A metal detectorist is celebrating the find of a lifetime after discovering a beautiful 4,000-year-old gold torc worth tens of thousands of pounds.
Billy Vaughan, 54, was stunned when he unearthed the gleaming 22 carat gold band in a remote field near his home town of Whitehaven, Cumbria.
The Bronze Age piece of twisted jewellery was nestled 5ins below the surface...
Four-thousand-year-old Bronze Age gold necklace that's worth at least £11k is found in a field in Cumbria by metal detector enthusiast
Billy Vaughan, 54, was stunned when he unearthed the 22 carat gold band
Its weight of 11oz of pure gold alone has a market value of £11,000
The care worker from Cumbria thought it was a piece of climbing equipment
By MILLY VINCENT FOR MAILONLINE
7 October 2019
A metal detectorist is celebrating the find of a lifetime after discovering a beautiful 4,000-year-old gold torc worth tens of thousands of pounds.
Billy Vaughan, 54, was stunned when he unearthed the gleaming 22 carat gold band in a remote field near his home town of Whitehaven, Cumbria.
The Bronze Age piece of twisted jewellery was nestled 5ins below the surface.
Mr Vaughan at first thought it was a piece of climbing equipment and it wasn't until he sent a photo of it to a fellow detectorist that he identified it as a torc.
Billy Vaughan, 54, had only been detecting for six months when he made the startling discovery in a remote field near his home town of Whitehaven, Cumbria
He also showed it to a jeweller who said its weight of 11oz of pure gold alone had a market value of £11,000.
With the added historical significance the torc is estimated to be worth considerably more than this sum.
He said: 'I'd only been detecting six months and I was out by myself on a field I must have been in dozens of times before, spending seven or eight hours going through it.
Mr Vaughan, a care worker, has alerted his local museum and the coroner who will rule if the find is 'treasure'. The discovery as it was found (right) and next to 20 pence for scale (left)
'This time I got a strong signal so I dug down five inches and saw it. My first reaction was it was a piece of climbing equipment, or perhaps coupling from a tractor.
'I never thought it could be gold.
'I carried on detecting for an hour and a half before I called my friend and sent him a picture of it.
'He said I must come around with it right away so I hopped in my car and drove to his house with it.
'He was very excited about the find and told me to take it to a jeweller's, who confirmed it was 11oz of 22 carat gold.
'He said it had a value in gold of £11,000, but it was worth a lot more because of its age and what it was.
'I was stunned and gobsmacked. I still can't believe it.'
Mr Vaughan, a care worker, has alerted his local museum and the coroner who will rule if the find is 'treasure' under the Treasure Act (1996).
In that instance, he would be legally obliged to offer it for sale to a museum at a price set by the Treasure Valuation Committee.
The startling discovery was made in a remote field near his home town of Whitehaven, Cumbria
Mr Vaughan said: 'I try not to get ahead of myself and think about the money until you get it, but it will make a difference.
'To think I was the first person to hold that torc in who knows how many years is quite something.'
Gold torcs were worn as jewellery around the neck or wrist to display wealth and status, often being gifted to loved ones.
Another example which was unearthed in Norfolk two years ago was purchased for £23,000 by a local museum.
Amazingly the solid gold torc was as fresh as the day it was buried - around 4000 years ago
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/science...ge-gold-necklace-thats-worth-11k-Cumbria.html
Billy Vaughan, 54, was stunned when he unearthed the gleaming 22 carat gold band in a remote field near his home town of Whitehaven, Cumbria.
The Bronze Age piece of twisted jewellery was nestled 5ins below the surface...
Four-thousand-year-old Bronze Age gold necklace that's worth at least £11k is found in a field in Cumbria by metal detector enthusiast
Billy Vaughan, 54, was stunned when he unearthed the 22 carat gold band
Its weight of 11oz of pure gold alone has a market value of £11,000
The care worker from Cumbria thought it was a piece of climbing equipment
By MILLY VINCENT FOR MAILONLINE
7 October 2019
A metal detectorist is celebrating the find of a lifetime after discovering a beautiful 4,000-year-old gold torc worth tens of thousands of pounds.
Billy Vaughan, 54, was stunned when he unearthed the gleaming 22 carat gold band in a remote field near his home town of Whitehaven, Cumbria.
The Bronze Age piece of twisted jewellery was nestled 5ins below the surface.
Mr Vaughan at first thought it was a piece of climbing equipment and it wasn't until he sent a photo of it to a fellow detectorist that he identified it as a torc.
Billy Vaughan, 54, had only been detecting for six months when he made the startling discovery in a remote field near his home town of Whitehaven, Cumbria
He also showed it to a jeweller who said its weight of 11oz of pure gold alone had a market value of £11,000.
With the added historical significance the torc is estimated to be worth considerably more than this sum.
He said: 'I'd only been detecting six months and I was out by myself on a field I must have been in dozens of times before, spending seven or eight hours going through it.
Mr Vaughan, a care worker, has alerted his local museum and the coroner who will rule if the find is 'treasure'. The discovery as it was found (right) and next to 20 pence for scale (left)
'This time I got a strong signal so I dug down five inches and saw it. My first reaction was it was a piece of climbing equipment, or perhaps coupling from a tractor.
'I never thought it could be gold.
'I carried on detecting for an hour and a half before I called my friend and sent him a picture of it.
'He said I must come around with it right away so I hopped in my car and drove to his house with it.
'He was very excited about the find and told me to take it to a jeweller's, who confirmed it was 11oz of 22 carat gold.
'He said it had a value in gold of £11,000, but it was worth a lot more because of its age and what it was.
'I was stunned and gobsmacked. I still can't believe it.'
Mr Vaughan, a care worker, has alerted his local museum and the coroner who will rule if the find is 'treasure' under the Treasure Act (1996).
In that instance, he would be legally obliged to offer it for sale to a museum at a price set by the Treasure Valuation Committee.
The startling discovery was made in a remote field near his home town of Whitehaven, Cumbria
Mr Vaughan said: 'I try not to get ahead of myself and think about the money until you get it, but it will make a difference.
'To think I was the first person to hold that torc in who knows how many years is quite something.'
Gold torcs were worn as jewellery around the neck or wrist to display wealth and status, often being gifted to loved ones.
Another example which was unearthed in Norfolk two years ago was purchased for £23,000 by a local museum.
Amazingly the solid gold torc was as fresh as the day it was buried - around 4000 years ago
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/science...ge-gold-necklace-thats-worth-11k-Cumbria.html
