29th Oct 2005 Huge silver hammered coin - uploaded more finds

A huge hammered silver coin was found yesterday by Veggie Mike that I initially thought was Dutch due to the lion and crown on the Obv. I was amazed to find it is actually Scottish and a large denomination coin called a Merk of 13 shillings and 4 pence or 160 pence.

Huge, James VI Scottish Merk sometimes known as the half thistle dollar and value of 13 shillings and 4 pence

( 160 pence) 6.56g, 31.40mm

28th Oct 2005 Unusual Hammered silver groat find - 17thC gold ring returned to finder

This hammered silver groat found yesterdayis a 1422 Henry VI (initial cross II) London mint with only satires as Obv & Rev stops which does not appear to match any in JJ North. I have sent it off to a Medieval coin expert for a second opinion. The earlier Bronze Age find is going off to the museum to be looked at further by their Bronze Age expert for his evaluation.. Canadian Marjo's 17thC gold ring that was previously delcared treasure last year was not eventually bought by the museum so is now ready for export application to be returned to the finder.

1422-27 AD Henry VI - 3.59g, 25.29mm

I hope to try and catch up on posting more finds this evening

26th Oct 2005 More land and a spectacular Cartwheel copper - posted a few more finds

Added a couple of new undetected fields today that are next to our Bronze age site, more land next to our productive Celtic site is also being bought by the farmer and will available to hunt in about a month. This Cartwheel penny find is without doubt one of the best condition copper I have seen dug.

1797 George III Cartwheel penny

16thC Seal matrix 'RV'

25thOct 2005 First Bronze age spear head found here

Some more great finds today including an amazing circa 1400 BC Bronze age spear, a Colchester type 1st C Roman fibula brooch and an amazing condition Cartwheel penny with a complete 16thC seal matrix.

1400BC Bronze age spear 11.61g, 55.75mm L 10.43mm W

24th Oct 2005 Great artifacts and a heart attack !!

Some neat artifacts turing up including a bronze Saxon period strap end fragment with silver wash , Medieval decorated clasp fastener and a nice Spur rowell.

9thC Saxon strap end 9.54g, 27.89mm L - Medieval clasp fastener 3.59g,30.91mm L

Heart attack find from a Roman site, handmade bracelet with stone but there is 925 Sterling silver mark on it LOL

20th Oct 2005 Updated the Saxon page - boys are getting pretty well skunked

Just a couple of guys hunting here this week giving me time to catch up on the paperwork. The Offa Rex find has been the kiss of death for this hunt as they are digging huge numbers of targets but none of them have been the right age LOL . Since that find they have only found 4 pieces of silver , 3 - William III 1696 sixpence's and a Queen Mary ? hammered silver penny.

Curious hammered silver penny - Appears to a Mary or Elizabeth 1st - 'Rosa Spine Spina' but does not match either as it has a distinct cross above the crown - almost like an Edward VI - needs more investigation

The 6 new treasures and hoards found this season are now with the Colchester Museum and paperwork from the British Museum will be on it's way to the finders shortly.

Venice 14thC Soldino hammered silver coin

I have updated the Saxon page with the latest coin finds and a timeline of the Mercian Kings. There is some history now on the Coenwulf find on that page.

18th Oct 2005 Extra - Updated the coin service page - exporting of finds

I have just updated the coin straightening service page with the latest gold coin that looks like an 1471 Edward IV Angel in superb condition and should straighten really well, I have sent it off to the Fitzmuseum experts to confirm it's ID. Hammered gold coins are a very rare find and the British numismatic society are currently writing a paper on the Edward III gold 1/2 Nobel and the French Louis X1 (1461-83) found here last season, hopefully I can get hold of a copy to publish it on this site when it is finished. Also it is important if you find a coin before 1180 AD to report and record it via the Fitzmuseum to help plot the history of the coinage being circulated within England. You will get a confirmed ID and also an EMC individual number that you can access via their web site. The e-mail address of Martin at the Museum is mra25@cam.ac.uk

'Many thanks for the additional information about the coins of Coenwulf and Offa. Thank you also for the images of the two gold coins, both of which would be very welcome additions to the British Numimatic Journal Coin Register for this year, which I shall start to write next January.It is remarkable that three Louis XI ecus have now been reported from different parts of the country in about a year, which may suggest that
these coins had a role in the English gold currency of the late 15th century much greater than had been suspected'.

Export applications of the previous finds is now underway with more details on the members forum.

Check out the Oct hunt page as I will be uploading some great finds during the evening.

18th Oct 2005 Superb Roman artefact

Chicago Ron on the last afternoon of his tour found what looked like initially a very nice Vespasian Roman silver coin. I sent the details off to Mark at the URF for further ID and the result turned a nice Roman coin into into a superb artefact. I am still backed up with processing the pictures to post some more great finds.

2.03g – 17.7mm

'obviously don't have to tell you that this is Vespasian, but this one is so nice and clear that I will give you chapter and verse from the standard references - no uncertainties with this one!

15 minutes later:
Hah! - I read that last sentence with a new personal appreciation of the word "hubris". This was no simple lookup!

