A historic gold ring that many experts believe could have belonged to one of the conspirators in the 1605 Gunpowder Plot is currently scheduled for auction on Thursday.
According to Hansons Auctioneers, the historic ring features an inner inscription with the words, “Your Frende in Deede.” The auction house suggested that the inscription could be in reference to a close friendship between fellow conspirators, as well as a pledge of commitment to the intended “deed” of blowing up parliament on November 5, 1605.
Fox News reported that the 1605 Gunpowder Plot was a planned attempt by English Catholics to kill King James I and blow up the Houses of Parliament; however, the king’s court was alerted to the plot and Guy Fawkes, one of the key conspirators, was discovered hiding amid 36 barrels of gunpowder on the day of the planned attack. According to Fox News, the mastermind behind the 1605 Gunpowder Plot was Robert Catesby.
Hansons Auctioneers confirmed that the gold ring was discovered by Andrew Rose, a metal detectorist from Birmingham, last September. Rose located the historic ring roughly six inches under the ground in a field next to Bushwood Hall in Lapworth, England, which is the location of Catesby’s birth in 1572. According to the auction house, Bushwood Hall was used by the conspirators to store weapons and as a hideout.
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“The hall where Catesby was born can only be accessed down a track, which means it is even more likely the ring, which was found only yards from the moat, was connected to the hall or was owned by someone who lived there,” Rose said.
“The words ‘in deede’ suggest [that] whoever gave the ring was prepared to prove his loyalty in actions rather than just words,” Rose added. “It was a great find and hugely exciting.”
According to Hansons Auctioneers, the historic gold ring is expected to make up to £12,000, which is roughly $15,800.
“Guy Fawkes, Catesby and their network — many of whom were related by blood or marriage — moved between safe houses in the Midlands,” Charles Hanson, an auctioneer, stated. “They were protected by the region’s large Catholic base, which, like them, [were] against the king.”
“Given the remoteness of the hall’s location, its link to Catesby [and] the date and inscription of the ring, it is tantalizing to imagine it belonging to one of the plotters,” Hanson added. “Imagine it glinting by firelight as they planned one of the most audacious attacks in U.K. history.”
A picture of the historic ring was shared Tuesday on X, formerly Twitter.
