Rare medal found in Kiwi backyard heads to London
20 Mar 2008
A rare English medal dug up in the back yard of a New Zealand home, will travel back to London as part of an exhibition.
The historic Temple Bar Medal was discovered by Kevin Homan while working on the foundations of his Upper Hutt garage.
''At first I thought it was an old jar lid, then I washed it off with a hose. Around the edges it said that in 1672 the Temple Bar was erected and then removed in 1878.''
The Museum of London contacted the Homans after they listed their find online. The family has agreed to loan the medal for a three-month exhibition, London Far and Away. A museum representative is travelling to New Zealand to collect the battered medal this week.
It is unknown how the buried treasure ended up in Upper Hutt, but Kevin Homan's father, Stewart, has a theory.
''My father bought this house [in 1952] after receiving an inheritance from two quite wealthy aunts who lived in London. He might have been given it and then buried it with other rubbish.''
It is over a year since the discovery was made, and Homan said his family had grown used to owning the medallion.
The one-kilogram medal was made in 1878 from the lead roof of Temple Bar, which historically marked the western boundary of the City of London.
The gateway, made of Portland stone and dating from 1672, was reputedly designed by Sir Christopher Wren, architect of St Paul's Cathedral.
The Temple Bar Medal is from a collection called the City of London Medals, struck by the Corporation of the City of London.
Most in the series had runs of up to 450. However, the exception was the Temple Bar Medal, considered extremely rare by experts.
Only one other of the historic medals is known to exist - this specimen is in excellent condition, with an original glass-covered face and is valued at NZ$1247.
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