An amateur metal detectorist thought he found a candy wrapper in the mud. It turned out to be a medieval gold wedding band in near-perfect condition worth $47,000.


Hannah Getahun
Sat, November 19, 2022

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David Board, a 69-year-old metal detectorist, discovered a wedding ring in the mud in 2019.


The ring turned out to be a rare medieval ring worth thousands of dollars.


The words "I hold your faith, hold mine" are engraved inside the ring in medieval French.

In 2019, David Board surveyed the grounds of a pasture field near Thorncombe, Dorset, in England and happened upon what he believed to be a candy wrapper.

Upon closer inspection, the 69-year-old metal detectorist realized it was actually a wedding ring, five inches deep in a pool of mud. Board stuffed it into his pocket.

"It was once I got home and washed it off that we realized it was a lot better than we thought," Board told CNN.

The wedding band turned out to be a medieval diamond ring worth up to $47,300.

According to British auction house Noonans Mayfair, The Lady Brook Medieval diamond ring may have possibly been given to a woman named Lady Joan Brook, who married Sir Thomas Brook, in 1388. Brook formerly owned the land that the ring was discovered on, according to Noonans.

The Lady Brook Medieval diamond ring will go on sale on November 29, according to Noonans Mayfair.



Nigel Mills, a consultant at Noonans, said in a press release that the ring was in "almost perfect condition."

The ring is made of two metal bands that cross over each other, meant as a symbol of union, with the words "ieo vos tien foi tenes le moy" — or "I hold your faith, hold mine" in medieval French — engraved into them.

"There will probably never be another one like it," Board told CNN. "Back then, each ring was individual and unique, not mass produced like today. It's stunning."