A treasure-hunting couple are planning on buying a new kitchen after selling a hoard of 14th Century gold coins they found for over £50,000. Pensioners Phil and Joan Castle stumbled upon the 'purse hoard' with their metal detectors in a ploughed field at Romney Marsh, Kent.
Joan, 70, first located a broken forged gold coin on the surface then got a signal and dug down 8ins to discover the brass bar of a Medieval purse that had long disintegrated. Over the next two hours, she and 71-year-old husband Phil unearthed five gold coins in an area of just 16ft.
The couple rubbed off the mud to find the 700-year-old coins to be in mint condition. The 1.5ins diameter pieces were Noble coins - the first English gold coin produced in quantity.
They were issued on behalf of King Edward III between 1351 and 1361, portraying the monarch in a ship holding a sword and shield. They were the highest denomination coins in circulation, with a face value of six shillings and eight pence, which is £2,500 in today's money.
The five coins, which are all the same, were sold individually, with the highest price paid for one at £12,000. Two sold for £9,000 each while the other two fetched £5,500 and £3,600 respectively.
Including the brass purse bar and the fragments of a sixth coin, the hoard sold for £39,550. And with fees added on the overall price paid for it was £50,600.
The Castles, from New Romney, Kent, will split the proceeds of the sale with the landowner. Mrs Castle said: "We have just calmed down – we were watching the sale with our mouths open. The experience of the auction was wonderful and almost as exciting as finding the coins."
Julian Evan-Hart, editor of Treasure Hunting magazine, said: "Well done to Phil and Joan who have been detecting for 30 years. The monies will be shared with the landowner - Joan, however, is hoping to have a new kitchen from the proceeds."
London auctioneers Noonans said it was rare to find a purse hoard containing gold coins, due to their monetary value. Nigel Mills, a coin consultant at Noonans, said: "The total for the sale was truly amazing with several buyers from USA and many from the UK competing for the coins. The final total was three times the pre-sale low estimate, which is staggering. It shows how important it is to have all the information available so that buyers can have complete confidence in bidding."
He said the coins were recorded by the local finds liaison officer for Kent as gold nobles of Edward III issued between 1351-61 after they were unearthed in 2018. Mr Mills said: "This was the first significant issue of gold coins that was successful after the previous attempts had failed and the coins were subsequently recalled and melted down.
"At the time, these were the highest denomination coins in circulation with a face value of six shillings and eight pence, which is about £2,500 per coin in today's money. Measuring 3.4cm in diameter, they portray the King in a ship holding a sword and shield on the obverse with a royal cross on the reverse.
"Purse hoards are not common and when they do turn up but they usually contain just silver coins so this one is special. Apart from the broken coin which is a plated contemporary forgery, all five gold coins are in a virtually mint state and must have been lost."
Mr Castle used to work at ammunition makers Woolwich Arsenal and was introduced to detecting by Joan 30 years ago. Mr Castle, who was undergoing cancer treatment at the time of the find, said: "We had no idea what the coins were when we found them. At the time, I was having chemo for Leukaemia so detecting was a great relief."