First, this combination of obverse and reverse does not go together - this coin should not, strictly speaking, exist. That should have been my first clue - that, or maybe the low weight at 2.03 gm, or MAYBE the spots of core-exposure. This is a fourree. A contemporary counterfeit, made to deceive. A copper blank was wrapped with silver foil and struck with dies made to emulate types found on denarii..Mulings of obverses and reverses that do not belong with each other are common on fourrees. This piece may be even more interesting for being an ancient forgery than it would have been had it been official.
I have in my own collection a fourree denarius of Otho with a reverse of Vespasian - inscribed like this one: COS ITER TR POT (but with a different type) Evidently, the second consulship of Vespasian was a popular subject for forgers' dies, and also, that was a time of particular activity for those involved in this risky business.
My best guess is that it was manufactured around 72-75 A.D., and probably made the trip from Italy to England - I'm not familiar with this sort of imitative from England, although AEs of the Julio-Claudians were extensively - and crudely - imitated in the Isles.

Cool find, still, even if it did lead me a merry chase!'

Mark

17th March 2005 Extra information on the Offa Rex

Feedback from Martin at the Fitzmuseum Cambridge on the Offa find.

'A superb coin (EMC 2005.0229).

This is an example of North no. 310 and Blunt no. 57. In the corpus of the coinage of Offa we are preparing for publication next year there are 19 other specimens of this type, which will be called Type 10 (see the attached list).'

Offa list type - this lists the 19 different specimen types on record.

17th Oct 2005 Incredible Saxon coin find by NY Ken and a brilliant days detecting

Another amazing day on new land produced another Saxon silver coin which rivals the rarity of the Coenwulf found during the week. This coin is simply stunning and as mint a condition coin as you will ever find. It does not appear in the reference books again so I have sent it off to record it with the Fitzmuseum and perhaps Martin that runs the database can give us more information on it. From the legend of the back of the coin it appears to be 'Ethilwald’ - the moneyer who authorised the minting of the coin) which makes it Minted in London (c 785)
Other great finds during the day included a Roman fibula brooch that is of a type never found here before , a neat 17thC decorated ring with hearts, stunning William III bronze guinea coin weight, the first 1649 Commonwealth hammered silver half groat this year and what appears to be a milled Charles 1st silver shilling. All in all a great days detecting.

EMC 2005.0229 found by NY Ken

King Offa - 780 - 792 King of Mercia hammered silver 1.27g, 16.67mm

OFFA REX (‘King Offa’) and, on the reverse side, Eð / IL / VA / Ld (‘Ethilwald’ - the moneyer who authorised the minting of the coin).

During Anglo-Saxon times when England was divided between seven or so kingdoms, the last and greatest ruler of the central kingdom, Mercia, was Offa who ruled from 757 to 796. His military capital was at Sutton Walls near Sutton-St-Nicholas, and it is probably that Hereford was his civil one, hence Offa street.The name Mercia means boundery and indeed Offa's kingdom straddled the Welsh border with the city of Hereford on the very frontier. Offa built the first defences for Hereford after it was attacked by the Welsh in 769. These consisted of earth and timber banks surrounded by a deep ditch, the outline of which is marked in the subway at Eign gate.These structures can still be traced today, but Offa's greatest legacy was the monumental defensive earthwork he constructed between England and Wales, famous as Offa's Dyke to try and keep out raiding parties and possibly also as a springboard from which the Mercians could launch attacks Wales.Apart from where rivers supplied a boundery, this dyke ran 120 miles from Clwyd to the Severn estuary. It was a 6-feet-deep trench fronting a rampart 19ft high. Garrisons were positioned at regular intervals along its length. With some 80 miles of it still surviving, it is the largest earthwork of its type in Europe.Under Offa Mercia became the overlord of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms south of the Humber, and he styled himself as Rex Anglorum (King of the English). He gained control of Wessex through alliances of marriage and Kent and Essex by military might.London grew as Offa strengthened trading links with the continent, including with the Holy Roman Emperor, Charlemagne. Liason was establish between the two kings with mutual esteem until they fell out over marriage proposals concerning their children.Offa coined the first silver pennies which were such a high standard of weight, size and artistry that they set the basic for English coinage for the next 600 years.Interestingly he minted some coins with the inscription 'There is no God but Allah'. Some have speculated whether he was a convert to Islam though this is very unlikely, these were probably made for export, as in other ways he acted like a Christian king. He held a synod in Chelsea ca. 787,and granted land at Harrow to the Abbey of St Albans which he founded.Unfortunately one dark event casts a shadow over his reign. In 972 King Ethelbert of East Anglia travelled to Hereford hoping to marry Offa's daughter, Elfrida. But Offa's queen, Quendreda felt that this might make Ethelbert powerful enough to replace Offa as the greatest ruler in England. He persuaded Offa to have Ethelbert beheaded and burried beside the Lugg.However, that night miracles occurred where the dead king lay. Offa felt guilty and had Ethelbert's remains moved to Hereford Cathedral and built a shrine to house them. Ethelbert was made a saint, his tomb attracted pilgrims whose money couple with donations from Offa allowed the Cathedral to be rebuilt far more grandly. As a further sacrifice of penance he gave the patronage of Wood street, London and land at Stanmore to the Abbey of St Alban's.

16th Oct 2005 Quiet couple of days - posted a few more finds on Oct hunt page

The guys spent there last 1/2 day at the Colchester museum and were pleased to see a poster of the Saxon gold dagger chafe we found that is forming part of the new Saxon exhibition. The guys have been finding lots of the normal Georgian coppers, Victorian silver and the usual bits pieces but hammered silver has been a bit thin on the ground over the last couple of days. However a of John as King of Ireland 1199- 1216 hammered silver penny was dug, the first ever found here. This Rex coinage was issued between 1207 -1211 when John was a King and not Lord of Ireland. This example is minted in Dublin and the Moneyer is Roberd. Also a very nice Charles 1st shilling with a great bust and reverse.

