- Veteran finds England’s largest gold nugget, 64.8g, in Shropshire
- Discovery made with faulty detector, shortly after arriving late
- Nugget expected to fetch at least £30,000 at auction
Richard Brock, a 35-year veteran of metal detecting, stated that the heaviest specimen previously discovered in England measured 54 grammes. The size of the treasure he unearthed was significantly greater.
The most sizable gold specimen ever discovered in England was unearthed by an experienced metal detectorist who arrived with malfunctioning equipment and an hour delay.
Richard Brock, age 67, travelled from Somerset to Shropshire in three and a half hours for a group excavation in hilly farmland.
Upon his arrival, he discovered that his metal-detecting equipment was malfunctioning, necessitating an earlier defective device.
Brock, however, struck gold roughly twenty minutes into the excavation when he unearthed a massive 64.8g nugget buried approximately six inches underground.
Known as Hiro’s Nugget, the metal is anticipated to sell for a minimum of £30,000 at a timed auction until 1 April. It is believed to be the largest discovery on English soil.
Brock, with thirty-five years of experience in metal-detecting, stated that he believed he had “missed the action.”
“Invest in your future with Webull UK – get started with free shares.”
He expressed, “I was astounded.” Despite my late arrival, my stay at the location was brief, and the intended duration of this treasure-hunting expedition was the entire day.
The detectorist discovered the extraordinary artefact near the village of Much Wenlock, where it is hypothesised to have been an abandoned railway track that might have carried stone from Wales, a region renowned for its abundance of gold.
Brock further stated that this demonstrates that the apparatus utilised is largely irrelevant.
Maintaining sufficient awareness while traversing the area of discovery regarding potential subterranean hazards can have a transformative impact.
The detectorist reports that the previous largest discovery in England measured 54 grammes. He added, however, that research indicated larger gold specimens may have once existed in Scotland and Wales.
In 2016, a 97.12g gemstone was discovered in Ynys Mon, Wales. In 2019, the 121.3g Reunion Nugget was subsequently discovered in Scotland.
