Rare coin found in field man had visited for years

A silver coin unearthed by a metal detectorist in a field he had been visiting for more than 20 years is expected to fetch up to £6,000 at auction.

Retired builder Paul Capewell, from Selston in Nottinghamshire, began his hobby with his father more than 40 years ago.

The 59-year-old said he discovered the Roman coin - issued by the Emperor Trajan in AD107 after he had recalled all the worn Republican coins from circulation - in a field in Little Gransden, Cambridgeshire, in November 2022.

It is set to be sold at auction at Noonans Mayfair in London on Tuesday.

Mr Capewell said the coin was his "most exciting find so far" in his four decades of digging.

"I have been visiting the same field for more than 20 years and have discovered a few Roman and medieval coins," he said.

"Using my Equinox 800 metal detector, I only found a few shotgun cartridges, so I decided to return to my car parked at the side of the field.

"Just 5m [16.40ft] away from the car, I got a signal and at a depth of 8in [20.32cm], I found a silver Roman coin.

"I did not realise just how rare the coin was until I showed photographs to a coin dealer, and it has now been recorded with the portable Antiquities Scheme."

Mr Capewell retired from the building trade after suffering a heart attack, and is currently waiting for more surgery.

He said he planned to split the proceeds from the sale of the coin with the landowner and to spend his portion either on a new Minelab Manticore detector or to put towards his heart surgery.

Nigel Mills, coins and artefacts specialist at Noonans, said only two examples of the type of coin "have been recorded for sale in the last 25 years".

"Some of the coins in circulation dated back over 300 years and they provided a historical record of the achievements of the Roman Empire," he said.

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