£462,000 reward for Iron Age discovery

• Treasure hunter David Booth reveals the four golden neck ornaments, or torcs, which have made him nearly half a million pounds Picture: Ian Rutherford

Now David Booth has landed the jackpot to match, after the four golden neck ornaments he uncovered were valued at 462,000 by the Crown Office.

The artefacts, believed to have been buried as a gift to the gods, have been assigned to the National Museum of Scotland who must find the cash to pay the fortunate finder, who plans to use the windfall to help buy a house.

Treasure Trove rules make the torcs the property of the Crown. The "ex-gratia" reward reflects the objects' market price on two different valuations, officials said.

A delighted Mr Booth, 36, chief game warden at the Blair Drummond Safari Park, joked yesterday that he had dreamed of buying an Aston Martin.

But he and his partner Carolyn Morrison will more sensibly pay off their credit card bills, he said, and then aim to buy a first home for them and their eight-month-old daughter, Freya.

He said that the money will be partly shared with the landowner who allowed him to go metal detecting in his field, but he does not expect the cash to be handed over until next year.

"It will be enough to change our lives, not in a drastic way, just to be a lot more comfortable," he said.

"It's probably more than I was expecting. The landlord will get his share and I will use my share just to pay off all the credit cards, that myself or my partner have, and rest will be to buy a house for the family."

Dr Gordon Rintoul, director of National Museums Scotland, said he was delighted by the Crown Office decision.

He said: "These magnificent Iron Age gold torcs are of national and international importance and we are delighted to have the opportunity to acquire them for preservation and display."

In the difficult economic climate, the museum will explore a "range of sources" for a the "substantial sum" to keep them in the national collection, he said.

The museum will launch talks with "key funders", expected to include the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The NMS gets just 510,000 a year from the Scottish Government for acquisitions.It has just launched a public campaign to raise a final 1.5 million towards the 46m redevelopment of the flagship Royal Museum site.

The Queen's and Lord Treasurer's Remembrancer, Catherine Dyer, the Crown's representative in Scotland, said she was accepting a recommendation by the Scottish Archaeological Finds Allocation Panel that the "stunning artefacts" from the "simply amazing" find be allocated to the NMS.

The torcs date from between 1st and 3rd century BC and were buried just six inches beneath the surface. Mr Booth found them on a first outing with a new metal detector after stepping just a few yards from his car. Astonishingly, he followed months later with another significant find, of an 800-year-old seal, for which he is also waiting a Treasure Trove reward.

£462,000 reward for Iron Age discovery - not a bad day's work