A SHOCKED metal detectorist has told how he found a gold coin worth up to £1,500 on a farm. 

Jim Ridge, 43, from Frinton, known as Jimjamdetecting on TikTok, decided to try a trail on grass so his seven-year-old son could walk on it easier.

But he never expected to find such a treasure.

While exploring, Jim unearthed a rare quarter noble coin which was in circulation from 1361 to 1369 to honour the Treaty Period and is valued anywhere between £300 to £1,500. 

Jim, who works as a sales assistant for an electrical retailer, has been metal detecting since March after a tough period when he found support from the metal detecting community on TikTok and even received a second-hand detector from his friend, Dan Fletcher.

 

@jimjamdetecting UNBELIEVABLE!! GOLD HAMMERED COIN FOUND LIVE. #detectingislife #hobby #besthobbyever #livehistoryhunt #history #metaldetecting #DGWUK #treasure #coinage #hammeredcoin #gold #goldhammered #Simplex @east_yorks_detecting @Detecting_northyorkshire @DetectoristPhil @Mark Daykin Snr @LeighMcD88 @DannyDigsDirt @scrapart_phil_digsuploads @Ginge aka gingerdetectorist @LunerTik @Eimer1111 @Tartan Ferret @Jenny @cumbriandetectorist @Northern Detectorist @Northern Hoard Hunters @li_la_tov ♬ original sound - JimJam

This rare find will stay with Jim, as he plans to add it to his coin collection and put it right next to a hammered Elizabeth I penny which he also found.

Jim said: "I was never into history at school but always liked watching history programmes on TV since I was a kid.

"After my marriage ended earlier this year I started watching detecting streams on TikTok and found it fascinating.

"I got chatting to many of the people doing it.

"One of my long-term ambitions is to possibly link up with a mental health charity and arrange charity digs.

"Detecting was a massive help to me when I was going through a hard time and lots of people talk about how it is a great hobby for mental health."

Jim, who made his unexpected discovery in Clacton, created a group called Detectorists Gone Wild UK where he planned to engage with people all over England and schedule digs with the community.