1642 AD Tower mint under parliament Charles 1st shilling (12 pence) 5.12g,30.05mm

1207 AD 'Rex' issue King John Irish one pence 1.24g 17.26mm

13th Oct 2005 Coin straightening service - logging of finds correctly

I am happy to let non - Colchester club members use the professional straightening service but a prerequisite must be that coin is supplied with a general find spot to enable me to register it with the Medieval Corpus. This ensures that it helps to log the history of the coins and also a positive ID is made. If you check the Coin straightening service page you can see the current list of coins at the goldsmiths being improved. The latest coin sent in appears to be a very nice Louis XI Ecu d'or, found near Sheffield. I sent it off to the Corpus for positive ID and logging . Another very nice coin that the owner is contemplating having improved is what appears to be an early medieval gold angel.

Louis XI - Found near Sheffield

Looks like a 1471 Edward IV Angel

13th Oct 2005 Huge chunk of gold ring - update on Wis Paul's Celtic - posted a few more finds on Oct hunt page

A monster of a gold ring was found yesterday and weighs in at a hefty 14.40g, 25.47mm dia. This is almost pure gold without any decoration or hallmarks. It appears to be hand made, the inside is very crude and I do not have a clue about it's date. I have reported it to the museum as potential treasure but without a full gold test analysis I think dating it will be impossible, whatever the result it is a great find and gold is gold LOL

Latest update and CCI number for the last 1/4 Cunoblein Celtic gold.

'another cracking little coin. It is the biga type as you say, still quite rare: we have just over 20 of the quarter recorded. I had hoped to have a look at the dies in comparison to the rest of the coins in Oxford this morning, but ran out of time and I'm now back in Guernsey again. That'll have to wait a while, but in the meantime it looks as though it's one of the later strikings of this type, because of the simplified CAMVL inscription on the obverse. The earliest examples have each letter very clearly defined, but they soon merge into what looks almost like a zigzag on some coins.

Saying it's a 'late striking' is all relative of course: it's possible that the biga type was struck over a very short period, perhaps even just months and certainly unlikely to be more than say five years or so, sometime around 8 - 13 AD I would estimate. It'll be CCI 05.0688

12th Oct 2005 Wis Paul finds more Celtic gold and feedback from the CCI - Field visit

The guys are certainly trying their hardest this season so far to keep the museums as busy as possible LOL. Wis Paul who found that beautiful rare Coenwulf hammered silver yesterday has found yet another rarer Celtic gold 1/4 stater of the Cunoblein tribe 1stC BC to 40AD.(Biga type) head facing left. This has been sent to the CCI for registration and further ID. Philip from the CCI is away on business as the moment so the CCI registration and confirmed ID's are taking a little longer than normal.

CCI 05.0688 1.38g, 10.89 mm

Philip has just sent me an update of the 1/4 Celtic gold

'Yes, this is interesting. It's an uninscribed quarter stater, traditionally attributed to the Atrebates (in the South Thames) but almost certainly a North Thames issue. We have records of about 25 of them, and without exception they've come from the North Thames area: it was previously attributed to the Atrebates because of the style, which resembles their uninscribed quarter staters with a wreath on the obverse. The date of this quarter would be around c. 45 BC, I would estimate, so like the Whaddon Chase it could be just a little earlier than the Addedomaros coins. It is catalogued in Van Arsdell as VA 260-1, but not only wrongly as Atrebates but also listed as silver. Many of the surviving examples are struck from the same pair of dies, which develop some fairly major flaws, especially on the reverse; the lack of many dies suggests this wasn't a very big issue, in comparison to the Addedomaros spiral for example.

If I remember rightly there are one or two examples of this type in the huge East Leicestershire hoards which came up about 3 years ago, but mostly they're Essex/Suffolk area. This'll be CCI 05.0683'.

Chicago Ron's Snettisham type Celtic gold coin , comments from Philip

'Having seen this one I've had to think again about 05.0680, the Whaddon Chase type I wrote about earlier. Although quite different in their individual style these are probably both the same variety of WC stater, actually listed as VA 1498. This is a rather puzzling type because it's not clear whether it really belongs to the WC group or - as you suggested - the Snettisham type. There are 18 examples of it here and those with findspots are a mixture of Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk - on that basis it could arguably be either WC or Snettisham. In terms of style, they are perhaps among the very last WC staters rather than being the first Snettisham, which appear to have been based on the Whaddon Chase design. In terms of date this might only be a difference of a few months, and almost certainly not more than a few years, so it's perhaps unreasonable to expect we'll be able to tie it down quite so neatly. CCI 05.0687'.

We had a meeting on site with the field Archeologist yesterday who is working away behind the scenes researching our potential Celtic/Saxon village site. It was very interesting to learn of previous excavations that took place 30 years ago which included burial urns of some of Britain's earliest inhabitants. He has been going through the records at Colchester and Chelmsford and getting what sounds like amazing aerial shots of the village. The work will be completed in about a month and I will publish the report on the site.

11th Oct Extra - Feedback from the experts on some of the recent Celtic gold finds and Roman silver

Thanks to Philip again at the Celtic coin register for the latest feedback on the coins. Very interesting info on the Whadden Chase type which is long way from home.

'The two Addedomaros staters will be CCI 05.0678 (5.63g) and 05.0679 (5.55g). The second one is very heavily worn, isn't it? But looks as though a lot of the wear could be from the dies, rather than being circulation wear.

