A man in search of buried treasure struck gold, literally, when he found a pair of coins that bore the image of Emperor Carausius. Derrick Fretwell, 57, reportedly found the coins while digging in a field by Ashbourne. The coins bore the portrait of Emperor Carausius, a Roman commander.

The coins and were said to be 90 percent pure gold.

According to The Sun, the coins date back to 286AD - the time that Carausius declared himself the Emperor of Britain.

Fretwell, a machinery sales manager. is reportedly eager to find out the exact value of his find, but merely for the sake of curiosity.

"I'll be intrigued to find out what they are worth," he told the Telegraph, "although to me their worth is their rarity value."

Asked for his take on the find, the British Museum's Sam Moorhead, an expert in Roman antiquities, said that these coins are "extremely rare," with only 23 similar coins being discovered.

"Ethically, I am not allowed to put a valuation on them," he explained. "But I reckon they are priceless."

An actual figure representing the coins' value is yet to be determined.