19th March 2006 Posted more finds - Roman token ? Updated Treasure page with latest finds and feedback

I managed to get a few more finds posted on 2006 Feb page. NY Dan found the classic 17thC Charles 1st silver button that has been report as treasure to the museum and he also got what appears to be a really neat Roman lead token. The bust appears to be the typical 4thC type with some kind of animal or bird on the obverse but this needs more research to be sure. It has the look of a Celtic potin with a Morini type reverse but in lead. I have sent it off to Philip at the CCI to see if he has seen anything like it.

17th March 2006 Ohio Keith finds another Lizzy LOL - Treasure update

Amazing hunt for Keith as he found yet another Elizabeth 1st sixpence yesterday morning on a different site bringing his Lizzy total to 4 - sixpence's a 3 pence and 2 pence. He was praying when he cleaned the mud off the find that it was anything but a an Elizabeth LOL

1578, 1561 Elizabeth 1st sixpence's

1582, 1593 Elizabeth 1st sixpence's

Feedback from the museum on the current outstanding potential treasures and hoards.

Ark Gary's previous find feedback - 'gilded object set with the stone is probably one of two things – either a horse harness pendant or possibly a fitting from a bible or reliquary. The stone is probably a rock crystal. Either way it dates to the medieval period c.1200-1500'.

Ohio Eric - reported as possible Celtic - gold on brass not 300 years old returning to finder

Boston Beau - decorated gold ring fragment - not 300 years old returning to finder

16th March 2006 Some more neat finds

The guys are well spread out over all the sites and making a fascinating variation of finds. It has been a few years since we found a large denomination George III milled coin but this one found by Ohio Keith cleaned up brilliantly to reveal the best example ever found here. They found a great house site which also produced two hammered silver, Elizabeth 1st penny and a James 1st penny, 15th lead token and some great 18thC lead tokens and buttons.The other guys got a 1stC Colchester type Roman fibula brooch, tokens and a couple grotty Romans that were too far gone to ID.

1817 George III 'bullhead milled silver half crown ( 30 pence)

NH Dave found a heart attack find of a gold fob watch that initially looked like solid gold but is in fact plated. Not a huge amount of age to it but still a neat find he dug from under a tree in the front garden of a 1000 year old house LOL. I have still got tons of nice finds to post yet.

15th March 2006 - Celtic Serpent brooch and Saxon fastener

Ohio Keith found this heavily detailed brooch and it matches one I found 10 years ago on land 3 miles away. NH Dave got a really nice Saxon fastener with skull and crossed arm type design. Lots of other nice bits and pieces which I have started to post on the latest hunt page. The latest coins are just back from the coin straighteners and yet again some amazing results.

This King John 1199 AD penny was bent in half and had a fracture line and now we can see the face side which is stunning. I will post all the before and after shots on the Coinstraightening page shortly.

14th March 2006 Some more great artefacts - posted a few more finds

Ohio Keith added yet another big Elizabeth 1st hammered to his collection making his total so far this hunt to 3 sixpence's, a 3 pence and a 2 pence, we all reckon he has a special Lizzy setting on his machine as they are all from different sites. Indiana Brad picked up a rare milled find, Queen Anne 1711 silver shilling and then NH Dave found a 1000 BC bronze age socketed axe fragment. NH Dave also found an amazing complete Georgian fob seal in the front garden of a 1000 year old house we have just started detecting. Brilliant find as I have never seen a complete one before. The seal appears to be a mans bust in the Charles 1st style period clothing and very detailed.

C1000BC Bronze age socketed axe fragment showing signs of heavy wear 38.63 mm L x 36.10mm W x 12.79mm T found by NH Dave

13th March 2006 Interesting day - 10 export papers back

Facinating coin weight find by NH Dave - variation of a Scottish made thistle crown of James 1st and from the same site as Texas Dave's gold find

That was interesting hunt yesterday as the guys spread out on 3 different sites and got some interesting finds. Ohio Keith appears to have an affinity for Elizabeth 1st hammered coins and picked and another double, a half groat and a 3 pence on a huge plot that had not produced any silver before. Another newer site we are developing produced it's earliest silver so far, two early short cross hammered pennies found by CT Tom and a later Charles 1st hammered silver one pence. Tom also picked up a stonking religious pendant with huge relief on both sides. I will try and get a few pictures posted but I am bogged down still with export paperwork.

Great find - copper shilling - Aug 1689 James II Irish 'gun metal' emergency coinage

Obv 1 - JACOBVS II DEI GRATIA - Rev 1

Ten approved export licenses arrived today - list of names posted on members forum.

12th March 2006 Total skunking LOL - Hoard result

One of our best looking sites around an old church gave us another total skunking on Friday. Man this site sucks and it looks so promising !! I put it to the vote for the members to stop hunting the site which we have nicknamed 'The temple site' as it is near the Roman temple and recently discovered Chariot track. Unfortunately I lost the vote last night because our researcher Mass Linda believes it could be our best producer long term. The guys voted to try it out for another year but I will probably spend my time sleeping in the bus if they drag me down there LOL.

The boys spread out across the sites yesterday and Indiana Brad found a couple of real nice pieces, 1475 Karl de Stout Dutch hammered silver near an old monastery and a fascinating 13thC seal matrix that appears to have a man and a woman people facing each other with a heart in the middle, never seen an early seal with that type of design. Another great find is an emergency gun metal issue James II copper shilling which is yet to be cleaned up. Cal Dan found a nice Elizabeth 1st hammered trying to find some more of the hoard we discovered which is amazing as thought we have pounded that area to death. I have just received the official Coroners letter and the inquest in March declared the Celtic gold coin finds as hoard. Colchester museum have completed the purchase of the other previous hoard of 8 - 45BC Addedomaros gold staters( Cunoblein's Grandfather) found last year and they will probably be on display shortly at the Castle museum for members to visit. Canadian Rod successfully appealed the initial valuation of his rare one that has the legend visible. More details on members area.