The Whaddon Chase stater (yes, it is that type) will be CCI 05.0680. These coins are probably not very much earlier than the Addedomaros staters - it all depends really on when one dates the Addedomaros issue. It seems fairly certain that the Whaddon Chase staters could be from the later stages of the Gallic War, say about 54 BC at the earliest; they could be a little bit later, but are unlikely to be after say 40 BC at the very latest. If Addedomaros's spiral staters are his latest stater issues, then they could be somewhere around 30-25 BC, so perhaps up to 25 years later than Whaddon Chase. It just depends where each type fits, and we don't have an exact idea. I suppose it's true to say though that there is almost certainly a minimum of ten years between them, and more likely 20.

One of my colleagues recently suggested that the WC staters were issued by Cassivellaunus, to pay off Caesar during the Gallic War. They certainly seem to be found mostly in the territory of the Catuvellauni (so this one would be a bit further east than usual . The main catalogue reference for this type is VA 1476 in Van Arsdell's 'Celtic Coinage of Britain'. They're relatively common (300 or so recorded) but a lot of these are finds from the original WC hoard, found in Bucks in 1849.

Thanks again for the ID of the latest Roman silver found Mark Lehman at the URF

That's a "Legionary Denarius " of Marc Antony.
32-31 B.C. is when it was minted, but these, being of baser silver than the denarii of the early empire (and finer silver than the denarii of the 3rd century), seemed to stay in circulation for a very long time, first because they weren't worth turning in at a discount, and later because they were too valuable to turn in. They circulated widely in the Provinces, and in fact, are found in hoards up to 300 years later than their mintage-date. You can see this one is quite worn, so it probably had been around for a long time before it was lost. The obverse has a galley sailing (rowing) right (your photo is 90 degrees off to clockwise) and the legend: ANT AVG III VIR R P C. The reverse shows a legionary eagle (Aquila) between two legionary standards and names the legion between them as: | LEG | XI | which I believe, but am not sure this is. They're known for legions I through XXX (with a few missing). XI is a common legion, some are scarce, some rare.

11th Oct 2005 Coenwolf ID made - East Anglian mint from 798 AD

What a fantastic find and thanks to Martin at the Fitzmuseum for ID'ing and recording the coin for us. The EMC record number is 20050226.

'This is a good example of the earliest East Anglian coinage of Coenwulf (North 363). It is quite rare, as there are only two other examples of North 363 on EMC, from dies of different styles'.

This coin is therefore a unique find and unfortunatly if you look on plate 5, JJ North's - English Hammered Coinage book Volume 1 there is no picture of 363 (BMC Cn 98) to see the differences..

Obv- COENWOLF REX M diademed bust right of good style

Rev - Large quatrefoil with X L L L contained within a leaf of the petals. The moneyer's name is normally LUL but this is clearly LLL on this coin as it has a dot at 45 degrees to indicate rotation of the letters.

Lots of other great finds to post yet including some early shortcross hammered silver.

10th Oct 2005 Astonishing find by Wis Paul

This is the find that everyone dreams of, a Coenwulf hammered silver penny around 796AD. These are rarer then hens teeth and this one is particularly special as it does not appear to match any known type found in the reference books. It is in mint condition and just folded with perfect detail on both sides. Coenwulf, king of Mercia (796-821), one of the great Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, occupied a broad swathe of central England, extending from the Thames to the Humber, and from the Welsh marches to the Wash. In the 8th century, under the leadership of Æthelbald (716-57) and Offa (757-96), it conquered the kingdoms of East Anglia and Kent, becoming the dominant power in England. After Offa's death his son Ecgfrith survived him by only 5 months, and he was in turn succeeded by Coenwulf (796-821). In the confusion of 796 Mercia's grip over East Anglia and Kent was lost, but Coenwulf regained control of them and held the expanded kingdom together for some 25 years.

I have sent this off to the Fitzmuseum for recording and further ID.

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

EMC 20050226

9th Oct 2005 Extra - Another Celtic gold and another new tribe - Saxon find ID'd ?

'Snettisham' type ? Celtic gold full stater 5.85g - 17.05mm CCI 05.0687.

Chicago Ron was hunting a new field that so far has not produced one good find in the 3 visits we have made there. He finds a Elizabeth 1st hammered silver, George III bull head silver sixpence, 15thC long cross lead token and then yet another Celtic gold stater. This is a very unusual Celtic gold as it appears to be a 'Snettisham' type but is overweight at 5.85g and it has the circular strike mark at the bottom of the horses legs. This is one for Philip at the CCI to further ID as I cannot match it in the Richard Hobbs reference book. Another intriguing find.

Members of the club play a a big part in helping to research and better ID the finds we make and I am always pleased to get any info on artefacts. Boston Bud has sent an update on the earlier possible Romano strapend find which will be further researched when we take the 1/2 season break.

'I think that recent find described as Romano British strap end is a late Saxon stirrup-strap mount. A picture can be seen in Portable Antiquities Scheme South-East Regional Newsletter - Newsletter No. 2 2005. Figure E. The animal is described as "a lion looking upwards with his tail curled across his back and one foreleg raised"

Great find!

Boston Bud

9th Oct 2005 First 1/4 Celtic of the season

This is the first 1/4 Celtic gold coin of the season and again what appears to be another type, this time a mid 1stC BC uninscribed stater. It also appears to be almost pure gold, what a superb find. It has been sent to Philip at the CCI for logging and further ID.

45BC Atrebates 1/4 Uninscribed gold stater 1.43g, 12.98mm

CCI 05.0683

8th Oct 2005 Great hammered silver day

5 hammered silver coins were found today including a really beautiful condition hammered silver full Medieval groat. A Charles 1st penny was found by Nev Gary with a bust type I have never seen before and which I cannot find in the reference books yet. I have posted a few more finds on the Oct hunt page.

