By George! Woman digs up coin 'from reign of George I'
Georgina Rose with the George I coin where she found it in her garden at Caston. - Credit: Denise Bradley
A Norfolk woman has described her "shock" and excitement over digging up a coin believed to be from the reign of George I.
Georgina Rose, 84, from Caston, near Watton, found the thin circular object in her garden around four to five years ago while planting flowers.
The former Spear's Games worker - who used to make games such as Scrabble - removed mud and dirt from the coin to reveal the name 'George' on the front.
Georgina Rose with the George I coin she found in her garden at Caston. - Credit: Denise Bradley
She had placed it in a cupboard in her house and had since forgotten about it.
It was not until a couple of months ago that Mrs Rose realised she may have something of value, after watching a programme about a man discovering an old coin.
"I thought 'Oh, I have a coin like that, mine is older', she said.
"I was in shock when I found it.
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"It's black but there's flashes of gold all over. I wondered what it was.
The front of the coin found by Georgina Rose in her garden at Caston. - Credit: Denise Bradley
"I'm frightened to clean it in case I damage it.
"I can see his picture. It has George on the front with a great, big wig half way down his back facing sideways.
"On the back there's two shields, one on either side."
The 'tail' side of the George I coin found by Georgina Rose in her garden at Caston. - Credit: Denise Bradley
George I reigned from 1714 to 1727, meaning if the coin is from that period it is around 300 years old.
The 84-year-old, who lives on a house on The Green, believes the coin was dropped by a farmer at the time as her property is where a big barn used to stand.
She said: "It's where all the farmers used to walk through. It must have dropped out of one of their pockets."
Mrs Rose said she contacted the British Museum for identification and got a response to say it is "very interested" in the coin and was asked to travel to London for it to be looked at.
The George I coin where it was found by Georgina Rose in her garden at Caston. - Credit: Denise Bradley
The 84-year-old said: "It was exciting for me. You're looking back hundreds and hundreds of years.
"It's so good to hold it my hand, something that age.
"I showed some friends and people in the village who could not believe it."
GEORGE I
The first British monarch of the House of Hanover, he is not considered to have been a particularly popular ruler.
This is said to have been linked to his inability to speak English, although he apparently understood and spoke the language better as his reign went on.
He died of a stroke on a trip to his native Hanover, and is the most recent British monarch to be buried outside the United Kingdom.
