Lucky WorldHousewife Stumbles Across Treasure

Mary scours the fields looking for treasure

£250,000, 15th Century gold treasure discovered with metal detector

A treasure found in a Hertfordshire field could be worth as much as £250,000. The discovery thought to be part of a high-quality reliquary or pendant, depicting the Holy Trinity was the first item of any real worth that Mary Hannaby has found in seven years of combing fields and beaches.

Mrs Hannaby, a former pub kitchen worker from Hemel Hempstead, detected the gold trinket while out on one of her regular six-hour Sunday detecting walks with her son Michael, a 33 year-old wood carver. Buried four inches below the ground in a regularly ploughed field the treasure had remained undisturbed for approximately 500 years – incredible considering the arable field has been a regular haunt for Mrs Hannaby whilst on her metal-detecting expeditions.
"You can literally miss things by inches. We couldn't believe it. We always dreamed of finding treasure" her son professed.

Under the Treasure Act of 1996, those that accidentally discover gold and silver treasures, thought to be more than 300 years old, must report their findings to the relevant authorities. Museums are then given first opportunity to purchase their discoveries at the current market value.

Roger Bland, head of treasure at the British Museum, describes the item - which at 2.8cm by 2.3cm, is of delicate proportions - as an "important find", and said he regrets that the museum does not currently have the funds to buy it.

As one of only three of its kind to have survived, the find could be worth even more than £250,000, and its engraving is being compared to that of the Middleham Jewel, which sold at auction for £1.3million in 1986 and was later resold to the Yorkshire Museum for £2.5million.

Sotheby's will auction it in London on July 9.