Stunning 1356 Edward III hammered silver groat (4 pence) Type F London mint 4.43g, 26.95mm

Does any one recognise this Charles 1st bust in the spinks book ?

ID'd by Veggie Mike as 1625-42 AD Struck at the Tower mint under the King type 3a1

6th Oct 2005 More great finds

Ark Gary's second 45 BC Addedomaros Celtic gold coin 5.50g, 16.35mm

CCI 05.0679

Ark Gary found yet another Celtic gold yesterday taking his total to 4 gold coins so far this year and if he finds another one on this trip then the guys have decided to string him up LOL. Nevada Gary also managed to find a really nice Edward IV full medieval hammered silver groat.

Edward IV 1464 -70 London mint - Plain cross initial mark hammered silver groat 2.63g, 25.65 mm

6th Oct 2005 New hunt page

A new hunt page 3 has been added to the site, Oct 2005, to speed up loading times of the latest finds. I have started to upload a few more of the finds.

5th Oct 2005 Skunking turns into triple Celtic gold and another hoard !!

45 BC Addedomaros Celtic gold coin 5.63g, 17.96mm

CCI 05.0678

It's amazing how fortunes in detecting can change. The guys picked to hunt the new site south of Colchester again yesterday and within 15 minutes the first target was a 45 BC Addedomaros Celtic gold full stater. Lots of pounding the area produced a few Roman bronzes and a nice hammered silver James 1st 1/2 groat. In the afternoon Ark Gary returned to the spot of the first gold and found yet another 45 BC Addedomaros they all missed. Meanwhile Chicago Ron had been hunting the stretch on the opposite field near the river and found another Celtic but this time the first of it's type found here. It appears to be a mid 1stC BC Wadden Chase type which I will confirm after it's recording with the Celtic coin register. What a great find. The two Celtic 45 BC Addedomaros gold stater have been reported to the museum as a possible hoard under the Treasure Act and sent off to Philip at the CCI for recording.

Chicago Ron's 'Whadden Chase' type 5.95g, 17.68 mm & Ark Gary's 45 BC Addedomaros gold staters5.55g, 16.02mm

CCI 05.0680 (Whadden Chase) 54 to 40 BC

Addedomaros CCI 05.0679

Some other great finds included an inscribed musket plate escutcheon off a Brown Bess musket and a very nice condition bronze Roman with an unusual bust found by Nevada Gary. I will try and catch up on posting some of the other finds tomorrow.

4th Oct 2005 Totally skunked LOL added a couple of new testimonials

We got totally skunked yesterday on previous good producers from last season. Apart from one nice 1stC Roman bronze in the afternoon is was a day of Georgian coppers and lots of lead but no hammered silver LOL.

I have added a couple of new testimonials from guys having finished their first hunt here.

2nd Oct 2005 - Double seal matrix

A great start to the new hunt with two really choice condition hammered silver and 2 very nice 13thC seal matrix.

13thC seal matrix - Jewish symbol & capital 'R' - Initial capital 'I'

1st Oct 2005 Extra - Desk-based assessment commissioned

Two area's that we have permission to hunt are of particular historical interest so we have commissioned a professional 'desk top survey' with full support of the landowners. This is to be carried out by a senior member of the Institute of Field Archaeologists.

The work will be carried out in accordance with the Standards and Guidance : desk-based archaeological assessments of the Institute of Field Archaeologists.

The survey covers :

1. Study of historic map and secondary documentary sources in the Essex Record Office, Colchester.
2. Consultation of the Sites and Monuments Record and Air Photographs held by Essex County Council, and discussion with the Archaeological Officers of Essex County Council.
3. Consultation of relevant websites (National Archaeological Record, Defence of Britain database, etc).
4. Background research at Colchester Reference library.
5. Site inspection/walkover survey of all parts accessible.
6. Collation of other relevant background and site-specific information.
7. Writing and editing of the report.
8. Priority search of Air Photographs held at National Monuments Record, Swindon. (A separate contingency is appended in the event of a visit to Swindon, or the procurement of laser copies of prints, being necessary).

The results will be published on the site when they are completed which should be fascinating.

1st Oct 2005 No European rallies - Uploaded some more finds click here to view

The Navy button found last week has been ID'd by one of our member's Ken. 'I found a page in Alberts button guide that may show the button. (see page) The guide also mentions an article in THE ILLUSTRATED LONDON NEWS of March 16, 1940 that shows 36 british naval buttons covering the period from 1748 onward. I tried to access archives of the LONDON NEWS on the web but could not find a link'

I keep getting lots of e-mail's from European detectorists that want to come and hunt here sometimes with large numbers of people which is not the aim of these events .The tours are kept purposely small so that every metal object recovered from the ground is looked at individually and recorded to understand the history of the local area. Even after the detectorist has left their finds are then reexamined and researched to try and discover their origins which can be a slow time consuming process. Our aim is to help detectorists from countries with limited history to be able have the service where someone manages all their finds from digging and ID to export. Even what could be construed as a common find i.e. bale seal or decorated livery button is photographed and recorded. European detectorists are already well served with their own historic lands, large Rally type events with FLO's on hand to record and ID finds.

30th Sept 2005 Brilliant end to the latest hunt and some great old toys !

