The gold nugget was found near the hamlet of Much Wenlock, which is about forty kilometers east of Birmingham. The discoverer of the gold treasure is 67-year-old Richard Brock, who traveled almost four hours from his home in Somerset to take part in an organized expedition on farmland in the Shropshire Hills. “At first I mainly found rusty tent pegs, but then suddenly there was this nugget of gold,” says Brock, who still cannot believe his find.
Brock arrived at the outing more than an hour late, but was there within 20 minutes with the gold nugget in his hands. Even though his best detector did not work and he switched to an older one that was also in his trunk. “Everyone there had up-to-date equipment and I was standing there with an old detector that actually only half worked,” said the surprised Englishman.
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35.000 euro
The gold nugget was baptized ‘Hiro’s Nugget’ and its estimated value is around 35,000 euros. According to English media, it is the largest gold nugget ever found in England.
The ‘huge lump’ weighs 64.8 grams and was located about six inches underground. After other searchers got wind of Brock’s find, dozens of people quickly gathered around him. “Everyone started scanning the same area, eager to emulate my success,” said Brock.
The gold nugget was found near the village of Much Wenlock, where railway lines used to run. In the last century, many stones and coal were transported from Wales, a part of England known to be rich in gold, by rail.
Brock says research shows the only larger gold nuggets found in Britain are in Wales and Scotland. A gold nugget weighing 97.12 grams was found in Wales, while the ‘Reunion Nugget’, weighing 121.3 grams, was found in Scotland in 2019.
The previous largest gold nugget discovered in England weighed 54 grams. “We’re pretty sure this is the largest found on English soil,” says Brock, a retired cameraman. The prospector must share the proceeds of the gold with the owner of the plot where the lump was found. The piece will go under the hammer on April 1.
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