Wroxeter treasure hunter finds rare Ketley coin in his garden
A Shropshire treasure hunter has made an unlikely discovery while searching in his back garden.
Tom Baker, 44, from Wroxeter, discovered a halfpenny from Ketley with the date 1789 on it.
Mr Baker said he thought the penny was one that was used as local money for people from the area.
The halfpenny has a picture of the inclined plane at Ketley on it, which is also now the logo of Ketley Parish Council.
Mr Baker said: "I was just walking out in my back garden with a metal detector.
"I started doing it a while ago because of the area we live in.
"There are a lot of historical things around here and we are fairly close to the Ironbridge Gorge.
"The back garden was a bit of a tip but once it had been cleared up I started using a metal detector and I found all sorts of things.
"There were really old bottles and then me and my friend were walking along and as soon as he heard it he said "that's a coin"."
He said he had looked on the internet and found similar halfpennies that were being sold for around 30 to 40 dollars.
Mr Baker said the coin was about the size of a two pence piece. He said: "I think they were used as local currency."
Mr Baker, who is married with two children, and is a former electrical engineer at RAF Cosford, now coaches young businessmen and women with Telford-based Young Britain.
He said he has travelled all over the world with the RAF but decided to live in Shropshire because of his love for the area, especially the historical relevance.
"The history of the area really interests me," he said. "It's not exactly a massive find but you are always hoping that you will get something. You never know, you could find the next Shropshire Hoard.
"Before now I've just found a couple of old bottles and I think this is the seventh thing I have found," he added.
"When I got to the sixth thing I was thinking I might as well give up but then I found this."