The guys finished their last afternoons tour on a high note with another 5 hammered silver coins from the 12thC early short cross type to a 17thC Charles 1st half groat. Another stunning find was a 17thC toy petronel muzzle loader in perfect condition which is a rare find. After two weeks of hard digging and some great finds like the Saxon and Roman silver, Celtic gold and those stunning artefacts the guys on their last day are opting for a visit to the local museum to rest LOL . Colchester museum is a fantastic place to tour around to take in the history of the local area and see some amazing displays. (See link above for more info). The picture below shows the first large toy cannon found here in comparison to the normal smaller version at the bottom of the picture with that beautiful early complete decorated petronel in the centre. These toys caused a lot of injuries and deaths during that period of history as they were fully working models !!

Top 18thC large toy cannon

Middle 17thC toy Petonel

Bottom 18thC small toy cannon

I will try and get some more finds uploaded during the day.

29th Sept 2005 Celtic gold smuggler caught

I have had the gold coin recorded correctly now with the Celtic coin index.

'VA 2029, one of the rarest of Cunobelin's stater types with the left-facing classic style horse. We have just thirteen others of this type recorded; this one will be CCI 05.0666'.

Colchestertreasurehunting has no vestige interest in any finds made on these hunts as that is between finder and landowner. Our job is to ensure that the Treasure Act is adhered to and all finds over 50 years old are exported correctly via the MLA. Our secondary role to ensure that the both the landowner and the finder get a fair shake and they get to see all finds made on their property. The legal position is that all finds are the property of the landowner and in 100% of the cases so far they are pleased for the detectorist to have the finds. The treasure and hoard type finds are slightly different where the farmer and detectorist are protected by law and get 50/50 of the value. If we in any way we believe that finds are being removed from the farmers lands without his consent and smuggled out of the UK without an approved export license then it is our duty to act on their behalf. A report is made immediately to the landowner and the local museum, then to the Customs and Excise at the airports and the local police to pursue the smuggler. The sad thing is that the process for exporting is very simple and none of this needed to happen.

This is a story that needs to be told in greater depth then on this news page so I will be producing shortly another new page on the site to detail the events that lead up to us getting him getting caught. It should be a clear warning to any would be foreign detectorists that come to the UK to metal detect and think that they can get away with not following the law and the proper export channels. The item smuggled back to the USA has now been successfully returned to the landowner so the story has a happy ending. The page will have links to the new laws that now mean even if you think you have successfully smuggled artefacts out of the UK you can still be prosecuted within your own country and get a 7 years prison sentence.

This story would not have a happy ending if it was not for the other dedicated and honest foreign members of Colchestertreasurehunting that were appalled by this guys behaviour and ensured he got caught. There is always one rotten apple that tries to run it for all the honest detectorists so this should be a lesson well learnt if you are considering coming to the UK to steal artefacts.

28th Sept 2005 Find of the year so far - uploading more finds on page 2

A new Roman site we explored produced the first Romano/British finds and the best find of the year so far in my opinion, an amazing Roman silver coin and the Late Saxon stirrup strap mount with an animal in relief, Roman fibula brooch . Again a special thanks to Mike Lehman for the ID and fascinating history of the coin.

'That, my friend, is a denarius of Tiberius, 14-37 A.D. Not only is it Tiberius, but that is also the piece that is commonly referred to as "The Tribute Penny" for being considered the most likely coin that Jesus examined and opined: "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God, the things that are God's" in Matthew 22, 17-21.
These are in no way and by no rational definition rare - actually, they're very-to-extremely common. Tiberius was a rather uninvolved and unimaginative fellow, had very few denarius types, and struck this type throughout his long reign. - but due to the Biblical reference, these have enormous cross-over appeal to folks who would otherwise not care in the least about ancient coins, so they normally sell for several times the amount they would otherwise bring.

Obv: TI CAESAR DIVI AVG F AVGVSTVS = Tiberius, Caesar, Son (adopted) of the Deified Augustus, Augustus (in his own right) Laureate head right.
Rx: PONTIF MAXIM = Head of the State Religion. Livia (his mum, you might remember her and her antics from "I Claudius" a few years back on BBC) seated right, holding long, vertical scepter and branch, ornamented legs on chair, footstool, single line underneath.

RIC I, 30, Mint of Lugdunum (Lyon, France), RSC 16a, SR 1763, VM 8.

That's a very, very nice, well struck and centered, full VF specimen, too'.

Late Saxon stirrup strap mount Class A Type 11a

'I think that recent find described as Romano British strap end is a late Saxon stirrup-strap mount. A picture can be seen in Portable Antiquities Scheme South-East Regional Newsletter - Newsletter No. 2 2005. Figure E. The animal is described as "a lion looking upwards with his tail curled across his back and one foreleg raised"

Great find!

Boston Bud

27th Sept 2005 Superb find

This early Medieval seal matrix is a superb example and is very unusual having a seal matrix on both ends. One end has a shield with lombardic script around the outside and the other has 2 letters. I am carefully cleaning it under a a high powered scope to reveal the legend that appears complete. This will take quite a while before I can get it into a condition to decifer the script. Other great finds yesterday included some nice early hammered silver, one of which appears to be another early Medieval Venitian soldino in great shape.

26th Sept 2005 Last coin ID's and their CCI & EMC numbers

Thanks again to Martin at the Fitzmuseum for ID'ing and recording the latest Saxon silver coin which I could not find in the Metcalf series of reference books.

'This coin (EMC 2005.0208) seems to be a variant of Series BIA. There is great variation in the early varieties of Series B and the illustrations in Metcalf are by no means comprehensive'.

Also to Philip at the CCI for registering the latest Celic gold coin found.