1475 Dutch -Karel de Stoute -silver DOUBLE STUIVER

10th March 2006 Trade token update

David Powel just sent me some great ID's of our 17thC trade tokens that we had not classified. I have updated the page. Here is a note from David on a great site he runs with all the info on Lead and other tokens. Great source of info.

'Just in case you should be interested and have not already discovered it, I am publishing a free monthly newsletter on lead tokens at www.leadtokens.org.uk Started with a detectorist friend as the editor, he has now left for pastures new and I am running the entire thing. It is jointly intended for numismatist and detectorist, to get them sharing ideas and material, and is deliberately pitched halfway between. Its other main purpose is to develop a classification system, which you will usually find written about in its middle pages; I’ve deliberately gone for one which is not too heavy, so that people can be happy about using it, and can remember it, when they are out in the field. Be delighted to correspond on leads with anyone who is interested'.

Best wishes,

David

10th March 2006 Stunning seal matrix - posted to post a few finds on page 5

Georgia Al found the most stunning condition 13th to 15thC seal matrix this afternoon which is silvered and has the deepest cut relief to date at almost 1/4 inch. This must have been owned by an important person as I have never seen a silvered example. The Lombardic script appears to be very clear from the impression so I can probably decipher it. Ohio Keith who had been starved of silver finds this week found two Elizabeth 1st hammered silver sixpence's on two different sites also.

9th March 2006 Museum update - Roman bronze hoards ?

The Museum FLO have updated the post of the 1st March with more information on the treasure process. It is really important to read all this information prior to visiting Britain to detect. Ignorance in the eyes of the law is no defense. Yesterday I saw a mail from a guy that found 163 Roman coins on his trip to Britain and they were not declared or exported correctly. He has been directed to the links on my site so that he is aware of the severe penalties he is risking. However it sounds to me that they were probably not genuine ' been in the ground 2000 years' Roman coins in this instance. Huge bronze Roman sestertius in 'mint' condition would never be found in the plough soil unless they are out of some kind of protective pot. You are really lucky to dig a large Roman bronze that even has a head that is visible after rotting for 2000 years. Here is a typical example of a Roman dug this week that I would class as well above normal condition. Mark Lehman our Roman expert has ID'd it as quite a rare Roman RIC III. As the museum have rightly reinforced it is the finders responsibility to ensure that a potential hoard or treasure is reported and they have the correct paperwork. A potential non gold or silver hoard consists of 10 bronzes or more found in the same area irrespective of time. The average find rate here next to Roman capital of Britain is about a dozen mainly grotty coins a week from 100 fields so please don't expect to come and find the same numbers!! If we found 10 or more bronzes on the same field then they would be instantly reported to the local museum and they together with the British Museum would make the decision if it progresses through the treasure act. NOT reporting it is a crime.

'This is an AE sestertius of Faustina Jr., Wife of Marcus Aurelius, issued after her death in 175 A.D. She died while accompanying her husband on a journey to the East.

The obverse legend should be: DIVA FAVSTINA PIA and as far as I can tell, the reverse is: AETERNITAS S - C with Aeternitas standing left, holding phoenix on globe and leaning on column, RIC III, 1693

A very interesting find - too bad it's laminating so badly'.

Mark Lehman

6th March 2006 Great button find - potential treasure

Ohio Keith found an excellent artefact yesterday which appears to be a Charles 1st silver button with his bust. It has been handed over to Colchester museum as potential treasure along with the gilded brooch and stone find by Ark Gary. Another interesting bronze gilded and decorated artefact has also been handed over for ID. It appears to be unbroken and some kind of key but the gilding goes along the whole length of the shank in a cross striped pattern which you would not put on a key, interesting find.

3rd March 2006 Pounding the new site still LOL

The guys continue to pound the new land looking for more Roman silver but Florida Don got the first Medieval silver find from the site so far a worn hammered silver longcross penny. Atlanta Norm contiuned with his daily silver fix but only a couple of 1900's silver sixpences this time. The site appears to be heavily used in the 1700 to 1900's with lots of coppers of the period crotal bells etc

I have not caught up on photographing pictures yet as exporting is taking the priority. 7 more approved export licenses arrived this morning, more details on members area.

Norm's intricate sterling silver brooch with red stone - probably turn of the century

2nd March 2006 First Roman silver

The current new site we are exploring has produced a good Roman presence from 1st to 4thC but only scattered bronzes including that rare one found by Boston Bud. Florida Don found what looked to be a grotty bronze but is was covered with the 'horn silver' crust. After careful cleaning the coin is in fact our first Roman silver from the site and Mark Leham the Roman expert has initially ID'd it as a denarius of Antoninus Pius, 138-161 A.D. The back of the coin still requires the removal of the 'crust' but appears to have futher detail intact. The site also produced large numbers of coppers from Charles II to present day.

1.82g – 16.83 mm

1st March 2006 Further info from the museum on the Treasure process

Please note this additional clarification from the museum on my post of the 22nd Feb on Treasure reporting process.

'Just to add further clarification to your comments about Treasure reporting. Treasure is only officially reported when the CORONER has been informed, NOT when the museum is informed. It is very important that if you think you have treasure to make sure it gets to the museum as soon as possible so that it can be verified and reported within the 14 day period. Though individuals are at liberty to report finds to the coroner direct, reporting treasure through the museum or FLO is by far the most efficient way as they have all the contacts and procedures already in place.

It is very important that visitors to the UK familiarise themselves with the Treasure Act. A full pdf of the act can be downloaded from www.culture.gov.uk under the section ‘cultural property’. A copy of the Treasure receipt can also be downloaded which will tell you all the information that is needed to accompany a find. It will inform visitors that the responsibility for reporting lies solely with the finder, so even if a third party, such as a holiday organiser or museum, fail to report it once they have been notified, it will still be the finders responsibility to see that the reporting took place. Therefore please make sure you have all copies of your paperwork as evidence that reporting has been undertaken. The Treasure Act also states the penalties for non-reporting of treasure finds. www.culture.gov.uk is also a good resource for reading about the export laws and the serious penalties associated with illegal exportation. It is really important that visitors are fully informed before they arrive in the UK, so that they can protect themselves through knowledge of the system'.

