A CARLISLE man has expressed his shock after discovering that a rare-Roman era coin he found is worth thousands of pounds.

Ian Hughes, who lives in Belle Vue, found the coin while out with his metal detector in a field just outside the city more than a year and a half ago.

Initially underestimating the value of his find, Ian decided to take the coin to be viewed and documented at Tullie House shortly after tracing it in November 2017.

The 66-year-old, who took up metal detecting as a hobby since retiring in 2010, described what happened on the day he found it.

“I got the signal, looked down at the hole, and the coin was just lying there,” he said.

“I put my glasses on, picked it up and I just couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

“I knew it was a Roman coin, but I didn’t know what type.

“It wasn’t until a couple of weeks later when I found out that it was a really rare coin. I had intended to get it valued at the time, but it got put in the drawer.”

After a week in the care of museum staff, the coin was logged on a national database, and handed back to him.

But, it was only recently when Ian received an email from a metal detecting contact when he decided to have it valued.

“I just couldn’t believe the initial valuation when it came up,” Ian added.

“Normally these are £40 to £60, and this particular one was valued between £2,000-3,000, and could, quite possibly, be sold for a lot more than that.

“It’s brilliant to find things, but it’s really nice to have a find that is worth something.

“We don’t do it for the money, we do it for the history, and the excitement that you never know exactly what you might find.”

The coin, which is described as a silver Roman denarius of the civil war period, dates back to AD68. It is set to go under the hammer at Hansons, an auctioneers and valuers in Derbyshire next month.

Hansons Historica expert Mark Becher said: “I’ve never found one before, this is the first one I’ve seen in the flesh. These types of coins tend to do really well at auction.

“I can’t put an exact figure on how much it will go for at the moment, only that I think it will be in the thousands, with the potential to go for a lot more if the right buyer comes along.

“Once I meet with some fellow experts within the next week, I’ll be able to know roughly how many of them were made at the time, and have a better estimate on how much it will go for.”

n The Historica and Metal Detecting Auction, which will include the sale of Ian’s coin, will take place at Hansons at 10am on Tuesday, August 27.