This one will be CCI 05.0667.

As you say, a very well-used reverse die. I think I recognize the die - after looking at these quite intensively over the last year or two, the individual dies start to become recognizable. The obverse is on the other hand pretty sharp, and must have been struck from a fairly fresh die.'

I am still well behind with posting the latest finds and will try and get a few more processed today.

24th Sept 2005 Another really nice hammered silver coin

More great finds turning up including a mint 1493-5AD Henry VII Class 1 hammered silver groat (4 pence) . I have split the latest finds page into two now to speed up loading times and will try and get some more finds posted shortly.

1493-5AD Henry VII - 2.6g - 25.21mm

23rd Sept 2005 Celtic gold and Saxon silver day

The new site south of Colchester produced it's second Celtic gold find with another 45 BC Addedomaros Celtic gold full stater . I have sent it off to Philip at the CCI for recording as this coin is very unique in it's texture and crudity and wear on the die. Ohio Tony also found a stunning Saxon Primary silver Sceattas c 680 - 710 AD which I have sent off for recording to the Fitzmuseum.

21st Sept 2005 Just posted some great artefacts on latest hunt page and reported two treasures

Two potential treasures were reported to the museum today, a 17th Charles 1st silver button and a possible Celtic gold pennanular gold ring. I have also sent it to Philip at the Celtic Coin Index for his opinion as it feels too light for a plated bronze ring . The museum stated 'this will probably have to go to the BM for analysis to determine if its ancient gold and the percentage of gold by weight'

Another amazing find is a Medieval harness pendant with rampant lions and cross banding design in blue and white enamel work

This appears to be the arms of the Earl of Hereford 14thC - 30.13 mm L x 22.31 mm W, The link below details his life.

Humphrey De Bohun
(1312-1360)
Earl of Hereford
Earl of Essex
Earl of Northampton
Born 25th March 1342
Died 16th January 1373, probably at Pleshey, Essex

http://www.britannia.com/bios/lords/hereford7hb.html

21st Sept 2005 Great hammered silver

A new area yesterday with several old house sites unexpectedly produced 7 hammered silver coins with date ranges from Edward 1st to really late Elizabethan. A brilliant find was the first Charles 1st silver milled coin I have ever seen. During his and Elizabeth 1st reign the 'hammered coin period' they did a trial of some milled coinage before fully moving over to milling machines in the reign of Charles II.

Fantastic find - one of the earliest milled coins during the' hammered silver coin period.'

Nicholas Briot's coinage 1631 -9

0.35g- 11.18 mm

20th Sept 2005 Trying to catch up on posting finds

I am still well behind with the processing of the outstanding finds pictures and will try and get a bunch onto the site today and create a new find page to speed up loading times.

19th Sept 2005 What a cracker ! and more gold found

Ohio Bud who found the Saxon gold dagger cheaf and that Charles II gold touch piece on his last hunt here has again stuck gold with a nice early 1864 Victorian gold half Sovereign. Other great finds including an early Henry III short cross hammered silver from Texas Dave.

4.01g - 19.32mm

I have just had the CCI number in for Florida Don's earlier Celtic gold find. Looks like Philip who runs the register at Cambridge especially likes this one LOL

'this one's a real cracker!

Certainly one of the best I've recorded in recent years, with just a little wear, as you say. The quality of the engraving is also extremely high - I'm sure these must have been among the first dies engraved for this type. The horse's muzzles which I mentioned last time are particularly neat here, it's really unusual to see them quite so clearly. I also suspect, though I haven't worked out how to prove it yet, that the coins with the pellets between the spiral arms are the earlier examples of this type.

I'll record this one as CCI 05.0655'

18th Sept 2005 Texas Dave does it again LOL

The first complete hammered gold coin found on these hunt was a Louis XI found last year by Texas Dave. Later in the year Boston Beau pulled up a Edward III gold noble which was amazing as hammered gold is rarer than hens teeth !! Dave has now gone and done it again with a beauty 1605 James 1st hammered gold Thistle- Crown (4 shillings), what a find the greedy SOB LOL

1.97g - 20.94mm

17th Sept 2005 Double short cross

The early short cross hammered silver pre 1200 AD is always nice to find. One is a Henry III 1180 AD and the other is difficult to positively ID but at a guess is a Richard 1st 1189 AD. The boys headed home after a brilliant weeks hunting which included an Henry VII 1487-8 full groat with plain cross of Durham, what an amazing find in this condition.

Henry VII 1487-8 full Groat Class IIIc with two half pennies of Henry III 1180 AD & Richard 1st 1189 AD

16th Sept 2005 Last Celtic hoard declared treasure and another treasure reported

The 45 BC Celtic gold Addedomaras (former King of Essex and Colchester) hoard found late last season by Mass Linda and Co was declared treasure at the Colchester Coroner's court on the 10th Sept. I received the official paperwork for it this morning. The 17th Silver button we found was also declared treasure and Colchester museum wish to buy all the treasures subject to valuation. We even made the local papers again and Philip Wise curator of archaeology said' We are trying to build as good a collection of Iron age coins as we can, especially coin minted by the local tribe the Trinovantes'. 'We are doing everything we can to acquire collections like this and others that have come up in recent months' Our last two hoards of Celtic gold and Roman imperial silver are also being purchased by the local museum subject to final valuation. The initial valuations put on the coins by the DCMS appear to be a very fair market price for the finder and landowner who share the reward 50/50.

The silver hawking bell fragment, found by Florida Don, I reported to Colchester museum earlier in the week does in fact now constitute a possible 'treasure' as it is ID'd as probably Medieval. This will now go through the treasure process.

