Prospector with metal detector discovers gold ring of 18th century prime minister

Eighty-five-year-old detectorist Tom Clark has discovered a gold signet ring belonging to a former 18th-century prime minister in pastures near Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire. It has now been sold at auction for just under £300,000. Half a century ago, he found another 14th century gold signet ring in the same area.

A search into the ring's history revealed that the original owner was George Grenville, British Prime Minister from 1763 to 1765. He was dismissed by King George III after his actions sparked protests in the American colonies at the time. He gave the ring to his son George Nugent-Temple-Grenville, who was also a member of Parliament. He had served as a lieutenant in Ireland and boasted the title 'Marquis of Buckingham'. The ring was discovered near his residence.

The rare jewel was bought at Noonans Mayfair auction house by a US bidder for £9,500 - about 290,000 crowns. Mr Clarke was pleased with the result: 'I didn't watch the sale because I was out looking with a detector. I would have liked to put the money in my bank account but I'm sure my wife will have ideas on how to spend it!' The witty finder, who ironically found a second similar ring, added wryly.

A few years ago, he stumbled upon a tin can in his late mother's house which also contained a gold ring along with many other common rings. And he remembered finding it in the late 1970s on the site of the present housing estate with a metal detector. But he didn't attach so much importance to the find then and "lost sight" of the ring.

"I had completely forgotten about it, Mr Clark said. "At the time I had only been metal detecting for 10 years and didn't realise the ring was anything special. When I dug it up, it was all twisted and damaged. I took it to the museum along with a bunch of other rings I came across so they could record the finds. A week later they told me that all the rings were pretty much modern and returned them to me," he explained.

When he rediscovered the ring five years ago after his mother's death, he had it cleaned and sold it at auction. Mr Clark said that after 50 years of searching with detectors, he knew a lot more and "instantly" realised the ring dated from around 1350: "I took it back to my local museum and the find has now been recorded. It is gold of the highest purity and, because of its decoration and quality, could have belonged to someone important," he added.

The dark green intaglio print depicts the god Mars holding a spear and trophy. "The ring bears the Latin inscription NVNCIE.VERA.TEGO, which can be translated as I HIDE A TRUE MESSAGE," said Mark Becher, an expert in historical history at Hansons Auctioneers. It could have been a signet ring when securing important correspondence, he said, adding that the ring was also offered at auction for a similar amount.

Roman Němec

Sources: bbc.org, independent.co.uk, dailymail.co.uk

the prime minister's signet ring

Tom Clark with metal detector Minelab Manticore. He has been searching his entire adult life.

A ring from the 14th century

The ring must have belonged to a person of high status

• Medieval rings found by metal detectors at hunterpokladu.cz
• Finds of seal rings from the modern period on lovecpokladu.cz