28th Feb 2006 Early love token - posted some finds on Feb Page 5

Atlanta Norm found a very neat find and the earliest 'S' shaped love token I have seen made out of a Charles 1st hammered penny. I have started to catch up on posting some of the finds.

24th Feb 2006 Bud's Saxon gold returned to former glory

Another amazing job by the goldsmith has returned Boston Bud's bent Saxon gold coin find to it's former glory, before and after pictures on the Coin straightening page. This gold coin did not got an export license due to it's rarity and now resides in the UK. Bud can always come over to visit it LOL

There is a current delay at the coin expert section of export duty and export license returns are very slow. Further details of these and those approved applications and latest shipments are on the members forum.

Saxon period gold coin 6th/8thC, Early Continental (Merovingian Francia) (584-750),

22nd Feb 2006 Treasure laws and exporting - PC now working

Last week we had a guy come here that had been coming over hunting in England for 14 years and still did not know or comply with the correct laws relating to the Treasure Act and exporting. Being told you can take home any finds 300 years old or newer is breaking the law as an export license is required even for a musket ball. We spend huge amounts of time and effort photographing all finds including buckles, musket balls and buttons etc. in preparing the new export applications which state that any find over 50 years must have an approved export license. If you are over here detecting then here are the MLA (exporting) contact details so you can check on the law, they are a real friendly bunch who will advise you.

The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA)
Victoria House
Southampton Row
London WC1B 4EA
Tel: +44 (0)20 7273 1444
Fax: +44 (0)20 7273 1404
Email: info@mla.gov.uk

http://colchestertreasurehunting.co.uk/export.htm

Secondly when reporting a treasure or hoard you must be in receipt of the pink copy of the 'Museum Object Entry Form' which is your official receipt and signed by the museum curator or FLO. If the items are deemed treasure and forwarded to the Coroner then you will get a Treasure Receipt form with Reference No from the museum. Without these forms you have NOT reported your treasure and are liable to prosecution. You will then get a letter from the British museum detailing your find prior to the item going before a Coroners inquest or being disclaimed.

You will also get two of the following letters from the Coroner's court depending on the outcome of the find

Official Coroners letter (form 1) Detailing the report of the find from the museum to the Corner

Official Coroners letter (form 2) Item is disclaimed by the Coroner (not treasure or no museum wishes to purchase it)

Official Coroners letter (form 3) Disclaimed item form signed by the Coroner( now releasing find to be officially returning to finder from the museum )

Official Coroners letter (form 5) Decision of inquest i.e. declared treasure

After this series you will get a letter from the Valuation committee if it goes through that process

These procedures are set in stone and are never deviated so insure you are issued with all the correct documentation if you find a treasure. If you do not have this paperwork then your find has NOT been reported correctly. Remember you must report all potential treasures and hoards within two weeks of finding the object.

http://colchestertreasurehunting.co.uk/treasureact.htm

18th Feb 2006 Boston Beau finds gold - PC still down

Finds were very lean on a previously productive site and then it suddenly poured with rain while Beau was in the middle of a huge field without his raingear LOL Then the detecting gods smiled on him and out popped this early 1844 Victorian half sovereign in great shape. Other nice finds from the site included a Roman fibula brooch and silver thimble found by NJ Ed. .

1844 Victoria gold half sovereign

My main PC is still not working so updating on the finds page will be slow. No detecting this week as I am on holiday. Next hunt starts next Saturday.

15th Feb 2006 Roman week - potential treasure reported

Guys continue to hotspot the new land and got another 4 large Roman sestertius yesterday indicating early presence now from 1st C to 4thC AD. The land also appears to have the whole date range with lots of modern 18th/19th/20th C coppers and milled silver. Ark Gary got a rarer civil war issue hammered silver Charles 1st sixpence and Boston Beau found this silver mount that is possible Tudor period. It has been reported as potential treasure to the museum..

Elizabeth penny next to the shilling for size comparison- 5.90g, 32.88mm dia

Boston Bud found this huge stunning quite rare early first issue 1559-60 (0.916) fine Elizabeth 1st hammered silver shilling in mint condition.

I have started a new hunt page but finds uploading is slow until my new PC arrives tomorrow.

Feb 2006

13th Feb2006 Fascinating early brooch find

Ark Gary is certainly on a roll having found a beautiful King John shortcross hammered silver penny this morning and then this fascinating gold/bronze brooch this afternoon. I cannot get a 'feel' of the date yet as it's condition suggests Roman but it's decoration appears to be later. I have reported it to the museum as potential treasure.

Gold on Bronze , glass stone - 6.94g, 34.41 mm L x 20.22 mm W x 2.09 mm T

12th Feb 2006 Rare earlier Roman find and another beauty

Another amazing condition Roman found today by Ark Gary on the new land with an unusually high number of milled copper coins including the first James II copper penny I have ever seen in great shape. The soil conditions seem to be unusually kind to copper and bronze coins found there.

Feedback from our Roman expert Mark Lehman indicates that the earlier Roman coins found yesterday are superb finds.

'These are both folles (sing.- follis, plural-folles) dating from approximately 300-305 A.D. Both from the Mint at London which eschewed exergual mintmarks during this era.
The first is Maximian, the second, Constantius I - father-in-law and father of Constantine the Great respectively. These both have the GENIO POPVLI ROMANI reverse portraying the "Genius" (spirit, roughly) of the Roman People as an allegorical personification of a nude man, drapery over left arm, holding a patera (shallow, saucer-like libation-offering dish) and cornucopia.

Maximian's obverse legend is: IMP C MAXIMIANVS PF AVG. He is laureate and cuirassed.

Constantius' obverse legend is FL IVL CONSTANTIVS NOB C, noting that his status was less than Imperial at this time - he would briefely be emperor before dying of illness in Britain in 307. He is also laureate and cuirassed.

I would assign Maximian to RIC VI, London 17, and Constantius to 22 of the same series.

