Mr Brock said he had only recently learned that it could be the biggest found in England, which was “quite incredible really”, and he was going to split the proceeds with the landowner.
An old track or road and a railway line are thought to have run through the farmland where the nugget was discovered, and the site contained stone understood to have originally come from Wales, said the auctioneers.
On the day of the organised dig in May 2023, other people had up-to-date kit, said Mr Brock, while he “bowled up with three old machines”, one of which immediately stopped working.
His back-up detector, which had a faded screen, initially only flagged up a “few rusty old tent pegs”, but within 20 minutes of scanning, the gold nugget was detected about five or six inches under the ground.
“I couldn’t believe it,” said the 67-year-old who first began metal detecting in 1989.
“I turned up late, was only there a matter of minutes and this treasure hunting expedition was supposed to last all day.”
