Find a Treasure With a Metal Detector

“I was shaking,” Weale said at the British Museum, where the coin was displayed Tuesday alongside other items unearthed by amateur history hunters in 2023 and 2024. “I knew that it was a life-changing, incredible, historical find. “I’d watched the series ‘Vikings’ on Netflix, and about a week later I’ve got the Guthrum penny in my hand,” he said.”

“As she started metal detecting in earnest, her first challenged soon emerged; being able to walk and swing the detector at the same time. It seemed to be one-or-the-other; swing or walk but not both. She compromised by moving the detector about a foot side to side while walking. I tried to encourage her to take larger swings, but I guess she would have fallen down. [...] Trying to localize a target was one of her biggest challenges, besides walking and swinging. I tried to explain to her that the loudest signal meant the target was in the middle of the coil [...] On several occasions I found her with several partially dug holes for the same target.”