Both these coins originally had a silvery wash over the copper to indicate that they were to be considered part of the silver series. The Maximian is rated "Common", Constantius "Scarce" in RIC, but both are in exceptional condition (as I'm sure you're aware) particularly for field-finds in England. I would limit any cleaning to a bare minimum on these, exposing only the highlights of legend and devices, leaving the fields encrusted for contrast - "earthen highlights" - common for mideast finds, this would be brilliantly unusual for native, British coins.

Nice pair of finds, guys!!

Mark

'This is not from the same era as the last two, rather about 30 years later, despite the similar overall look of patina and encrustation. This one is a CONSTANTINOPOLIS commemorative. The reverse has Victory on a ship's prow and no legend. When Constantine moved his capital to Byzantium and changed the name, there was a very large emission of coins from all mints with the allegorical personifications of either Constantinople or Rome instead of the usual royal portrait. Your piece is from the second officina at the mint of Trier, 330-331 A.D. RIC VII, Trier, # 530 - considered very common' Mark

11th Feb 2006 Boston Bud finds the first Romans

A new site produced its first Roman coins that were only 15 feet apart and both are in remarkable condition. I have sent them off to the Roman expert for ID.Another debased silver Roman coin find has yet to be cleaned

NJ Ed found this neat French 1596 hammered silver coin and an Elizabeth 1st silver half groat both of the same period. Lots of other targets, crotal bells, Medieval lead weight etc so an interesting mix.

300-305 A.D Maximian - Constantius I

1596 Henri IV Huitieme D'Ecu

Obv Henricvs IIII

11th Feb 2006 Great start to the hunts then PC dies

Ark Gary opened the start of the 2nd half of the season with a great 67AD Domitian silver Roman coin and a fibula brooch followed closely by Boston Bud with a nice Edward III hammered silver penny. My regular PC has died but I have a new ordered for delivery on Wednesday so updates will be sparse until then.

9th Feb 2006 Extra - Great information site

Corinne Mills who helped produce the finds recording template for use with PAS has an excellent web site that has all the basics about detecting, getting started, finding a site, researching etc. A great read for anyone contemplating a hunt here. Corinne's site click here.

Corinne also made the local papers this week when her Anglo Saxon gold sword pommel fragment found locally that was declared treasure at Colchester Coroner's court.

9th Feb 2006 Another nice find

Although originally designed as functional seal matrices, fob seals later became merely ornamental 'charms', and in fact many had no engraving on the stone. They were worn both on gentlemen's watch chains and on ladies' ribbons or chatelaines.

Georgian Fob seal found by Wis Neil

8th Feb 2006 Letter from the BM

Cal Shawn has had a confirmation letter from the British Museum on his Anglo Saxon find and he sent me this update.

'They said the precious metal content does not fulfill the requirements of the treasure act, therefore, no inquest is necessary. It was dated as 9th century, copper alloy covered with decorative silver plating. There were traces of niello inlay, and lead. The type of creatures and lines suggest an imitation of the fashionable Trewhiddle zoomorphic style. There is a note at the bottom of the letter from Dr. Anna Gannon (Department of Prehistory and Europe The British Museum London) saying the piece is very interesting from a technological point of view.'

I also picked up 4 disclaimed treasures form the museum yesterday that will no be returned to the finders after export applications have been approved

7th Feb 2006 Couple of days to go to the 2nd half of the season

Friday sees the first hunt after the half season break and expectations are running high with the new land available and previously good producers that have been freshly ploughed and rolled during the holidays. The first team is mostly experienced senior members including Ark Gary who had a brilliant last year finding 4 gold coins, 3 Celtic and one Roman. Can it do it again in 2006 ? LOL

95% of all export paperwork is now completed with more details on the members area. Although this is a very time consuming exercise, looking at each individual item closely again still turns up some great missed finds. Like this brilliant early 1485-1509 Henry VII London hallmark trade weight and an Edward 1st 1272-1307 hammered silver groat fragment. Each hunter gets a detailed list of their finds with a series of coloured photo's e-mailed to them of every find including musket balls as part of the export process !!

3rd Feb 2006 - More previous finds

Medieval strap end, 1921 silver Florin,17th/18thC 3 grain brass bullion weight with Lion hallmark, Post 1617 AD brass ½ drachms apothecary weight

2 Medieval lead weights. Bronze age harness ring 5.64g, 30.55mm, 19thC horse harness bell (crotal shape)

17thC William and Mary weight 7.4g

1st Feb 2006 Photo booth ordered - more finds processed

I have ordered up a small photo booth specifically made for jewelry, stamp and coin photographing to hopefully increase the speed and quality of our find pictures. It is designed like a cutout light box, the idea being to put the objects inside the box rather than on top. One of the most difficult tasks to undertake with a digital camera is taking photos of small objects while ensuring your illumination is shadow free and evenly diffused. It will interesting to see how well it works.

30th Regiment of foot, Georgian bell trade weight 53.35g, Early Navy button, 18thC clog fasteners

Possible Celtic Potin, Army button, Stevenson's Rocket button

31st Jan 2006 More previous finds processed

Bronze Age bronze socketed implement fragment - very worn 10.93g ,29.46 mm L x 15.29mm W

18thc silver decorated thimble, Temperance Society medallion,19thC silver souvenir medallion - Du.Monts.Michel

GPO - General Post Office badge , Tudor period mount , Georgian bell trade weight 13.52g

18thC pastry jigger, 20thC bale seal with Jewish symbol. Victorian silver bracelet fragment

30th Jan 2006 Disclaimed and not treasure, potential treasure reported - more finds

I received information from the museum FLO this morning that the engraved Anglo Saxon strapend found by Cal Shawn does not now constitute a treasure. This shows why reporting potential treasures and hoards is very important as not every find reported in the end becomes treasure and is eventually purchased by a museum.

'This morning I have heard from the BM that the Cummings Anglo-Saxon strap end is not 10% by weight silver and is therefore NOT treasure. The requisite 6 week period must elapse before it is returned and I will inform you when it is available for collection'

This small fish has been made by folding a thin sheet of silver and riveting it. It has crude markings and could be early 1.43g, 28.3mm L 8.04mm W found by Texas Dave - Reported to Colchester museum as potential treasure.

