Nottinghamshire metal detectorist plans to use Roman coin sale to fund surgery

Paul Capewell uncovered the silver coin just five metres from his car in a field in Cambridgeshire.
By Tommy Bonnet
A Nottinghamshire metal detectorist who unearthed a rare Roman coin worth up to £6,000 says he plans to use the money to fund heart surgery after selling it at auction.
Paul Capewell, 59, from Selston hit the headlines last week when it emerged his “find of a lifetime” is now due to go on sale.
He uncovered the coin five meters from his car while on a day of detectoring in Cambridgeshire in 2022.
The Roman silver coin from around 100 AD is thought to be worth up to £6,000, but Paul believes it could reach as much as £10,000.
It goes to auction tomorrow, Tuesday, October 22nd, at Nooans Mayfair in London.
Speaking to Notts TV on Monday (October 21) Paul said: “I showed it to my friend and we both looked at it and thought its something different its not like anything we’ve seen before.
“I sent a photo to a friend and straight away they said ‘wow, it’s special’.”
The Roman coin was issued in 107 AD by Emperor Trajan.

Paul plans to split the money with the landowner, which is common practice in the metal detectorist community.
He said: “We had a laugh about it, what should we do with it, and agreed it should be sold which is a shame because it’s such a nice coin.”
While it could fetch up to £10,000, Mr Capewell did say he would rather keep it, as he is more interested in the history of what he finds rather than its value.
He said: “I just love metal detecting, I’ve never looked at anything as having value, I’m more interested in what it is and not how much it’s worth.
“It’s just nice to find it and bring it back to life and show to people.”

However, Paul retired from work as a builder after experiencing a heart attack and is currently awaiting further surgeries.
He says he would put his share towards future private heart surgery to speed up his treatment.
He added: “If I can pay for private (healthcare) with the money I’ll do that.”
“I’d like to get enough to do that but if not I’ll get new manticore detector, but obviously priority is heart and health first.”
As a Nottinghamshire local, Paul mentioned he has found lots of items from throughout history in the county, from “Coins, Roman brooches and Saxon brooches, but nothing as valuable as that (Roman coin)”.
For people looking into metal detecting as a hobby Paul warned that it’s not an everyday occurrence to uncover treasure and valuable coins: “It’s not as easy as people think it is, you can walk for months and months years and years, and just find rubbish.”