached us and said, “What is going on?”
The woman hugging me exclaimed, “He found my cross. I did not even know it was gone. We were just down there 20 minutes ago and a wave came in with the tide. It knocked my bag over. My crucifix must have fallen out.” She started to cry again.
Her friend looked at me and said, “You don't know how important that crucifix is to her. Her mother gave it to her right before she died. She takes it with her everywhere she goes.”
I didn't know what to say or do, so I just kind of stood there for a moment. The woman stopped crying, hugged me again and said, “Thank you!”
I went on my way. I never found anything else that day, but that was an incredible experience!
It's REAL!
It is hard to imagine just how much treasure is hiding right beneath the surface of the earth. The previous finds in this book barely scratch the surface of what is out there. I have personally found thousands of coins, artifacts and pieces of jewelry. I am not bragging. I am simply trying to put things into perspective.
My treasure finds have come from less than 1% of our planet's surface. There must be billions upon billions of lost coins, hoards, caches, jewelry and artifacts buried right under the surface of the earth. Think about that for a minute. Let it soak in.
The reality is this. There is a ton of treasure out there. It could be a penny, or it could be a gold nugget as big as your head. So I leave you with one simple question. What are you waiting for?
Thanks!
Thanks for purchasing my book. If you enjoyed Incredible Metal Detecting Discoveries, then click here to leave a review! I would really appreciate it.
If you are ready to claim your own share of buried treasure, then I highly suggest you read my best selling book entitled:
Metal Detecting: A Beginner's Guide to Mastering the Greatest Hobby In the World.
It is loaded with invaluable information that will help you find your first piece of long lost treasure. Over 200 pages of facts, tips and illustrations. It is available in both digital and print.
If you want to learn what it is like to metal detect at the beach and uncover loads of treasure, take a look at my best selling book entitled:
Metal Detecting the Beach
It is packed full of great beach hunting tips, tricks and secrets. It is available in digital format and paperback.
You don't always need a metal detector to find old valuable coins made from gold and silver. They could be right under your nose. Learn the EASY way to find old coins in my best selling book entitled:
Coin Hunting Made Easy
It is available in digital format and paperback.
I am currently in the process of writing several more great treasure hunting books. If you want to be the first to find out about any new books that I publish, sign up to my new book release email list.
I promise not to share your email address with anyone, and I won't send you tons of junk mail. (I will only contact you when a new book is out.)
Click here to sign up!
Drop me a line and let me know how you are doing out there. I always love hearing about things that other people are finding. You can email me at: [email protected]
Happy hunting,
Mark Smith
Incredible Metal Detecting Discoveries: True Stories of Amazing Treasures Found by Everyday People Page 9