WATCH: Amateur metal detectorist's reaction to 'find of a lifetime' is golden
Last updated 28th Mar 2025
A farm worker has revealed he couldn't believe his luck after finding a 266-year-old gold coin - believed to be worth hundreds of pounds - while out metal detecting in the Scottish Borders.
Colin Kirk was so delighted with what friends are describing as the "find of a lifetime" that he started dancing with joy - in the middle of a field!
The 55-year-old, who hails from the Melrose area, had only recently splashed out on new equipment when the aptly-named Nokta Legend alerted him to the full Guinea of King George the Second, dated 1759.
A video captures the golden moment, which leaves him visibly shaking - before bursting into the spontaneous "gold dance".
In the footage, Colin can be heard exclaiming: “Dreams! The (Nokta) Legend lives up to its name" - a reference to the make of metal detector.
Monday evening's discovery - in the TD6 postcode - happened on only its second outing.
"I'm still in disbelief," Colin told Greatest Hits Radio. "It's so perfect!"
WATCH: Click on the link below to view Colin's reaction to his discovery...
Colin revealed he took up the hobby with his partner as a way of escaping the hustle and bustle of life, and staying active after work.
"We had just recently got the two Legend detectors and were out on Sunday afternoon for a good four hours," he explained. "I found a medieval pot and a silver coin - a Silver Merk - so that was quite good.
"And then, on Monday, I got away sharp from work and I thought: 'Right, it's a lovely afternoon, so i'll go and detect.'
"I was there with a couple of friends detecting, so it was nice when I found the gold coin that there were two people there to witness it."
He added: "I couldn't believe my luck that I found it, because (what are) the chances?
"They are fairly rare, but not unheard of.
"You wonder about the history, and who dropped it. Obviously, they'd be pretty sad to lose that."
The coin - weighing in at 8.5 grams, and believed to be 22 carat gold - features the head of King George II on one side, and a shield of arms on the reverse.
According to the experts, it was introduced to discourage Shillings from being gilded to pass as Guineas.
1759 was the year before George II’s death at the age of 77, at which point he was the longest-lived British monarch.
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Colin, who has reported his find to the Treasure Trove Unit at the National Museum of Scotland, revealed he had lost interest in metal detecting before resuming his hobby in the last few years.
But admitted he now has a new zest for it.
He said: "I've been doing it for years. Some days you'll go out and find nothing, other days you'll find half a dozen coins or whatever; I've been lucky. It's a good hobby."
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