He stumbled upon a nearly 1,400-year-old ring and will charge thousands of pounds for it

Lots of treasure hunters, including novice British explorer Dean YoungThey spent about 20 years flying their metal detectors over a West Essex field and never found anything. Until one day, strangely, The alarm sounded.

Towards the end of a grueling day of exploration like so many others, Young, 47, discovered a 1,400-year-old solid gold ring buried six inches underground.

It’s a 20mm thick, 35mm wide, 7 gram “crushed finger” encased in red garnets forming a four-pointed star around a “mystery” white jewel.

“I thought it was gold foil, and I picked it up and thought ‘that’s heavy.’ I showed my friend who just grabbed me and said ‘what have you done!'” the lucky guy told The Sun.

The ring dates back to the year AD 650, a time when King Penda of Mercia, “The Kingslayer”, ruled the region. While it is unknown who dropped his ring in West Essex, experts believe that the wearer was someone of high status.

“It’s the closest thing to a time machine. You can think of who would have used it, what it would have looked like, a really impressive person. There may be something inside that tells us who it was made for and when,” Young said.

How much will he earn?

The explorer, who also works in an antique shop, acted according to the law: he handed the ring to his local Findings Liaison Officer, who sent it to the British Museum for testing.

Dean’s going to auction it. He thinks they’ll give him about £40,000 for it.. And he doesn’t accept low figures: “There are some Saxon garnets out there, but not this one. I’ve had auction values ​​of £30,000 or £40,000. If the British Museum bids low, I won’t take it.”

The teacher Michael Lewishead of portable antiquities and treasures at the British Museum, told The Sun: “This beautiful ring highlights the skill of Anglo-Saxon craftsmen.” Will they be able to value it?