A collection of Roman Coins found by a metal detectorist in Sapcote, Leicestershire fetched a hammer price of £4,400 – almost three times their high estimate.
The coins were sold at at Noonans Mayfair on Tuesday, February 18, 2025, in a sale of British and Ancient Coins. Bought via the internet by a bidder in the USA, they were expected to fetch £1,200-1,500.
Picture credit: Noonans
They were discovered by 42-year-old bathroom fitter David Dunn, who is married and a keen golfer, who has been metal detecting for two years. He took up the hobby as he was wanted to go out on his own into the fresh air after a long day working.
As he explained: “It was sunny on the morning of Wednesday, July 19, 2023 and something told me to go to the pasture field that I had visited numerous times, which was 15 minutes’ walk from my house. After a few hours searching I had a faint signal of 84 on the Deus 2 using Relic Program.“
He continued: “I then found a Roman coin and another with my pinpointer in the same hole. I was so excited that I went to get the farmer and then after digging down to about two feet, it then just snowballed from there over a 4m2 area and we found 50 coins in total… who knows what would have happened if we continued digging further!”
He ended: “I am not aware of any other finds in the field, but it is pretty close to another farm which contains a Roman Villa. Many of the coins that I found were in really good condition with perfect portraits – it was a once in a lifetime find!”
He took the coins in a briefcase to his local finds officer, who kept them for a year and offered them to various local museums. After having them disclaimed and returned, he has decided to sell them.
Picture: David Dunn
David watched the sale while working, and following the sale, he said: “Wow, it was exciting to watch, I am really happy with the result and as I said before the sale, I will give the majority of the money to the farmer. What I like about metal detecting is that we are preserving history and I will continue to detect, but tonight I will go to celebrate with a couple of drinks!”
