UK Metal Detectorists Dream of Making Marketable Finds Like This.

 

        Investing in artefacts         
Stanley Gibbons Baldwins. 

A coin that was thought not to exist will be sold next month, its second sale since it was discovered in a Berkshire, UK field by a metal detectorist. Dominic Chorney, an ancient coin specialist at Stanley Gibbons Baldwin’s, told the Daily Mail: “While we often sell extremely rare coins at Baldwin’s, it’s unusual to offer something completely unique and of national importance. We’re all excited to be auctioning this beautiful piece of British history” ( Colin Ricketts, 'Metal detectorist’s Celtic coin find set for £70,000 auction' justcollecting.com 19th Feb 2025 ). The coin was struck in the name of Caractacus (1st Century AD), an important British leader who battled the invading Romans.

It was thought that no Caractacus coins survived. However, in 2019 this coin was discovered near Newbury by a metal detectorist. It shows a horseman and the name Carat on the reverse, now thought to refer to Caractacus. The obverse shows a cereal head with the name Cunobelinus, Caratacus’s father. It was sold in 2020 for £88,000. On March 12 it will be sold again by Stanley Gibbons Baldwin’s with an opening price of £70,000.

And a coin that is unique and of national importance will probably stay in private hands.