A hoard of British iron age gold coins unearthed by an amateur treasure hunter is set to fetch thousands.
They were forged by the pre-Roman Corieltauvi tribe and were found in a field by metal detectorist David McIntyre Haigh.
The discovery in 2023 was the second he had made in the same field after a similar one in 2019.
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Then he had unearthed five staters of the Corieltauvi initially believing he had found simple brass buttons.
And he struck lucky four years later at the same site at Whitwell, near Worksop, Derbyshire, as reported by What’s The Jam.
David said: “We have spent over 10 years searching agricultural land with Saxon, Roman and Iron Age history in North Nottinghamshire.
“In late September 2023 at 6am on a damp misty morning I returned to the field where I had originally found five superb full gold staters in 2019.
“This was a large sloping field a few miles from Whitwell, where I had had only a limited time in the past to detect as the field was usually seeded very soon after harvest.
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“My first find was a copper alloy single loop buckle circa 1250 AD, next came up an even deeper worn third century Roman radiate coin.
“By mid-morning I decided to head back to my jeep parked at the top of the field.
“I had gone 30 yards when I had the faintest of signals.
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“Being very tired I was tempted to leave it but I thought it’s worth digging.
“At first I lost the signal, then using my probe I located a strong signal.
“Hands shaking I gently wiped the earth off the round disc in my hand and revealed a bright shining 2000-year-old superb gold stater with a Celtic horse and pelletal sun design.
“Marking the spot with a marker I trudged back to my jeep and rested for half an hour.
“I just couldn’t believe it, I’d struck lucky again.
“I was even too tired to do the gold dance favoured by detectorists whenever they find gold.
“I got on the phone to my wife Judy back at home, she was amazed but disappointed she wasn’t there detecting with me.
“Next, I telephoned the farmer to give him the good news.
“The rest of that afternoon went by in daze.
“Unbelievably close by I found a further four superb gold staters of similar design.
“The farmer was planning to seed this field the following day, so there would have been no more detecting after that.”
The hoard is now being auctioned on Tuesday, (9 Sep) and is estimated to fetch around £5,000.
Alice Cullen of auctioneer Noonans said: “This find is particularly special and unusual, being the largest hoard of Corieltauvian staters found in Derbyshire.
“Only one other hoard has been found in the area to date and it comprises two staters, one of which is broken into fragments.”
The Corieltauvi were a Celtic tribe living in Britain prior to the Roman conquest.
Their territory was in what is now the English East Midlands.
They were bordered by the Brigantes to the north, the Cornovii to the west, the Dobunni and Catuvellauni to the south, and the Iceni to the east.
Their capital was called Ratae Corieltauvorum, known today as Leicester.
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