Gold Elizabethan posy ring found in field

It was just 15 minutes into a normal evening of metal detecting that Kevin Short found something extraordinary in a Warwickshire field.

Spotting something gold buried a coupled of inches beneath the soil, he pulled it out, revealing a gold posy ring with the inscription "I live in hope" on the inside.

"I was genuinely surprised to find something like this so quickly... I knew straight away it was gold, although I had no idea of its quality or how significant it might be," he said.

The Elizabethan ring was dated as being from the 16th to 18th century by the British Museum. It will go up for auction at Oxfordshire-based Holloways Auctioneers on 2 December with a sale price of between £2,000 - £3,000.

Short, who was out metal detecting with friends when he found the ring, said: "When we realised what we'd found, we did the gold dance! It's certainly not bad for a day's work."

He has been metal detecting for years, but said this was his most exciting discovery.

The evening prior to the discovery, Short had reunited someone with a lost earring that he also found while metal detecting.

He found its owner via Facebook and posted it off for free, which he said left him wondering whether a little good karma would come his way.

Posy rings are known for having short inscriptions on the inside of the band.

National Museums Scotland described them as some of the most evocative objects of love in its collections.

Amanda Butler, director at Holloways said: "One of the things I love about pieces like this, is that they always carry so many unanswered questions. Who wore it? Was there a special reason for the inscription?

"'I Live In Hope' is such a beautiful sentiment, particularly when you consider that it's been carried through the generations.

"There's a whole story here that we'll probably never know, but it's lovely to imagine."

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