Other finds that had been reported as treasure that are also being returned to the finder.

Check out the link on the menu above for more info on the treasure act. If an item goes for an inquest and a museum does not wish to purchase the item then it is disclaimed and returned to the finder. I now have the official paper work from the Coroner.

'The following now have their paperwork complete and are available for collection:'

Palatine Bob - Gold ring (Not treasure)
Mass Scott - Silver post medieval mount (Disclaimed)
Florida Don - Silver hawking bell fragment (Disclaimed)
Ohio John - Silver button (Disclaimed)

Saxon lead weight ref N.Biggs, Roman lead 3oz weight, 49.12 mm with III mark ref N.Biggs

Dragoon Guards, Royal Engineers, Two nice 19thC Flower buttons

28th Jan 2006 More reference books and Saxon finds ID ?

I just took delivery of some more specialist reference books for our library. Of particular interest is the Late Saxon Stirrup - Strap Mounts by D.Williams book . This is a superb publication with 120 pages of illustrations of just these types of mounts found. Ohio John's earlier Saxon find can now be classified as a Class A Type 11a from page 59.

However an interesting side issue is on page 5 as there is a picture of a complete Strap mount and stirrup excavated from Central Sweden that also shows these 2 items we found as Saxon. The picture matches these exactly but does not explain their use. A similar strap distributor was found as part of a group of harness fittings in Kvalsta in Sweden (Williams 1997)

I had previously attributed these as Roman harness cheek pieces taken from the National database but clearly there is conflict between the two identifications. I have just searched the database again and found them also listed as 850 AD - 1066 AD which makes then late Saxon . 'The object is either a cheek piece or a strap junction'. Great finds by the guys.

Late Saxon stirrup strap mount Class A Type 11a

Sub triangular mount depicts a Lion looking upwards with its front paw raised and tail curled between its legs and over the back

Latest books - another excellent publication it the Hattatt Visual catalogue of ancient brooches that has thousands of line drawings to help classify brooches.

Bennets Artefacts Second Edition - Coins of England 2006 - Latest Spink - Hattatt Visual catalogue of ancient brooches, - Late Saxon Stirrup - Strap Mounts by D.Williams - Bronze Age Metalwork in Norwich Castle Museum - Harness Decorations - Horse Bells (including crotal type) - Penknives and other folding knives by S.Moore - Old Cooking Utensils - Table Knives & Forks - Spoons 1650-1930 - Medieval English Groats by Ivan Buck

27th Jan 2006 More finds and export licenses approved

12 approved export licenses arrived this morning, details are on the members forum.

Iron Age Celtic silver coin 4.92 g, 16.14mm sent to CCI for recording but no positive ID made, possibly a Danubian or Durotrigan stater with that weight

Saxon Strap Mount fragment .98g - 32.55 mm L, 15th lead token, Roman Apothecary weight

Roman bronze ear scraper fragment, Bronze Spur rowel, Georgian pipe damper

Victorian pressed mount with coloured stone, Livery button with slave in chains

15th Jan 2006 Yet more nice finds discovered during the export process

17thC Sword hanger fitting, Medieval lead seal fragment, Post medieval mount

Fantastic condition - 17th copper trade farthing 'Martin Langley' in 'East Colchester Streete'

Roman lead weight, 2 George II trade weights London mint, Georgian gold watch winder

Pewter University boat race medallion, Post medieval mount

10th Jan 2006 More nice finds uncovered during the export process

Musket Ramrod guide, 1705 Queen Anne trade weight London mint, 17thC sword snake belt fitting

Lead Napoleon figure, Crossed sword and crowns button, 18thC cuff links, NYM pewter military button

Medallion, Medieval long cross weight, Harness pendant hanger

9th Jan 2006 Export process - extra finds in the bag LOL

Some more nice finds are being found during the export process which got overlooked while the hunts are in progress. Any new ones are photo'd and then added to the site finds pages.

A nice mixture of finds turning up including what looks to be a Bronze Age socketed spear head fragment to a 1901 hallmarked silver ring.

16thC clothing clasp, 1901 Birmingham Hallmark silver ring, 2 hallmarked Trade weights

Medieval key fragment , 15thC lead token, Army Rifle Brigade button, Bronze age implement fragment

18thC pastry jigger, Bale seal, Eastern Railways button

Nice early decorated crotal bells with markers marks

1720- 1790, 1250 -1400 single loop oval buckle, 19thC , 1720- 1790

8th Jan 2006 Extra - This years Archie dig course

Quite a few members are proposing to attend this summers 5 day Archie dig training course. As of yet the Sussex team have not announced the new venue where the course is to be held. I have added a new topic on the members forum so information and updates can be posted and you can see which dates the guys are attending. I thoroughly recommend this training course to all non members as it is brilliant and very useful. Check out the course contents here. Roman villa dig

8th Jan 2006 Latest hoard and treasure updates - reported a potential treasure.

During the preparation of the export licenses each individual piece is looked at again very closely and some very interesting finds can be hightlighed. I have reported this small gold fragment found by Boston Beau to the museum as it could have some age attached to it and therefore consititude a possible treasure. If you are ever in doubt about any peice you find then it can always be reported and looked at by the experts at the museum to be on the safe side.

0.78g 14.95mm L x 5.53mm W x 1.83 T

I have just recieved the paperwork from the Coroner who has disclaimed 3 treasure items, i.e. being returned to the finder as they are not being purchased by the museum are: Ohio John's - 17thC silver button, Florida Don's - silver Med hawking bell , Mass Scott's - 17thC silver mount. Pictures and details are on the treasure/hoard page

I also just got the notification from the Coroner that the inquest for the last 3- 45BC Celtic gold coin hoard finds are being held on the 9th Feb 2006 at Colchester Coroners court.

