Pensioner's forgotten treasure could net £10k at auction after 40 years in the garage

A man who dug up a gold ring and then forgot about it for 40 years has found out it is medieval treasure worth up to £10,000.

Tom Clark, 81, discovered the band on farmland with a metal detector in 1979.

Thinking nothing of it, he stuck it in a tin and only found it again in a recent clear-out of his garage.

He got the seal ring valued and it dated to 1350.

It has the Latin inscription “I hide the true message” and a semi-precious stone with the god Mars depicted in an intaglio – an image cut into the surface for holding ink.

The medieval gold seal ring, circa 1350, bears a Latin inscription and a carved stone (Hansons / SWNS)

Mr Clark, a retired leather craftsman of Aylesbury, Bucks, said: “I had forgotten about it.

The unusual ring had been stored away in a tin for decades (Hansons / SWNS)

The ring will be sold by Hansons in Etwall, Derbys, on Tuesday.

Auctioneer Mark Becher said: “It’s buried treasure that turned into forgotten treasure.”

"At the time I didn’t realise the ring was anything special. A few months ago, I was sorting through some stuff and there it was.”