A rare Roman coin recently fetched nearly £5,000 at auction in the UK. The coin, believed to be the first of its kind found in the country, was discovered by 76-year-old Ron Walters from Kingswinford, West Midlands, using a metal detector in Wall Heath near Dudley last year. After being unearthed, the coin was purchased by a collector from Scotland for £4,700 through Fieldings Auctioneers in Stourbridge. Mark Hannam from the auction house mentioned that despite spending over 1,900 years in the soil, the collector was thrilled to add this unique coin to his collection.
Dating back to AD69, the coin is thought to be the only one of its kind found in the British Isles, depicting the emperor Aulus Vitellius who ruled for a brief eight months during the turbulent period known as the “Year of the Four Emperors.” Hannam expressed the rarity of finding a coin from this era, as most coins discovered in the country are typically from the third and fourth centuries when gold was less pure. Notably, last year, a similar artefact was sold in Switzerland for a significantly higher price of around £50,000, making Mr. Walters’ find a remarkable one despite the lower sale price.
The farmer on whose land the coin was found will receive half of the auction proceeds, with the remaining amount going to Mr. Walters as the finder. Walters, who sees the find as not just monetary but also historically valuable, remarked that it was a once-in-a-lifetime discovery. Expressing his satisfaction with the sale, he mentioned that the money would go towards repairing his motorhome and funding his ongoing hobby of metal-detecting. Walters emphasized the variety of items that can be unearthed through this hobby, from coins to belt buckles and buttons, each with its own unique story to tell
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