2023 Feb finds page

Wash Tom wins the freebie club sweatshirt and mug and the Spinks English Coin book for the 1st great find of the new year

Complete unit at the British museum

Stunning pair of solid gold 1300 BC armlet rings - reported to museum as treasure

16.42g - 16mm dia

Roman grots off new field

in your "grots" photo, the first two also appear to be Claudius asses. I can't make out enough on the 3rd or 4th to venture any guesses, but the seemingly serrated 5th piece is interesting. I don't know of any Roman AE's of the period of Roman Britain which were created as serrati. (there were a number of Roman "serrati", but all were early B.C. AR Republican denarii - with similar edges)
In AE, all that comes to mind would be one or another of the Seleukid Kingdom rulers - but how these 2nd & 3rd century B.C. pieces might have made it to Britain is a puzzle, at best.
Perhaps the edge of a more appropriate coin-type for the area was modified - I have similarly post-strike created serrati from a couple of cultures - generally regarded as "native jewelry" or "blacksmith's toy", etc.
ML

A Seleukid serratus

Very interesting big Roman bronze sent off for ID

7.38g, 26.13mm

The big one is a Claudius as - anepigraphic reverse with Minerva holding shield and brandishing spear: Top picture is a smallish, underweight (but surprisingly common) British copy of the type - lower photo is an "official" Rome mint specimen

This is the British copy
ML

Mark

Another interesting big Roman bronze sent off for ID

This one is more of a challenge, from the weight and diameter, it seems like a fairly early as - I can't really make out anything on the reverse (a bent leg?, that's about it) but the obverse looks like a female bust right with hair in bun at nape. Faustina Jr. immediately comes to mind, but could be Lucilla or Crispina - or perhaps someone more obscure. The few letters of legend on the obverse are tantalizing, but I can't make any sense out of the apparent legend fragment.
ML

1340 AD French Jetton

Crown introduced in 1340 by Philip VI (1328-50)

Royal Crown with 3 rosettes across body of crown

Rev Double banded straight cross fleuretty AV

1553 Hans Schultes I 'Ship penny' jetton

Obv Sailing ship facing left

Rev Traditional 'four fleurs in a lozenge' crown HANS rosette SCHVLTES cross PO

c BC Celtic clothing toggle

37.7mm L x 8.62mm W x 9.39mm dia head

15.17g

c1794-1814 North York Militia​

Crowned Yorkshire Rose with 'North' and 'York' either side

In 1763 various local battalions were amalgamated​ to form the North Riding Militia through various name changes they eventually form the 4th Battalion of the Yorkshire Regt.

'Normal orb' German jetton with crown initial mark

Hans Krauwinckel (1562-1586)

17thC Thomas Renolds, bays maker of Colchester hammered copper trade farthing

Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp, 6 Schilling, 1723,

reverse

VI SCHILLING FÜRST SCHLE. HOL. MUNTZ / PIE IUSTE ET HONESTE

WW1 badge

The South Wales Borderers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for 280 years. It came into existence in England in 1689, as Sir Edward Dering's Regiment of Foot

George 1st 1727 Coronation medallion

Coronation of George II 1727 J. Croker, the official coronation issue, Obverse: Bust left Laureate, armoured and draped, GEORGIVS. II. D.G. MAG. BR. FR. ET. HIB. REX. Reverse the King enthroned right, is crowned by Britannia VOLENTES. PER. POPULOS Exergue: CORON. XI. OCTOB. MDCCXXVII,

1919 Silver Fob watch back - Birmingham hall mark, date letter U

Dennison, Wigley & Co (from 1879) makers mark ALD - Hansworth Birmingham

Sovereign case, tea service, watch case

Gold earing marked 9 carat gold Italy

4.06g, 51.56mm L

10 to 40 AD Cunobelin Celtic silver unit

Flower type - Classed as Extremely rare - Chris Rudd 54.78, VA 2049, ABC 2885

'Cooking' two ancient silvers to remove crust - one on right looks like a Roman BC Republican silver

Georgian gold shoe buckle

1413-22 Henry V hammered silver half penny - broken annulets by neck

Rev CIVI/TAS/LONDON/DON - London mint

Roman silver fragment sent for ID

I'm pretty sure that fragment is from a denarius of Trajan (96-117 AD) the seated figure on the reverse holding palm-branch and caduceus is quite probably either Felicitas or Hilaritas. The wear seems reasonable for a piece in circulation for 20 years or so.
Aside from this piece being, in my opinion, most likely a piece of man-made "small change" - a cut rather than plow-broken coin, possibly in the general tradition of hacksilber - there isn't much else I can determine about the original coin from which this fragment comes.
Mark

Gold boys, Terry and Jay with their freebie club sweatshirts

Pictures from the field

5.47g,18.21mm

Fake Roman silver coin ?? Someone playing a joke ?

