DORCHESTER , England ( CNN ) -- Englishman John Webber thought nothing of the small , shiny cup , passed down from his junk dealer grandfather and stashed under a bed for years , until appraisers said it was an ancient Persian artifact . The ancient Persian gold cup , thought to date from the third or fourth century B.C. , fetched $ 100,000 at auction . The 5½-inch gold cup , which experts have dated to the third or fourth century B.C. , fetched $ 100,000 at an auction in Dorchester , southern England , Thursday . The identity of the winning bidder was n't immediately known . The relic features the double faced ancient Roman god Janus , the god of gates and doors who always looked to both the future and past and is often associated with beginnings and endings . The cup has two faces with braided hair and entwined snake ornaments at the forehead . Webber 's grandfather , William Sparks , was a rag and bone man , the British term for a junk dealer , Duke 's said , who established the iron merchants Sparks and Son in Taunton , Somerset , in southwestern England , in the 1930s . Sparks acquired the cup along with two other pieces , also up for auction , in the 1930s or 1940s , the spokeswoman said . Watch CNN report on the auction » . Before he died , Sparks gave the items to Webber , who did n't realize their value , the spokeswoman said . `` Because he mainly dealt in brass and bronze , I thought that was what it was made from , '' Webber told the Bournemouth News and Picture Service . `` I put it in a box and forgot about it . Then last year I moved house and took it out to have a look , and I realized it was n't bronze or brass . `` I sent it to the British Museum , and the experts there had n't seen anything like it before and recommended I had it tested at a laboratory . So I paid quite a bit of money for it to be examined by a lab the museum recommended . And they found the gold dated from the third of fourth century B.C . '' Webber , who is in his 70s , said he remembers the cup from when he was a small boy . `` It 's been quite exciting finding out what it was , '' he told the agency . Webber brought the items to Duke 's at the start of the year for potential sale , because he wanted to `` realize some money , '' the auction house spokeswoman said . A spokeswoman for Duke 's Auction House , which is selling the cup , said the cup is believed to be from the Archaemenid empire in ancient Persia . The other two items are a second century B.C . round gold mount with a figure , probably of ancient Greek hero Ajax , who besieged Troy , and a decorated gold spoon with an image of a Roman emperor . `` He had a good eye for quality over the years , '' said the spokeswoman , who asked not to be named , `` and anything interesting he 'd put aside . '' Scientists analyzed trace elements of a gold sample taken from the cup to determine its age , and analysts from Oxford University concluded that they are consistent with Archaemenid gold and goldsmithing , Duke 's said .
Gold cup stashed under bed for years is $ 100,000 ancient Greek artifact . Small urn went under the hammer at auction in southern England 1940s . Artifact acquired by junk dealer , grandfather of current owner , in the 1940s or 1940s . Experts say it is believed to date from 1930s B.C .