Nurse Buffy Winship Bailey couldn't believe what she was pulling out of the field after her metal detector beeped.

It was a gold object in the form of a tiny open Bible.

It is only 1.5 centimeters high, weighs five grams, but could be worth a six-figure sum.

Philip Plickert

Business correspondent based in London.

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Bailey and her husband discovered the "mini-Bible" in a field in the northern English county of Yorkshire.

The field is near the city of York at the intersection of several historic footpaths and near an estate that once belonged to King Richard III of England.

belonged to.

The two treasure hunters were there with the landowner's permission.

At the edge of a freshly plowed field, she immediately received a strong signal with her metal detector, reports Bailey to the FAZ. “I dug about five inches and there was something shiny there.

My heartbeat started racing. "

Acker once belonged to Richard III.

The small, heavy object turned out to be a spectacular find: a kind of "mini-Bible" from the 15th century.

There is a hole for a cord on the spine of the book so that it can be worn around the neck.

St. Leonhard and St. Margaret are engraved with a dragon on the two open pages.

They are considered to be a patron saint for pregnancy.

The field in which the gold Bible was buried is not far from Sheriff Hutton Castle, which King Richard III owned in the late Middle Ages.

(1452 to 1485) used.

British media speculate that the golden booklet might have belonged to a female relative of the short-term king or some other wealthy nobleman.

Experts rate the find as a great art historical treasure.

Julian Evan-Hart, editor-in-chief of “Treasure Hunting” magazine, called the little gold book an “extraordinary, unique” historical artefact.

He estimates the value in an auction at more than 100,000 pounds (a good 116,000 euros).

Treasure hunt as a national sport

"The work of art is very similar to the Middleham jewelry, it is very possible that it was made by the same artist," Evan-Hart told the BBC.

The Middleham jewelry, a diamond-shaped gold pendant with a crucifixion scene and a blue sapphire, was discovered in the 1980s near Middleham Castle, the northern residence of Richard III.

The Yorkshire Museum later bought it for £ 2.5 million.

By law, museums have a right of first refusal on the historical artifacts that thousands of amateur archaeologists and treasure hunters in the country salvage each year. Buffy Winship Bailey's mini-Bible also formally belongs to the crown according to the Treasure Act. The museum in York is currently examining the piece, then an auctioneer is supposed to estimate the value. If the museum buys it, the finder and the owner of the field would each receive half of the proceeds as a finder's reward.

Historical treasure hunts are a real national sport in Great Britain.

Every weekend, thousands of enthusiasts roam the meadows and fields, where they hope to find Celtic, Roman, Anglo-Saxon, Norman and later coins, jewelry, weapons or tools.

A whole little industry has grown up around the treasure hunt, metal detectors costing from £ 200 to £ 2000 for absolute professional devices.

The magazine “Treasure Hunting” has put the newly discovered gold Bible on the front page.