Detectorist with faulty equipment finds ‘England’s largest’ gold nugget

A metal detectorist in Shropshire has found a large gold nugget despite his metal detector not working properly.

Richard Brock, from Somerset, made the discovery on farmland near Much Wenlock during an organized dig to which he arrived an hour late, using machinery that was “pretty broken”.

Auction house Mullock Jones said the 64.8 gram nugget could be the largest ever found on English soil.

It is called Hiro’s Nugget and is being sold at between £30,000 and £40,000.

Mr Brock said he had recently learned it could be the largest find in England, which was “truly incredible” and he would share the proceeds with the landowner.

An old track or road and railway line is believed to have run through the farmland where the nugget was discovered, and the site contained stones believed to have originally come from Wales, auctioneers said .

On the day of the organized dig in May 2023, other people had current equipment, Mr Brock said, while he “took three old machines”, one of which immediately stopped working.

His replacement detector, which had a faded screen, initially showed only “a few rusty old tent pegs,” but within 20 minutes of scanning, the gold nugget was discovered about five to six inches underground.

“I couldn’t believe it,” said the 67-year-old, who started metal detecting in 1989.

“I arrived late, was only there for a few minutes, and this treasure hunting expedition was supposed to last all day.”

Ben Jones, of Telford-based auction house Mullock Jones, said: “We have dealt with gold before, but usually in the form of a ring, jewelry or coin. But this is certainly an isolated case for us.”

The auction house said it expected “significant interest.”

Larger specimens of gold nuggets have already been found in Great Britain, but in Wales and Scotland.

“The last one that was supposedly bigger in England weighed 54g, but mine weighs 64.8g. So we’re pretty sure it’s the largest one found on English soil,” Mr Brock said.