Rare coin found in field expected to fetch £8,000

The rare coin is expected to reach between £6,000 and £8,000 at auction

An extremely rare coin discovered in a field by a metal detectorist is expected to fetch up to £8,000 at auction.

Retired commercial fisherman Mike Clarke, from Wimborne, Dorset has been metal detecting for 52-years and found the coin in South Brewham in Somerset.

The 73-year-old said he recognised the coin immediately as a denarius of the Roman Emperor Carausius, issued in AD286

It is set to be sold at auction at Noonans Mayfair in London on Tuesday.

Mr Clarke attended an organised dig with about 20 detectorists in fields in Somerset.

He explained "nothing was found in the morning" but after trying another field he first found a modern £1 coin and then "the next signal revealed at a depth of six inches a silver coin".

"I recognised it immediately as a denarius of the Roman Emperor Carausius. I then contacted the local finds liaison officer so that it could be properly recorded," he added.

Coins and artefacts specialist at Noonans, Nigel Mills said: "The coin was never published, features a laureate bust of the usurper Carausius, who commanded the Roman fleet Classis Britannica, based in the English Channel."

He added: "The emperor Maximian ordered his execution after Carausius was suspected of concealing treasure captured from pirates.

"Carausius then declared himself Emperor of Britain and northern Gaul making Britain an independent state.

"Carausius is hinting at a return to a Golden Age through his leadership. Carausius was murdered seven years later by his finance minister Allectus," he added.

The coin features a radiate Lion holding a thunderbolt with the letters RLR which stands for "Rodeunt Saturnia Regna" from the poet Virgil's Eclogues meaning the kingdom of Saturn returns.

Mr Clark said he will share the proceeds from the auction with the landowner.