Oh yes, quite definitely a modern copy, and rather a crude one - notice how the dotted borders end for no good reason in the spacious area next to the rim - that's a common problem copiers often encounter when using less sophisticated copying methods. Another "tell" is the mechanically perfectly round flan (a major diagnostic ignored by the majority of fakers out there, it would seem. I guess the round vs "irregular" flan perception is not widespread among well-heeled noobs. That, and slabs, etc, all of which which are driving the ridiculous prices.
Mark
There have been a ton of bad copies of the Caesar elephant denarius around recently - at multiple "levels" on ebay, etc.

I'm curious, though - did you & your folks dig this up? If not, what was the source?
Unfortunately the photo I had of a really nice genuine specimen was lost along with a lot of stuff when they killed my website last year, but the photo below is of a genuine specimen which was actually found fully encrusted in a lot of uncleaned ancients 15-20 years ago. It's seen better days and is quite a bit the worse for wear. You should have no problem finding photos of nice genuine specimens if you want to compare - and no problem finding more fakes to compare if you care to pursue the subject - just try a search on ebay.

A few years back, before the current groundswell of ridiculous pricing, particularly of "desirable" types, the J. Caesar elephant denarius was one of the easier and less expensive J. Caesar denarii to acquire since it has no portrait.
Mark

2nd fake found on the same field ??

Good eye - definitely a modern copy, and perhaps from the same workshop as the Caesar elephant.
Mark

850 BC Bronze Age socketed axe head

Unknown foreign hammered silver coin - researching it

Short summary from what I read - looks like a half dirham of Ibn Abu Mahalli, usurper of the throne of the Saadi Empire in Marrakesh, Morocco. This coin was minted in 1612 or so (he seized Marrakesh in 1612). In 1613 he was defeated in battle and his head was hung from the city ramparts until it disintegrated 12 years later.

Ohio Drew

Ct Terry just popped a gold posy ring

C17thC - reported as potential treasure

'A true friends gift'

No hallmark - marker mark ?EM

2.87g, 17.53mm

Henry VII 1486- 1504 hammered silver half groat

Obv hENRIC DI'GRA ***

Rev CIVI/TAS/CAN/TOR - Canterbury mint

Beauty big Roman with detail - sent off to Mark Lehman for ID

Hadrian (117-138 A.D.) Æ As, Mint of Rome, Struck AD 119-121
Obv: IMP CAESAR TRAIANVS HADRIANVS AVG
laureate head right with slight drapery on left shoulder
Rev: PONT MAX TR POT COS III
Britannia seated facing right, foot on rock,
resting head on right hand and holding spear;

1279 Edward 1st hammered silver penny

Obv EDWAR ANGL DNS hYB

Rev CIVI/TAS/LON/DON - London mint

Roman enamelled bronze bead - traces of blue, red and gold remain

Roman votive figurine - traces of red and gold gilding remain

Medieval iron key

Very unusual monster thick Roman bronze - sent for ID

Huge thick sucker !!

23.189g, 4.76mm Thick x 28.11 Wide.

This one will be a bit harder to give you the sort of detail I did with the Hadrian as
Things I know for certain - AE sestertius - Marcus Aurelius - probably Victory reverse

I believe this is a match - if not, it's close - I can't read any of the reverse legend. It's very similar, quite possibly the same, but he issued the same few types year after year changing only the dates, so my dating may be off.

Marcus Aurelius, Caesar under Antoninus Pius (A.D. 139-161), AE Sestertius (AE 23.05g), Mint of Rome A.D. 166-167
Obv: IMP ANTONINVS AVG – ARM PARTH MAX
laureate head right
Rev: TR POT XXI – IMP IIII COS III; S  --  C
Victory in long dress, standing left, holding palm in her left hand,
wreath in her outstretched right hand
RIC 289, 948; C 815; BMC 598, 1318
That's about all I can give you - I'm pretty much 100% sure of the Hadrian as and the Marcus Aurelius is definitely a Marcus Aurelius sestertius.
Whether this is the precise form of Victory + dates, or not, I can't be 100% certain - he had quite a few Victory types over his 40 year-long rule.
Mark

1279 Edward 1st hammered silver penny

Obv EDWAR ANGL DNS hYB

Rev CIVI/TAS/CAN/TOR - Canterbury mint

Not seen one of these before 1999 Elizabeth 2nd two pound coin

Very unusual 11,000 BC flint scraper

Victorian Police Department button

Crown PD - Queens crown

Moved finds to 2023 March Finds Page