Metal detectorist says wife is his lucky charm after £7,000 medieval ring find
She joined him for the first time since he took up the hobby eight years ago.
A metal detectorist found a medieval gold ring worth £7,000 after his wife finally agreed to join him.
Chris Weir says Lisa is his ‘lucky charm’ after the impressive discovery near Drayton in Oxfordshire.
Chris, 53, took up the hobby to relieve stress while Lisa, 52, was going through a double lung transport eight years ago.
She would never join him, thinking his pastime was rather dull, but finally agreed to accompany her husband to a rally.
They drove to the site and Chris spent the morning detecting while she sat in the back of their truck and watched.
‘That morning was rubbish to be honest and all I found was stereotypical cans and bottle tops,’ he explained.
‘I wanted to pack it in at lunch but she actually told me to keep going. She said “we haven’t driven all the way here from Bristol for you to come back with nothing”.
‘An hour later, I was detecting near a path where there were lots of cans so I don’t think anyone else had gone to the area.
‘I got a signal and dug down 2 inches and there was this glint of gold.
‘You get used to a sense of disappointment as a detectorist but this time when I picked up the ring I could see it was special.
‘I cradled it in my hands and ran back 50 yards to my wife in the truck. I said look what I found and she said “wow, that’s nice”.
‘I then called my detecting buddy Darren Hamilton-Welsman, who has prostate cancer so he could not come to the rally.’
The 13th century ring has a bezel developing into a pyramid, a sapphire gemstone and an inscription of letters on the outside.
It was later classed as ‘treasure’ which means museums can claim it, but as none did it was ‘disclaimed’ and returned to Chris.
He will sell the ring at Timeline Auctions in Harwich, Essex on June 4, and, as is the legal requirement, split the proceeds 50/50 with the landowner.
Chris joked his wife had been ‘like the woman on the TV show the Detectorists who thought detecting was a bit stupid!’
‘But that day she was my lucky charm,’ he added.
‘I think it is only fair I buy her a gift with the money (from the sale), and maybe get myself a new detector.’
A Timeline Auctions spokesperson said: ‘The ring was declared as Treasure under the Treasure Act and subsequently disclaimed and returned to the finder, Chris Weir.
‘Many late medieval rings and brooches bear similarly meaningless inscriptions, perhaps due to the illiteracy of the engraver who nevertheless was aware that customers required an inscription, so provided one.
‘Alternatively, since the text is composed from repeated sequences based on an open syllabic structure, the words may be intended as a chant or magical charm.’
Last month, a novice treasure hunter who won a metal detector in a raffle uncovered £23,000 worth of historic silver coins.
Mickey Richardson discovered 234 coins in a field in Dorset that were likely buried during the English Civil War in 1644.
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