Single mother, 48, unearths 500-year-old coin in her back garden worth over £2,500

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Gold digger! Single mother, 48, unearths 500-year-old coin in back garden worth £2,500 after playing around with her son’s metal detector… and she lives in MONEYFIELDS

  • Amanda Johnston, 48, was using her son’s metal detector in her back garden
  • She discovered the rare 22-carat, 16th century  Henry VII Fine Gold Angel coin
  • Similar coins have fetched in excess of £2,500 in auctions in recent years 
  • It was in circulation in England for some 200 years from 1464 onwards  

By Adam Shergold for MailOnline

Published: | Updated:

A single mum struck gold when she unearthed a 500-year-old coin worth £2,500 in her back garden.

Amanda Johnston, 48, was bored at home in the appropriately named Portsmouth suburb of Moneyfields when she grabbed her son George’s metal detector and set to work looking for treasure.

After finding just a few nails at first, she suddenly came across the Henry VII Fine Gold Angel coin measuring just 29mm across and weighing 5g.

Single mum Amanda Johnston unearthed a 500-year-old coin worth £2,500 in her garden 

The 22-carat gold coin was buried eight inches down in the Portsmouth mum's back garden

The 22-carat gold coin was buried eight inches down in the Portsmouth mum’s back garden

The two sides of the 29mm diameter coin, which was in circulation for 200 years from 1464

The coin weights just 5 grams and had a value of six shillings and eight pence in its day

The two sides of the 29mm diameter coin, which was in circulation for 200 years from 1464

The 22-carat coin was in circulation for 200 years from 1464 onwards and held a value of six shillings and eight pence.

As the owner of the property, Ms Johnston is entitled to keep her find and doesn’t have to legally register the coin as ‘treasure’ as only finds of more than one coin have to be reported to a coroner. 

Ms Johnston, a mother-of-two from Portsmouth, said: ‘I was using a little hand trowel and my son’s metal detector when I found the coin. 

Ms Johnston is in two minds whether to keep or sell her find, which could be worth £2,500

The metal detector used to unearth the valuable coin belonged to her youngest son George

Ms Johnston is in two minds whether to keep or sell her find, which could be worth £2,500

‘It’s amazing, I just can’t believe it. It’s quite thin but I realised straight away it could be something special.

‘I’d like to keep it, but then again, if it’s worth £2,500, it’s tempting to sell it.

What is ‘Treasure’ and who does it belong to? 

Legislation known as the Treasure Act 1996 covers items unearthed by metal detectors and was introduced to prevent notable finds falling into private hands.

It classifies ‘treasure’ as any object more than 300 years old and containing precious metal, such as coins if two or more are found together.

It also covers hoards of more than 10 coins found together that are more than 300 years old as well as items over 200 years old deemed to be of outstanding historical, archaeological or cultural importance.

In this instance, they should be reported to the district coroner or finds liaison officer in your areas within 14 days.

Items are reviewed and, if found to be ‘treasure’, recorded by the British Museum. If a museum wishes the purchase the item(s) the finder is paid a ‘reward’. If not, they are returned to the finder.

However, if only one coin is found, there is no obligation to report the find to the coroner. The Government attempted to close this loophole last year.

Source: legislation.gov.uk 

‘I was bored and just wanted to see if I could find anything interesting. To begin with, I just kept finding nails. 

‘It was so annoying but then suddenly my detector started sounding really good. 

‘I’ve only just finished doing up my garden and am quite meticulous about my lawn, so I really didn’t want to dig it up.

‘But I went down about eight inches and suddenly saw a glimmer of gold.

‘I thought, ‘Oh my God… is it? I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.’

She posted pictures of the coin on Facebook and was quickly inundated with comments from people who couldn’t believe her luck.   

Her sons George, 11, and Bradley, 23, were impressed with the find.

Their mum added: ‘My son George is a bit of a magpie and wants to keep it. He thinks it’s really cool.

‘I don’t know what to do with it yet, though. I’ve got some serious thinking to do.’

A similar Henry VII Fine Gold Angel, albeit in slightly better condition, fetched £2,600 at auction back in December.

Henry VII, the first Tudor monarch, ruled England between 1485 and 1509 after defeating Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth to conclude the Wars of the Roses between the houses of York and Lancaster.

The 28ft by 30ft garden in the Moneyfields area of Portsmouth where the coin was discovered

The 28ft by 30ft garden in the Moneyfields area of Portsmouth where the coin was discovered