In the early 1980’s metal detecting became popular with children all over the UK, and most children received a metal detector as part of their Christmas or Birthday present, their aim was to find a valuable piece of metal from the past which would make them a fortune. The reality was that most of the archaeological finds were not – they were merely pieces of junk, and so the metal detecting craze ended – or did it.

There are many people around the world who still own metal detectors and go out to find their fortune under the earth. There have been many finds over the years of old coins which have been found buried under the earth. There have been Roman finds, Saxon finds, Medieval and post Medieval finds.

There has even been a find of a piece of Henrys Gold, it was found in some soil near to a church and some cottages, the finder of the piece of Gold used his metal detector around the building which he knew dated back to Medieval times and this is where he found the Gold coin.

There has been a significant find in 2007 when a father and son from Leeds dug up Viking Treasure, Mr Whelan who found the treasure spent most weekends with his son metal detecting. The collection of treasure can be seen at the British Museum.  It is thought that the previous owner of the treasure would have buried it to keep it safe in 927 when King Athelstan and the Anglo-Saxons drove the Vikings away from Northern England. It is thought that the treasure will be worth over 1 million pounds not a bad amount to earn for a hobby you enjoy. This hoard of treasure is certainly a find in a million and it has been declared a significant discovery.

For people who find valuable coins (Münzen) whilst out metal detecting, these are usually taken to auction to attract collectors who are interested in buying coins (Bewertung Münzen). There are many old coins which have been found by metal detectors over the years, but not all are of value, in fact a lot of the coins although old are only worth a couple of pounds. As coins are mass produced there are many old coins lying around in houses all over the world. It is not something that people tend to throw away, as a coin has worth.

So for anyone who is thinking of making their fortune through selling coins and artefacts from metal detecting it is worth knowing that a find like the one Mr Whelan had is certainly one in a million. Although there are websites on the internet who have made buying and selling coins big business.