I will try and upload the latest finds shortly including more hammered silver and a very nice Medieval purse mount with an animal head.

15thSept 2005 Boys are still finding the rarer hammered silver

Orlando Rolo added yet another really nice coin to his hammered silver collection this hunt, this time a full 1526 AD AD Henry VIII groat (4 pence) in great shape. The picture below shows the difference in size between a groat and a Medieval long cross hammered silver 1/4 penny

14th Sept 2005 Ttwo beauty early hammered silver - more finds posted

I had to post this little beauty, a 1199AD King John hammered silver penny is such great shape.

14th Sept 2005 Coin hunter award and posting more finds

Orlando Rolo presents Florida Don with last seasons 'best coin hunter award' for his buddy Daytona Steve who had to cancel at the last minute. He missed out on seeing Don do the gold dance after he found that last Celtic gold LOL.

Still well behind with posting finds but I will try and catch up later. Some really nice finds being made which include a very early decorated buckle with integral box chape that although it is probably late 14thC but also has the characteristics of a late Saxon 10thC one also a really neat double silver with two nice condition William III 1696 and 1697. The sixpence is the first Norwich mint coin found here.

13th Sept 2005 Brillaint last few days and more Celtic gold from a new site.

CCI 05.0655 - 5.58g - 18.38 mm

45 BC Addedomaros Celtic gold full stater found by Florida Don

I have running around like a chicken as the amount of targets the guys are digging is amazing on our new 'Roman Temple' site south of Colchester. It has been producing some great artefacts then unexpectedly produced it's first Celtic gold and a possible bronze unit yet to be cleaned. This Celtic gold is the 2nd best one of it's type ever found here and is in stunning condition. It differs greatly in gold content and die type of that found locally here and I have sent it off to the Celtic Coin Register for recording and Philip's more detailed examination as to it's origins. I don't expect a reply for a week as he is away on other business. I have dozens of great finds to post including a Medieval pilgrims cross, early hammered silver, stunning coin weights etc. Check the hunt page regularly as will I try to get them uploaded today.

9th Sept 2005 What an end to a great first weeks hunt

Boston Beau joined the hunt this morning for a couple of days on his way past on business. He found what looked to be an early Roman bronze with a thick green patina. On cleaning it tonight this little puppy started to appear and has been ID'd by Mark at the UAC as a Claudius 49-50 AD.

Claudius, 49-50 A.D. and is RIC I, 49 - frequency "R4"!

9th Sept 2005 Forum competition winner - posting more finds

'Berkeley Bottle Boy' of the California Forum run by Cal Jeff won the Roman gold coin up for grabs for the closest guess in the forum competition. His guess of 2pm on the 8th was his birthday LOL.

More finds being posted on the latest hunt page

8th Sept 2005 Ark Gary finds the first Celtic gold of the season

It took the guys just 5 days to find the first Celtic gold of the season on two new fields we have been given permission to hunt. One of the fields also produced a Henry III voided long cross, an Edward 1st hammered silver half penny and a James 1st hammered silver half groat so the date range on the new land is very good. Another great artefact find was a complete Medieval Pilgrims Ampulla

Colchester was one of the most important Celtic areas in Britain and the last Trinovantian king was called Addedomaros. It is possible that his remains are buried in the Lexden Tumulus, close to Gosbecks Colchester. Thanks to Philip at the Celtic Coin Register for a fast reply with more info on the coin below and it's registration number.

'Well, this is a nice one, and as you say with those intriguing symbols above the horse visible. What they seem to be is three horse's muzzles - on some dies they are virtually identical to the muzzle actually on the horse. Curiously, at roughly the same time that Addedomaros was using this motif on his staters, so was Commios, down in Hampshire. In fact since Commios is generally dated a little earlier than Addedomaros, it's not impossible that the latter encountered one of Commios's staters and decided to copy this feature. It quite often appears blundered, which suggests that the die engravers didn't always know what they were looking at. I'll record this one as CCI 05.0603, and I look forward to more!

CCI 05.0603 - 5.48 g - 17.71 mm

45 BC Addedomaros Celtic gold full stater

6th Sept 2005 Another exceptional hammered Lizzy -Started posting finds

This morning on another new field yet another exceptional Elizabeth 1st hammered sixpence was found dated 1578 this time. These two latest hammered silver coins are the best ever found on these hunts from what is a generally weakly stuck mintage. Amazing detail on both sides. I have started to post a few of the finds on the new hunt page.

3rd Sept 2005 Great start to the new season

It was great to finally get the new hunts underway this afternoon, lots of early coppers, a 1300 AD soldino hammered silver Venitian coin in rough shape and a possible Saxon clothing fastener, Find of the afternoon is this absolutely stunning 1580 Elizabeth 1st hammered silver 6 pence.

Other great news is the 17thC gold mourning ring found by Canadian Marjo, that was declared officially treasure earlier this year, is being returned to her after not being purchased by a museum.

NEWS Sept 2005 to Oct 2005

Great Saxon silver finds Offa Rex - Coenwulf - Hammered gold

NEWS March 2005 toSept 2005

Villa Dig - Roman gold - Celtic gold hoard found

NEWS Sept 2004 to March 2005

Can Majos and Mass Bills gold rings - Texas Dave's hammered gold

NEWS March 2004 to Sept 2004

Roman gold coin - Mass Bruce's axe hoard

NEWS Jan 2004 to March 2004

2000BC Axe - Boston Buds Saxon gold

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