Advertisement

Metal detectorist finds 17th Century ring near Loch Lomond worth £10,000

(SWNS)
Michelle Vall hit the jackpot when she discovered the ancient ring in January (DNW)

An ancient gold ring discovered by a metal detectorist in Scotland is set to sell for up to £10,000 at auction.

Michelle Vall from Blackpool made the discovery at Duck Bay near Balloch in West Dunbartonshire in January of this year.

The ring is believed to be from between 1640 and 1680 and at some point belonged to a courtier of the future king.

(DWP)
Michelle Vall hopes the ring will fetch tens of thousands when it goes to auction on September 10 in London (DNW)

The courtier, from Suffolk, worked for James II of England (James VII of Scotland), who lived in Edinburgh before ascending to the throne.

After finding the ring, which was engraved with the family crest, she declared the ring as a treasure to the National Museum of Scotland.

But the museum did not want to buy it from Mrs Vall, who now hopes the ring will fetch tens of thousands when it goes to auction on September 10 at Dix Noonan Webb in London.

Read more on Yahoo News UK

Lifeguards rescue 32 people in just five hours on Devon beach

Australian Christian family refused to pay income tax as it's 'against God's will'

Manchester Arena bomber's brother set to deny helping him

Mrs Vall said: "Uncovering the ring was an unforeseen event as myself and my husband were detecting on a field with no particular history of finds in the area.

"We were enjoying the peace and relaxation of our wonderful hobby, finding the usual ring pulls, tractor pieces and miscellaneous metal objects.

"So when I unearthed the ring, which was close to the surface, I knew straight away that it was something special.

The ring is thought to date from 1640-1680 (DWP)
The ring is thought to date from 1640-1680 (DNW)

"It shone with a distinct bright yellow colour as I carefully lifted it out of the dark muddy hole, where it had waited for at least 350 years.

"My calm mind changed to one of excitement as I shouted Tony over, he was surprised to see the ring lying in the palm of my hand."

Mrs Vall originally took up detectoring two years ago to help her deal with panic attacks that were so severe she was left confined to her home.

---Watch the latest videos from Yahoo UK---