20th Dec 2005 Meeting at the British museum - New export delays and New finds menu

I recently had a meeting with the Head of Treasure and the Treasure Registrar at the British museum to discuss our observations when using the treasure process over the last 3 years. Great advances have been made to reduce the delays when first reporting a hoard or treasure and for it to get to inquest. They have added more staff their end to ensure a lot quicker response time with the growing numbers of treasures reported in the UK and to handle any queries. They are hoping to have an on-line system next year where you can track your treasure case. I took away some good expert contacts who can help us in the more specialised areas like Bale and Cloth seals which we find a large number of.

There will be an added delay in the current exporting due to a new procedure introduced and also the department is moving offices to a new building over the new year and will be closed.

I have created a single link on the site to a new finds menu that now has the finds grouped together under individual groups to reduce the page sizes. This will take a while to be completed as there are 20,000 pictures to trawl through !!

Some surprising sections are simple ones like toy cannons now that you see all the types on the same page and can compare the sizes and designs.

1st December 2005 Latest restored coins - Roman gold presentation link

I received back yesterday the latest batch of coins restored by goldsmith and there are some more great results including the first milled silver we have sent. I have posted the pictures here. The Bronze age spear head donated to the local museum by Vermont Harold has now been deposited with them. Forms are sent to the finder to transfer ownership to the museum. Hopefully we will get a definitive ID and date of the artefact shortly which I will post here. Recently we supplied further information on our Roman gold finds to the Head of Treasure at the British museum who was preparing a presentation on Roman gold discoveries. The presentation was given on the 28th Nov and is available to download from the PAS site which also has a list of other presentation made by the schemes staff. It is an insightful presentation and makes fascinating reading especially with the distribution maps of all Roman gold compared to other coins found. It even includes a slide of the Tiberius 14 to 37 AD gold Aureus found by Michigan Tracy.

Here is the link to download the Roman gold presentation . You will need MS Power Point to view it or download the free viewer from Microsoft here.

25th Nov 2005 Paperwork and research time.

I have received official notification of payment from the DCMS for my coin that formed part of the early Roman silver Imperial mixed Celtic gold hoard so the rewards are starting to be paid out. Your details must be sent by mail or fax (not e-mail) to satisfy their auditors that the money has gone to the right person. Provisional valuations have also been received by finders of the 45BC Addedomaros Celtic gold hoard with the final valuations being made on the 15th Dec. Hopefully these and all the other outstanding hoards and treasure will be finally completed and on display at the local museum for all to enjoy. I have now received the quote from the Field Archaeology Unit for a full geophysical survey to progress further with our detailed research of the important sites on Desk top survey report . The landowners now have been given a full copy of the report with maps and aerial photos and we will be having a meeting to discuss it's contents shortly.

21st November 2005 Angel gold ID - End of the half season summation

Thanks to Martin at Fitzmuseum for positively ID'ing Laura UK's Angel gold find that was restored by the Goldsmith. What a great find.

'This is Edward IV type XIV (1472-1473), with the distinctive annulet initial mark at the start of the obverse legend. An interesting find'

We have now stopped detecting until Feb for our half season break and thanks to everyone that put in huge amounts of time and effort to make this such a successful start. There have been some amazing gold finds including 3 new Celtic tribes, Snettisham type, Atrebates and Whaddon Chase. The field archeologists report was a superb detailed piece of work and supports what we thought all along about this area is of huge historical importance. Other surprising finds were the two rare Saxon hammered silver coins of Coenwulf and Offa Rex together with the amazing Anglo Saxon silver engraved strap end. Hopefully we can add some more great artefacts to the second half of the season and attempt to hot spot the new land. 9 new potential Treasures and hoards have been found and reported to the museum and one has been disclaimed and returned to finder. Check hoard page for latest update.

Great news on the process and paperwork front. The treasure process is now working a lot more efficiently, after reporting the Saxon strap end on the 5th Nov to the museum the Coroners paperwork arrived here on the 18th Nov !! The final valuation committee meets on the 15th Dec to determine the award for the Celtic gold hoard found in late March which is a 1/4 of the time it originally was taking to process hoards.

Special thanks to the experts that have kept us supplied with important identifications and logged our finds, Martin Allen for the early Medieval finds: Philip de Jersey for the Celtic coin finds and Mark Lehman for the support and ID of the Roman finds. Finally not forgetting the continued support from the landowners without who's help none of this would be possible.

18th Nov 2005 Fascinating 'Lusshebourne' hammered silver find - Page 2 of desktop survey uploaded

'Lusshebourne' left - 1.21g 18.03mm

These two coins were found yesterday, the one on the right is a typical Edward III hammered silver penny London mint around 1327 AD. The one on the left 'feels' wrong as it is shiny and the legend does not match any English coinage with a obv legend starting EALCHSCO. It also has an Edward III mintmark. However it is not a fake but a 'Lusshebourne'. These are made of sterling and generally come from Luxembourg in the late 13th century circa 1280 AD. These were used for trade and are plentiful in English hoards. They are put into several categories.

Crockards - chaplet of roses across the forehead instead of a crown

Pollards - bare headed bust.

The majority have a crown like this one found and the legends tell where they were made. What a neat find by Kentucky Allen.

17th Nov 2005 Desk top survey report published

I have created a new page on the site trying to summate the 46 page Institute of Archaeologists report produced on some of the land we detect on. It is still under construction but I have completed the first 20 pages with the second half to follow, fascinating !!

Desk top survey report link

I have posted a few more finds on Nov hunt page.

15th Nov 2005 Last hunt of the half season - Bob's gold ring to be returned

Romano/British decorated tweezers 7.54g, 57.57mm L x 11.96mm w found by Nova Scotia Andy

This week is just a small hunt before the half season break and the boys started well with triple hammered silver and a few nice artefacts. All current treasures and hoards found so far this season are underway through the treasure process and I have received the official receipts. If you are one of those involved then paperwork from the BM will arrive shortly in the post to you. I have had notification that Palantine Bob's 14g gold ring is being returned to the finder as the British Museum have said that it is not over 300 years old and therefore is not treasure.

