THE IW Metal Detecting Club has had a gold start to the new year with the discovery of a hammered gold angel coin.
The coin, which has the inscription of either Henri VIII or possibly Henri VII, dating it to around 1500-1520, was found by Gavin Leng while out on a club dig in the Chale area. It features a golden angel and the inscription on one side and a ship and coat of arms on the reverse.
"We find a lot of hammered coins but they are almost always silver," said Mr Leng, of Corbett Road, Ryde.
"This is the first gold hammered coin for the club and could even be the first one discovered on the Island."
Mr Leng has been metal detecting for around eight years and said it was his most significant find yet.
"It was about two inches under the soil and when I found it it was curled up, not surprising when you consider it's probably been trampled on by cattle and ploughed up numerous times," he said.
The coin will be registered with Frank Basford, the IW Council's finds liaison officer.