Gold ring unearthed at Loch Lomond by metal detectorist could fetch £10,000 at auction
Specialists believe item has links to King Charles II
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Your support makes all the difference.A gold ring found by a metal detectorist is expected to fetch around £10,000 at auction.
In November last year, the 17th century ring, which has links to King Charles II, was discovered by Michelle Vall from Blackpool while she was exploring Loch Lomond with her husband.
Vall declared the ring to the Scottish Treasure Trove Unit at the National Museum of Scotland but was told in June that the museum did not want to buy it.
Vall then decided to contact auction house Dix Noonan Webb (DNW), which discovered the crest belonged to the Colman family of Brent Eleigh, Suffolk.
“When I unearthed the ring, which was close to the surface, I knew straight away that it was something special,” Vall said.
“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.”
According to DNW, the ring is thought to have belonged to Edward Colman, who served as a bodyguard to King Charles II in 1661.
By 1673, Colman was appointed secretary to Mary of Modena, the wife of James II, who was the younger brother and King of England, Scotland and Ireland from 1685.
In November 1678, Colman was found guilty of treason following accusations of involvement in plots to assassinate the King, and was subsequently hung, drawn and quartered.
Nigel Mills, a specialist consultant at DNW, said that the ring is in “amazing condition”.
“It was lost when it was virtually new and has not suffered in the ground,” Mills said.
”It’s the excitement of the find as no one would have touched it since he lost it.
“It’s like shaking hands with the guy, it really brings it to life.”
Today, Colman is considered to be a Catholic martyr after he was beatified by Pope Pius XI in 1929.
The ring, thought to date from 1640-80, will go under the hammer in DNW’s Jewellery, Watches and Objects of Vertu sale in London on 10 September.
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