Tiny Medieval Maddona and child figure 2.86g, 26.01mm found by NH Scott

During the break the export applications will start in earnest and I will be seeing the new land on offer that has never been detected before. There is a possibility that this could add another 50 fields to that already available for the start of the second half of the season.

Another great find - Roman figure on a cast copper alloy strap end, probably post Medieval 7.33g, 45.30 mm found by Ottowa Greg

I will be trying to catch up on outstanding finds and post some pictures today

12th Nov 2005 Desktop survey report arrived

The professional survey I commissioned from the Institute of field Archaeologists on two particular areas on our sites has arrived completed. The results are staggering and confirm what we suspected all along that this area is of serious Archaeological importance. The report is incredibly detailed and shows the location of 3 separate Bronze age cemeteries with multiple graves, enclosures, tracks, ring ditches etc. The fields have multiple periods on them and are designated as High in terms of 3 periods. Bronze Age, Iron Age and Romano British. Even with the Anglo Saxon finds we have made that period is still classed as Low as they are still considered at present to be just casual loses. Medieval and Post Med are classed as Moderate. I will producing a separate web page shortly to summate the findings as the report is 46 pages long.

Because of these amazing results I have asked them to now go forward and look at completing a full Geo Physics survey on the areas to give us even more detail of what is under the ground.

11th Nov 2005 What a fantastic result from the Goldsmith

I picked up the previously rolled Gold Angel coin find from the Goldsmiths today and what a stunning result. It took the guy a lot of time to repair but well worth the wait, probably his best work yet and it only cost £20. I will now be sending a updated copy of it to the Fitzmuseum to get a confirmed ID.

Before and after pictures. 'This is Edward IV type XIV (1472-1473), with the distinctive annulet initial mark at the start of the obverse legend. An interesting find'

11th Nov 2005 Rare Charles II milled ? posted some more finds

This is a fascinating find by Mass Mike, clearly a very early Charles II early milled 1660 -2 but the legend does not match any in the Spink book - CAROLVS.II.D.G. Another really crisp 1568 Elizabeth 1st hammered silver 3 pence was found by Tenn Jim.

10th Nov 2005 Expert feedback on the Roman silver - Bronze Age spear head donated

We are very lucky to have an expert like Mark Lehman at the URF to help ID our Roman coins as I got it slightly wrong again about Cal Shawn's silver find from yesterday LOL Very interesting info about a Roman soldiers days pay !

'This is Domitian, but it is not a sestertius. Although there were silver sestertii, they had not been minted for about 100 years by the time Domitian came upon on the scene. A sestertius having been 1/4 of a denarius, it was a very small coin, and minted only sporadically, and never in great numbers, during the Republican era. Sestertii in the time of the Flavians were invariably thick brass coins about the size of a pre-decimal Crown or American Silver Dollar.
Your coin is a denarius, of course, worth four of those sestertii, or eight dupondii, or 16 asses, etc, and about a soldier's or skilled craftman's day's pay at the time.

This is an excellent example of a closely dated coin, and from the combination of the obverse legend: IMP CAES DOMIT AVG GERM P M TR P XIIII and the reverse legend: IMP XXII COS XVII CENS P P. we can date it to a six month or so period at the beginning of 95 A.D.

The reverse shows Minerva standing left holding a thunderbolt and spear, shield at her feet. RIC II 188, RSC 287'.

Vermont Harold has kindly decided to donate the bronze age spear found recently to the Colchester Museum and will be receiving notification from the curator by post.

9th Nov 2005 Cal Shawn is still on a roll - latest Celtic gold coin finds feedback

Feedback from the Celtic Coin Index on the earlier Morini ' boat tree' type c 70BC Celtic quarter stater 1.41g, 11.0 mm

CCI 05.0751. As you say, very worn, particularly the reverse, which usually tends to be better preserved. I agree that you would probably have found pottery by now if these coins were in hoards - though of course you could argue that they were in organic containers, leather or wood say, which haven't survived. I don't think that is the case here but it is at least a possibility'.

Feedback on the earlier 45 BC Addedomaros Celtic gold coin 5.58g, 15.72mm sent to CCI for logging found by Mass Bruce

05.0752! Yes, another worn one, though not too bad.

Looks like Cal Shawn is trying to find the whole set of detecting finds this trip LOL. I have managed to ID this one as a Domitian as the legend is perfect but have also sent it off to Mark at the URF for more background. Tenn Jim also got a Roman silver coin period fake with the swollen copper core.

Domitian 81-96 AD silver denarius 3.0g,18.83mm

8th Nov Mass Bruce does the double silver - posted more finds on Nov 2005 page

Great double by Bruce today only 10 feet apart !! , Roman silver and a James II 1687 milled silver one pence. Tenn Jim got an interesting 1890 Victorian Hong Kong silver coin, first I have ever seen and Alaskan Glo got a Medieval hammered silver groat.

Thanks to Mark at the URF for the ID of the Roman silver

'This is an AR Siliqua of Honorius (393-423 A.D.) minted at Mediolanum, or Milan, as we know it today, in the first few months of his reign in 393 - when he was 9 years old. RIC IX, 26, RSC 63.' 0.94g,16.71mm

7th Nov 2005 Saxon period strap end confirmed - Posted some more finds on Nov hunt page

Initial feed back from the museum is confirmation that the earlier ornate silver strap end find by Cal Shawn is of the Anglo Saxon period. It is will now go through the treasure process and will be looked at by the experts at the British Museum to see if is either Saxon or of Viking origin as they are of the same period. Congratulations to Shawn on an amazing discovery which will probably end up on display in the local museum along side Ohio Bud's Saxon gold sword pommel.

Mass Bruce's Celtic gold has also been confirmed by the museum as hoard and is added as part of the original 45 BC Addedomaros Celtic gold coin hoard which takes the total now to 9 Celtic gold coins.

6th Nov 2005 1250BC Bronze Age axe and Celtic gold hoard - Viking strap end ??

