Category Archives: Metal Detecting Finds

Metal detecting ‘helping to preserve Britain’s history’

A nice video about metal detecting from the BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13637861 The Guardian’s coverage of the PAS annual report launch: http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2011/may/25/metal-detector-ancient-england-maps This will be my last blog post for the foreseeable future.

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Some Roman coins of the usurper Allectus

Flatbed scanning and image manipulation technology have come a long way since 1997 when I first made Coins of the Romans Relating to Britain By John Y. Akerman, 1836, available for free on the internet! (See some of my earlier … Continue reading

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Celtic gold coins found whilst volunteering for an archaeological unit

Celtic gold stater (right) and quarter stater (left) of Tasciovanus, king of the Catuvellauni tribe (from around 20BC until around 9AD) and father of Cunobelin, that I found whilst volunteering for an archaeological unit. Equipment used was a Compass Coin … Continue reading

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The bad old days – finding hoards without a metal detector

This is how hoards were found in the bad old days, before metal detectors. Smashed to pieces by the plough! Illustration from the book Coins of the Romans Relating to Britain By John Y. Akerman, Published 1836 (the book is … Continue reading

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The Thirteen Treasures of the Island of Britain

The list of the Thirteen Treasures of the Island of Britain – the original manuscripts, written in Welsh, date from the 15th and 16th centuries, but they almost certainly draw on paper sources and oral traditions that are far, far … Continue reading

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Mystery metal detecting finds – Roman dodecahedron

Ever found one of these? Roman dodecahedra are believed to date from the second and third century AD, and range from 4 to 11cm in size. There are many theories about what they may have been used for, but I … Continue reading

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Dallinghoo/Wickham Market Hoard – metal detecting find fund-raising

Colchester and Ipswich Museum Service have apparently begun a fund raising effort to secure the Dallinghoo/Wickham Market Hoard of 840 Iron Age gold staters found by two metal detectorists in 2008. The Dallinghoo/Wickham Market Hoard is one of the largest … Continue reading

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‘Treasure house’ of the North Thames tribes discovered – largest find of Iron Age gold in UK history

Metal detectorists in Hertfordshire discover the ‘Treasure house’ of the North Thames tribes – the single largest find of Iron Age gold in history. Found just outside St. Albans, the hoard of 52,504 gold staters and over 200 neck torcs … Continue reading

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An ancient Greek metal detecting find – revisited

I posted this picture a few days back, probably my favourite metal detecting find of all time, an ancient greek coin minted in Italy. I found this coin almost 20 years ago and didn’t notice until just now – there … Continue reading

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Rare Carausius ‘Clasped Hands’ Denarius being offered by Dix, Noonan and Webb

Dix, Noonan and Webb are offering a very rare Carausius ‘Clasped Hands’ Denarius in their December 9th coin auction: Carausius, Argenteus, London, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right, rev. clasped hands, 4.19g/6h (cf. RIC 549; cf. Shiel 14-20). Very fine … Continue reading

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Cartwheel penny found with a metal detector for comparison

Thought this coin would make for an interesting comparison with the Cartwheel two pence coins I posted a few days ago. Above and below: A cartwheel one penny coin found with a metal detector. The pitting and corrosion on this … Continue reading

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An ancient Greek metal detecting find – coin from Thurium or Thurii

This one is still my favourite, and oldest, metal detecting find of all time. A coin minted in Thurium, a Greek city in modern day Italy, in the 4th century BC. The bull charging right is a recurring motif on … Continue reading

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Queen Victoria ‘To Hanover’ gaming tokens or jettons, 1837 to 1867

A Queen Victoria ‘To Hanover’ gaming token or jetton, dated 1867. Thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of these were minted between 1837 and 1867 (at least the most recent date I have seen on one of these tokens or … Continue reading

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Cartwheel Twopence Coins, Cartwheel Penny Craziness

Probably my favourite Georgian coins, the Cartwheel pennies are a currency experiment that didn’t quite go as planned. They were created by Matthew Boulton at the Soho Mint in Handsworth, Birmingham in 1797. Eight of these cartwheel twopence coins, laid … Continue reading

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Four year old boy finds gold 16th century reliquary with metal detector

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1330198/Boy-4-unearths-1m-treasure-trove-FIRST-metal-detecting-expedition.html A four year old boy has found a gold 16th century reliquary with his grandfathers metal detector, what a fantastic story! Photographs of the late medieval gold reliquary can be seen at the above link, it’s sort of a … Continue reading

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Interesting British Museum document on the analysis of the Coenwulf Mancus

Analysis of a gold mancus of Coenwulf of Mercia and other comparable coins by Gareth Williams and Michael Cowell [PDF] This very interesting document describes not only the Coenwulf Mancus and the various processes the British Museum used to examine … Continue reading

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Early 17th century book fittings as the book binder intended

Some early 17th century book fittings as the book binder intended! This book was bound, probably in Oxford, in around 1618-1620. The book has undoubtedly seen better days and the repair to the spine is really quite unfortunate. One of … Continue reading

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Frome Hoard Fundraising – The 1st of February 2011 deadline draws closer

Somerset Museum in Taunton has until February 1, 2011 to raise the £320,250 purchase price of the Frome Hoard. On top of the purchase price, money also needs to be raised to cover the ongoing costs of conserving the 52,503 … Continue reading

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Posted in Books About Coins, Metal Detecting, Metal Detecting Finds, Metal Detecting Hoard Finds, Museums, Roman Coins | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Important Crosby Garrett Helmet photograph posted on the PAS web site

http://www.finds.org.uk/database/images/image/id/300806 http://www.finds.org.uk/database/images/image/id/296472 The above links reveal the most interesting photographs of the Crosby Garrett Helmet yet released – the Crosby Garrett Helmet before restoration work commenced. Prior to the sale, some had argued about whether the helmet was art or … Continue reading

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Chris Rudd releases Celtic coin book (at long last!)

At long last – Chris Rudd, one of the worlds foremost experts on British Celtic coins, has released a book, Ancient British Coins, here’s the blurb: “Never before have so many ancient British coins been so easy to identify, so … Continue reading

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