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Noonans To Auction Medieval Gold Seal Ring Recovered By 2 Friends
Two metal detectorists discovered the ring, which may have belonged to English noblewoman Matilda of Lancaster, in Suffolk.
This 14th-century gold seal ring will be offered at Noonans’ “Jewellery, Watches, Silver, and Objects of Vertu” auction on Sept. 22.
London—A 14th century Medieval gold seal ring discovered by two metal detectorists will be offered at a Noonans auction next week.
The ring is “extremely rare,” the auction house said, and is expected to fetch £10,000 to £12,000 or approximately $13,380 to $16,060.
Two friends, 30-year-old Aaron Pizzey and 39-year-old James Race, found the ring in April 2024 while searching a plowed field near Stoke Ash, a village in Suffolk, with metal detectors.
The ring is “extremely rare,” the auction house said, and is expected to fetch £10,000 to £12,000 or approximately $13,380 to $16,060.
Two friends, 30-year-old Aaron Pizzey and 39-year-old James Race, found the ring in April 2024 while searching a plowed field near Stoke Ash, a village in Suffolk, with metal detectors.
Aaron Pizzey, left, and James Race, right. (Image credit: Aaron Pizzey)
Pizzey discovered the 14th century ring shortly after complaining about his faulty headset, an annoyance that Race said would be "a good omen" for their search. (Image credit: Aaron Pizzey)
Pizzey, an engineering lecturer at a college in West Suffolk, said they’d had no luck with two earlier fields and decided to try one more.
“I had a faulty headset and was about to throw it into the hedge when Jim, who is a product development engineer said, ‘It’s a good omen, you’ll find gold.’ Thirty seconds later, my Minelab Nox 800 gave a cracking signal. Digging down, I saw in a clod of earth the color of gold,” said Pizzey.
“‘Gold!’ I shouted to Jim, who ignored me thinking it was a joke. Then he saw me waving, holding the seal with a big grin on my face.”
The pair recognized the find from online sites and declared the seal to the local finds liaison officer to be recorded, according to Noonans.
The ring features a Medieval carnelian intaglio engraved with the image of a Griffin and a gold oval bezel with an inscription in lombardic script.
“The seal ring has a Medieval carnelian intaglio engraved with the image of a Griffin walking to the left, set in the center of the gold oval bezel, which has a flat border inscribed in lombardic script ‘GRIFFVnMATILIELEMATILIOVR’ which may translate as ‘griffin Matilda the maternal countess,’” said Nigel Mills, consultant to Noonans.
“This could suggest the ring belonged to Matilda of Lancaster, who became countess of Ulster. In 1347-8, she became a canoness of the Augustinian Campsey Priory, just 20 miles from where the ring was found.”
The Medieval gold seal ring possibly belonging to Matilda of Lancaster will be offered in Noonans’ “Jewellery, Watches, Silver, and Objects of Vertu” sale on Sept. 22.
Pizzey and Race will split the proceeds with the landowner and plan to spend their portion of the money on a new metal detector and home renovations.
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