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| Aylesbury man finds 14th Century treasure in garage | Aylesbury man finds 14th Century treasure in garage |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| A retired man has found a 14th Century gold ring in his garage, nearly 40 years after he first discovered it. | |
| Tom Clark, 81, located the seal ring in a tin at his Buckinghamshire home among items which had come from his late mother's house. | Tom Clark, 81, located the seal ring in a tin at his Buckinghamshire home among items which had come from his late mother's house. |
| The Aylesbury metal detectorist had first discovered it on farmland between 1979 and 1982, but had not realised the significance of the find. | The Aylesbury metal detectorist had first discovered it on farmland between 1979 and 1982, but had not realised the significance of the find. |
| It could now fetch up to £10,000 at auction. | It could now fetch up to £10,000 at auction. |
| The ring has an engraving of the god Mars holding a spear. It bears a Latin inscription and contains what is thought to be a semi-precious carved gem. | The ring has an engraving of the god Mars holding a spear. It bears a Latin inscription and contains what is thought to be a semi-precious carved gem. |
| Such rings would be used to leave a mark in wax to show that a document was legitimate and unopened. | Such rings would be used to leave a mark in wax to show that a document was legitimate and unopened. |
| Mr Clark said: "I had completely forgotten about it. I found it... on farmland just outside Aylesbury. There's a big housing estate on the land now. | Mr Clark said: "I had completely forgotten about it. I found it... on farmland just outside Aylesbury. There's a big housing estate on the land now. |
| "At the time I'd only been metal detecting for 10 years and didn't realise the ring was anything special. It was all twisted and broken when I dug it up." | "At the time I'd only been metal detecting for 10 years and didn't realise the ring was anything special. It was all twisted and broken when I dug it up." |
| Mr Clark, a retired leather craftsman, said he had taken the ring, along with others, to a museum to be recorded but was told they were "fairly modern" so he had put them in a tin at his mother's house and forgotten about them. | Mr Clark, a retired leather craftsman, said he had taken the ring, along with others, to a museum to be recorded but was told they were "fairly modern" so he had put them in a tin at his mother's house and forgotten about them. |
| Mark Becher, historica expert at Hansons auctioneers, said: "The ring bears a Latin inscription - NVNCIE.VERA.TEGO - which may translate as 'I hide the true message'. | |
| "This could relate to the role of a seal ring in securing correspondence." | "This could relate to the role of a seal ring in securing correspondence." |