Roman coin believed to be the first of its kind ever found in Britain

A GREAT GRANDAD has unearthed a Roman coin believed to be the first of its kind ever found in Britain

A GREAT grandad has unearthed a Roman coin believed to be the first of its kind ever found in Britain - in a farmer's field.

Ron Walters finally struck gold after six years of searching the same field in Wall Heath, near Dudley, last May.

The 76-year-old from Kingswinford said he stumbled across the rare Roman coin, which dates back to 69 AD, after being told by his wife to "bugger off out for a bit".

It is believed to be the first gold aureus of Emperor Aulus Vitellius to be recorded as a find in the British Isles and could be worth as much as £50,000.

Mr Walters said: “I was out for a couple of hours, and I picked a signal up. I started digging a bit but then I lost the signal.

The coin dates back to 69 AD (Image: Black Country History Hunters / SWNS) “I managed to get this reading again from a clod of earth about 2ft away from me, I broke it open and then this coin dropped into my hand.

“My heart was racing, I just popped it in my pocket and went straight back home.

“In metal detecting circles, a Roman coin is probably among the best things you can find, that or Ancient English gold.

“And there's nothing like this been found in England before by all accounts. I can only imagine a soldier travelled with it, possibly via France.

“It was really interesting to find something of such historical importance. I'm looking forward to seeing how it does at auction.”

The 1,955-year-old coin was sent to the British Museum, disclaimed and returned to Mr Walters, who contacted auctioneers to organise its sale.

Mr Walters will split the proceeds from the sale with the field's landowner.

The coin has been given an estimate of between £5,000-£6,000 and will be sold by Fieldings Auctioneers in Stourbridge tomorrow (March 27).

The coin has been given an estimate of between £5,000-£6,000 and will be sold by Fieldings Auctioneers in Stourbridge (Image: Black Country History Hunters / SWNS) However, it could fetch much more as only one similar coin has ever gone through auction and was sold last year in Switzerland for around £50,000.

Mark Hannam, senior coin specialist and auctioneer at Fieldings, said the coin was “a genuinely amazing find” and “a unique piece of history.”

He added: “To find a coin from AD69 is incredibly rare, as most coins we find in this country are from the third and fourth centuries, and we are talking about a time when the gold was at its purest level.

“The fact that this one has escaped ploughing in the ground for over 1,900 years, the coin, although still in excellent condition, is quite remarkable given its condition.”

Words by Olivia Warburton and Ed Chatterton.