Metal detectorists thought they found a split pin. It was actually a 2,000-year-old Celtic statue with an enormous penis.

• An English couple found a miniature figurine from the 1st century AD while metal detecting.
• The 2,000-year-old figurine has an oversized phallus with a working hinge.

A statue of a small man with a really big, bronze penis in his right hand was found in an English field last year and could sell for hundreds at auction in the coming weeks, according to a release from auction house Noonans.

Paul Shepheard, who has been a detectorist for 25 years, and his wife Julie were at a detector rally in Haconby, Lincolnshire, when they were alerted to something buried beneath a stubble field. After digging 10 inches into the ground, the couple uncovered what they thought was a split pin, which is a tool used to fasten bolts.

After taking a harder look at the figure, the couple realized that it was actually a 2-inch tall Celtic-age statue with an oversized, moving member.

The penis pendant is set to be put up for auction in Mayfair, London, on March 8 and 9. It could bring in an estimated £800-1,200 — up to $1,440.

Nigel Mills, a consultant of coins and artifacts at Noonans, said in the statement that there was "nothing quite like it." The statue dates back to the 1st century AD and could have been a fertility idol based on the Roman god Mercury.

"This male figure with its hinged oversized phallus would have had symbolic powers of good luck and warding off evil spirits and may have served as a locking mechanism as a buckle to hold a belt and scabbard for a sword," Mills said in the statement.

Shepheard, who spoke with Noonans, said in the statement that he and his wife initially thought the art was Roman, as Romans were known to keep penis pendants for good luck and had a bit of an obsession with phallic symbols.

"But this was designed by the Celts who have added a hinged element making it very artistic which perhaps made their feelings even more obvious," Shepheard said to Noonans.

As for what he plans to do with their auction earnings, Shepheard told Noonans he plans to blow their money on a vacation for his wife and her mother.

There are many examples of ancient phallic iconography and statues that represent fertility, good luck, fables lost to history, or ancient feuds.

Recently, scientists wrote a paper on a 2,000-year-old wooden object that could possibly be an ancient Roman dildo found in 1992. Scholars thought for years it was a "darning tool" but the theory was called into question after the object was reexamined.

The supposed dildo measures 6 inches, but was probably longer and bigger in its heyday, as "archaeological wood is prone to shrinkage and warping," the scientists wrote in the journal Antiquity.

Meanwhile, the 2-inch bronze "Haconby Celtic Fertility Figure" remains firm.