Great days detecting produced another 45BC Celtic Addedomaros gold stater found by Mass Bruce that has been reported to the museum as a hoard and a middle bronze age axe head found by NewHamphire Scott. Scott also tried to find the entire detecting set in one day with two early long cross hammered silver coins, toy cannon etc. LOL

1250 BC Bronze age socketed axe found by NH Scott. 77.38mm L x 29.45 W

45 BC Addedomaros Celtic gold coin 5.58g, 15.72mm CCI 05.0752 found by Mass Bruce

This picture is of a known Viking silver hoard found, note the fretwork animal design on the large round 'dish' top left. Now look at the animals on the Viking strap end below !!!

5th Nov 2005 Fantastic Saxon silver strap end find

9thC 5.82g, 44.44mm L x 11.91mm W

Cal Shawn has found an amazing artefact which appears to be a Saxon period silver strap end heavily engraved with animals. It is possible that this could even be Viking as they are of very similar designs and period. I have been searching the Portable Antiquities Scheme finds database but cannot see any similar examples of this design. It has been reported to the museum as potential treasure and it will interesting to see what the eventual ID comes back as.

The guys also got some other great artefacts including what appears to be a 17thC Charles 1st silver mount with heart and crown design found by Mass Scott that I have also reported as potential treasure to the museum.

17thC silver mount 2.19g, 14.1 mm W x 14.85 L

I will post some more finds shortly.

4th Nov 2005 Atlanta Mike finds Celtic gold

The last few days of rain finally disappeared and the sun came out making it a stunning day. The boys earlier jinx of finding 2 golds in two days finally wore off today with Atlanta Mike finding a 70BC Morini Boat tree Celtic gold 1/4 stater on new land. These are very difficult targets to dig as they produce a very poor signal even close to the surface. This appears to be is a very interesting strike from a very worn die and I have sent it off to the Celtic Coin Register for logging and Philips comments.

Morini ' boat tree' type c 70BC Celtic quarter stater 1.41g, 11.0 mm

CCI 05.0751

3rd Nov 2005 Fantastic results from the goldsmiths

I picked up a large batch of coins from the goldsmith yesterday and there are some amazing results especially in returning the rare Coenwulf to it's former glory. He took the ultimate care to straighten this coin without any heat being applied and it is almost impossible to see that this coin was originally bent in half. You can now clearly see the moneyer LUL on the Obv. I have resent the pictures to the Fitzmusuem so that Martin can now see the exposed Obv. Check out more before and after shots here.

Coenwulf, king of Mercia (796-821) 1.31g, 19.78mm

EMC 20050226

Baffling find by Cal Shawn , 10.43g, 41.91mm L x 30.41 B x 9.94mm T - What appears to be a worn out D buckle is heavily decorated and has traces of red and yellow enamel remaining. It is possibly early medieval but the bronze rot suggests an earlier period but the style does not match - requires further investigation

2nd Nov 2005 Treasure valuation appeals - weather is horrible

The recent treasure valuations have been very disappointing in some cases and have been appealed by both the landowner and finder. If you do not agree with the treasure valuations then you have the right to appeal the award and provide documentary evidence with examples of similar items that made higher valuations in the past. The Saxon gold sword pommel cap found by Ohio Bud is a good example where the landowner has provided evidence of the two previous examples, the Wellingore Lincs pommel cap and the Aldbrough East Yorkshire pommel cap that were both valued at £50, 000. The valuation committee re-sits and reviews any new evidence before deciding on it's final recommendation.

Pouring rain and high winds are hampering the guys hunt badly and they have reverting to hunting stubble as the ground is one big boot sticker at the moment. !! They are still finding lots of nice do-dads but nothing that exciting since the two gold coins at the start of the week.

Solid silver belt decoration ring Birmingham Hallmark 1901 Maker NBs found by Texas Gary

1st Nov 2005 Extra - Coroner official papers - updated Hoard and Treasure news

Bent, circular sectioned bar of gold, possibly Bronze age

The official paperwork from the Clacton Coroner on the 6 latest hoards and treasures found arrived this morning, full details on the Hoard and treasure page

Please note that I have added the Coroner's reference number so you can track your find, as I get more info then your individual entry is updated.

1st Nov 2005 Roman/Celtic finds update

Thanks to Philip at the CCI for recording the latest Celtic find. We are plotting and discussing the finds of all these Celtic coins with view to working out exactly what events could have taken place here. Philip is currently away on a dig but will be coming here later for a site visit see the actual locations of all the Celtic finds made over the last three years so he can get a better 'feel' of the area first hand.

'thanks very much for these, nice to see another Addedomaros after a gap of a few weeks! This one will be CCI 05.0749. The obverse is good, looks like one of the earlier dies in the series with the pellets between the arms. It's interesting that this one is that much further from the bulk of the other coins; it still fascinates and puzzles me, trying to work out exactly what sort of site you've got there, or what the precise pattern is behind the deposition of the coins'.

The earlier bronze coin that I thought was a Celtic or early Roman has been ID'd by Mark at the URF as Roman.

'The "celticbronze" is actually an early Roman Provincial As or Semis from Spain - Costulo, I believe. That's probably a bull on it. This could belong to either what's know as the "Romano-Celtiberian" series from the time of the Republic (2dn-1st centuries B.C.) or could be as late as Augustus/Tiberius in the 1st century A.D'.

Mark has also sent me further ID of two of the latest Roman bronzes that I have updated on the latest hunt page 4.

31st Oct 2005 Gold and a Bronze age Axe Head

I have uploaded a load more finds onto a new Nov 2005 hunt page to speed up loading times

The same field produced it's first Addedomaros 45BC Celtic gold found by Texas Gary and a Bronze Age axe head fragment found by Mass Bruce within 1/2 an hour of each other. It appears that Bruce has a 'thing' for axes as he found that Bronze age axe head hoard on another farm 2 years ago LOL. Veggie Mike found another very interesting hammered silver which is a 1/4 Merk of James VI of Scotland so he now has the matching set with that earlier full Merk !!

45 BC Addedomaros Celtic gold full stater found by Texas Gary

5.45g, 18.78 mm CCI 05.0749

Late Bronze age socketed axe fragment, heavily used 25.28g, 36.02mm L x 21.39 W x 9.83 T