Detectorist's Find Valued at $4.6M

The British Museum has launched a high-profile campaign to keep a rare gold pendant—the "Tudor Heart"—in the UK. Discovered in 2019 by metal detectorist Charlie Clarke in a Warwickshire field, the heart-shaped pendant is believed to be linked to the marriage of Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon's daughter, Mary, reports the Art Newspaper. The museum is now trying to raise $4.6 million by April to buy the gem and prevent it from being sold at private auction and possibly leaving the country. The price was set by the government's Treasure Value Committee.

The pendant features symbols of both Henry and Katherine—a Tudor rose and a pomegranate tree—along with the intertwined initials "H" and "K" and the word "tousios" (old French for "always"), per the BBC. "We have absolutely nothing of this complexity or type surviving from Henry VIII's early reign," says the museum's Rachel King. A significant early donation of £500,000—about $666,000—has come from the Julia Rausing Trust. However things shake out, amateur detectorist Clarke is on track to become a multi-millionaire thanks to his find, notes the Daily Beast.