85-year-old treasure hunter finds gold ring belonging to 18th century British Prime Minister George Grenville in a field while trying out his new metal detector for the first time

• Tom Clark discovered the artifact in a muddy sheep pasture near Aylesbury, Bucks
• The object is now expected to fetch around £8,000 at an auction in London next month.

An 85-year-old treasure hunter has found a gold ring belonging to 18th century British Prime Minister George Grenville in a field while trying out his new metal detector for the first time.

Tom Clark came across the historic object while sweeping the device across a muddy sheep pasture near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire.

After the great-grandfather brushed the dirt off the 250-year-old ring, Mr. Clark noticed the name “Grenvil” engraved on the edge and immediately made the connection to Grenville Manor, the ancestral home of the Grenville family.

Now the 24-carat ring is expected to fetch around £8,000 at London auction house Noonans Mayfair after further research revealed that the ring originally belonged to George Grenville, who served as Prime Minister between 1763 and 1765.

The main feature of the artifact was the Whig MP’s coat of arms – a quartered shield with a cross in the center, bearing five roundels and a helmet above.

The fascinating object, which is used to seal both letters and documents, was unearthed very close to the residence of Grenville’s son, also named George, to whom the ring was passed down.

Some believe the piece was kept in a secret desk compartment and was initially lost in a house fire, which resulted in much of the destroyed furniture being buried on the property.

Mr Clark said: “The land was formerly a very large estate which is now used as grazing land.”

“I have been a metal detector expert for 55 years, but I had just purchased a new top of the range model and lo and behold, the first time I used it, I found three items on the same day, including the ring.

“I had a strong signal and thought it was either silver or gold.

“It was about 25 centimeters deep and the special thing about gold is that it doesn’t matter how long it lies in the ground because there is no soil attached to it, that’s why it was still so shiny.”

“The arms on the annulus are those of Grenville, Wotton Underwood and Stowe in the county of Buckinghamshire. It is a quartered shield with a central cross with five round shields. Above the shield is a helmet with a coat of arms in the form of a sheaf of corn.

An inscription all around reads “Sigillum Georg de grenvil”.

“The Grenvilles came here after 1066 and the family grew and prospered as landowners. They were very wealthy until the Great Depression of 1929.”

“It’s a really exciting discovery.”

Mr Clark, who found the ring last May, will split the sale proceeds equally with the current landowner.

Nigel Mills, artefact and coin expert at Noonans Mayfair, said: “Just as the country is focused on who will be the next prime minister, we like to look back at the people who were in power 260 years ago.”

“The ring dates from the 18th century and originally belonged to George Grenville, who was Prime Minister from April 16, 1763 to July 10, 1765.”

“He attempted to reduce Britain’s growing debt by increasing revenue in the American colonies through the introduction of the Sugar Act, the Currency Act and the Stamp Act.”

The ring will be sold on June 11th.