A metal detectorist unearthed a farmer’s Rolex watch in rural England—50 years after it was eaten by a cow.
James Steele lost the treasured timepiece in the early 1970s when the strap broke while he was tending his cattle. The farmer searched the field at his dairy farm in Shropshire, but there was no sign of the watch.
Incredibly, half-a-century later the 95-year-old has been reunited with it after metal detectorist Liam King found it buried in the mud. Now they’ve surmised that a cow swallowed the watch, and it ended up in a cow pile.
“The cow could have eaten it with a mouthful of grass, said the veteran. “It was an amazing stroke of luck for it to turn up again after all this time lost in the earth.
“I was really pleased because I never thought I would see the watch again.
The face now has a greenish color but it has not rusted up.
“It shows how well made it was to survive 50 years under a field.
Steele’s son, who runs the farm with his dad, told the metal detectorist he could come onto the land to look for coins. He didn’t uncover any, but did find the Rolex, pictured below.
“I’m most grateful to Liam who found the watch. He could have quite easily not owned up to his discovery.”
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Mr. Steele, who bought the watch on his 21st birthday for £100 in 1950—which is £4,500 / $5,700 in today’s money—will not bother repairing the Rolex, because of the expense, but says, “It’ll make a lovely keepsake.”
“I remember my neighbor had a very smart Rolex and I really fancied having one myself. I saved up and dug deep in my pockets for it—and wore it all the time.”
“I remember the day I lost it, I’d been out early with the cows. It was very cold so I’d had my hands in my pockets but at some point I must have been feeding a cow and it had slipped off or the strap had broken.
“We looked everywhere but I already knew it was gone and had probably been eaten by one of the cows.
“I was gutted but I saved up again and bought another one.”
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“It’s remarkable that the watch has turned up again and I’m delighted to have it back.”
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