Ring of Karma: Local detectorist strikes gold in Warwickshire after act of kindness
“When we realised what we’d found, we did the gold dance! It’s certainly not bad for a day’s work”
A metal detectorist’s random act of kindness was followed by the find of a lifetime when he uncovered an extraordinary Elizabethan gold posy ring just a day later. Now, following assessment by the British Museum, the historic discovery is heading to auction with Holloways Auctioneers
For Kevin Short, an ordinary evening of metal detecting in a Warwickshire field turned into something extraordinary when he uncovered a remarkable gold ring just minutes into a search with friends.
The discovery came just a day after Kevin had made someone else’s day with a simple act of generosity, leaving him wondering whether a little good karma might have come his way.
The evening before, Kevin had posted a photograph of an earring he’d found on a metal-detecting Facebook group, hoping someone might be able to identify it.
Someone responded to say it looked exactly like an earring that had belonged to their late sister. Having lost the original, Kevin offered to send it to them free of charge as an act of kindness and didn’t think much else of it.
The following evening, while out detecting, Kevin spotted something gold glinting in the soil. Buried just a couple of inches beneath the surface was the decorative posy ring with the inscription “I LIVE IN HOPE” waiting to be discovered.
“I was genuinely surprised to find something like this so quickly. We’d only been searching for around 10 to 15 minutes. I saw it glinting and picked it out from the soil. I knew straight away it was gold, although I had no idea of its quality or how significant it might be.
“When we realised what we’d found, we did the gold dance! It’s certainly not bad for a day’s work!”
Kevin has been metal detecting for years but this is by far his most exciting discovery yet.
From a Warwickshire field to the auction room
The 16th to 18th century ring has since been assessed by the British Museum, whose report has confirmed its authenticity.
Amanda, Director at Holloways said “One of the things I love about pieces like this, is that they always carry so many unanswered questions. Who wore it? Was there a special reason for the inscription? “I Live In Hope” is such a beautiful sentiment, particularly when you consider that it’s been carried through the generations. There's a whole story here that we’ll probably never know, but it's lovely to imagine!”
The remarkable find will now be offered at auction through established Banbury auctioneers Holloways on 2 December with an estimate of £2000-£3000