A gold coin worth AED 3 million was discovered quite randomly

Michael Leigh-Mallory, a metal detectorist discovered his first-ever gold coin, which turned out to be worth a whopping £648,000 (AED3million).

Mallory found the coin on farmland in Hemyock, Devon while on his first metal detecting outing in a decade after feeling inspired to pick the hobby back up by his kids. 

Initially, he was unaware of the value the coin holds, until a specialist at Spink auctioneers, London, spotted it on his Facebook page and revealed it was a super rare Henry III penny which is said to show the first ‘true’ portrait of an English King on his throne since the time of William the Conqueror. 

There are just eight of the coins known to exist — most of which are currently held in museums. 

Michael’s coin recently went under the hammer, where it was snapped up for £540,000 (AED2million) — with some additional fees that meant the buyer ended up forking out £648,000 (AED3million).

The impressive sum is a world record for Henry III coin and also the most valuable Mediaeval English coin ever sold at auction

The unnamed buyer said he will loan the coin to a museum or institution.

Michael will split the cash down the middle with the landowner and said he plans to spend his share on the future education of his history-loving kids.

He said, “It is quite surreal really. I’m just a normal guy who lives in Devon with his family so this really is a life-changing sum of money that will go towards their futures. But it’s not all about the money — for me it’s about the history. I’m very passionate about British history. It’s an honour to be connected to this find and I will remember this day for the rest of my life. I have just been to Westminster Abbey to say thank you to Henry — if he had never have minted this coin then I would never have found it. I am so pleased that the coin will stay in the UK because the collector is loaning it to a museum. My children, Emily and Harry, are very much a part of this story. I used to be a keen metal detectorist but once I had a family the detector ended up getting buried in a cupboard. One day my wife said to me, ‘you realise you promised you’d take the kids metal detecting.’ So, I said, ‘right kids — we’re going detecting’. We found an Elizabethan coin which they were so excited by. It really ignited my passion so I invested in a new detector.”

Source: Agencies