3rd Feb 2012 Great start to 2nd half of the season

What a great start to the 2nd half of the season with 4 top end medieval relics, including 2 treasures and our first gold treasure found by Boston Beau. I have reported them to the museum and the landowner. The guys also dug a dozen + Roman bronze coins on our disclaimed hoard area from last season but they we all grots with no detail unfortunately. I will start uploading more of the widgets and silver found to a new finds page 2012 Feb finds shortly.

Weather is stunning out there with bright blue skies but the ground is very hard to dig with the early morning frosts, not stopping the guys digging some great finds though below.

Updated our gold page with the 21st gold find of the season

17th/18th gold posy ring reported as treasure to the museum

3.29g, 20.16mm dia

'LOVE AS' YOU ELSE I DIE' - maker mark - old English FC

Medieval silver cross - similar construction to 13thC Knights templer badges 1.06g, 22.82mm

Medieval gilded silver dress fitting 1.82g, 17.35 mm

Similar Ref Treasure Case No: 2019 T520 - Medieval silver dress fitting Colchester area of Essex

Medieval decorated buckle chape

Object type certainty: Certain

Chronology

Broad period: MEDIEVAL
Period from: MEDIEVAL
Period to: MEDIEVAL
Date from: AD 1250
Date to: AD 1350

30th Jan 2012 Ron's Nat Geo programs airs - latest cooked Roman silver ID's

Just a couple of days to the kick off and I have finally finished all the export applications. Final official button count for the first half of the season is 8611 which is hell of a lot of holes dug!

Check you guess on the free forum competition button page Current total is 8611.

Our clubs most noted celebrity Chicago Ron's first TV show airs on Nat Geo shorty entitled 'Treasure on the Thames'

'Wading through mud and digging up artefacts along the River Thames is an unusual hobby. From Roman coins to Tudor chainmail, five mudlarking enthusiasts explore the history of London'.

There are load of still pictures already on the Nat Geo site of Ron mud larking around . Ron is going to try and get hold of a DVD copy of the program so he can show it at the Barn houses while he and his team are hunting here for 3 weeks in March. The program will also show more of Ron's England finds like his Celtic gold while hunting with our club. Nat Geo have already been to our club filming Ron and his crew out there detecting in the field.

http://natgeotv.com.au/tv/treasure-on-the-thames/gallery.aspx

Check out Ron's website with some fantastic videos he took of hunting England and the USA

http://chicagoron.com/

Ron on the Thames foreshore

Min Mindy just sent me another great picture, this time of Cal Gail finding her Celtic gold 1/4 stater in Oct. After seeing Can Bill's pictures on 27th Jan post this must be a common pose when finding Celtic gold

I have been doing more work on our 'cooking' Roman silver finds and several have enough detail showing through now and I sent them off to Mark Lehman for an ID. The 1/2 silver has been 'cooking' for over 15 months to remove the original 1/8 inch thick horn crust. It still needs even 'more' cooking to get the final crust off. Mark has made a stab at the ID.

'Cooking' this sucker for over 3 months and it is almost finished

This one is easy - it's a very nice specimen with clear legends and details -
it's Marcus Aurelius (161-180 AD)  Obverse legend: M ANTONINVS AVG ARM PARTH MAX
The Reverse legend: TRP XX IMP IIII COS III dates it specifically to 166 AD. 
PAX (in exergue) Pax - or Peace - standing left holding olive-branch and cornucopiae could occur anytime as a popular general personification of a Roman virtue, but the obverse legend which titles him Victor of Armenia and Parthia would similarly date it to the period 166-9 AD even without the laundry-list of dated titles on the reverse.

References, RIC 159, RSC 435, BMC 401.

Mark

This was just a lump of brown crud when dug and I don't think I ever took a picture of it, after 15 months of cooking is slowly revealing the detail

About all I can say with any certainty is that a laureate head of a deity - most likely Zeus, Apollo or Neptune - would be impossible to find before about 120 BC. Before that time, the helmeted head of Roma was virtually the exclusive obverse type of the Roman denarius. (although if this would have an overall diameter quite a bit smaller than a denarius, Zeus' head appeared on a denomination called the Victoriatus off and on over the entire history of Roman Republican silver issues)  A laureate head like this could occur, then, anytime up to around 45 BC, but would be most likely for a denarius of the time-frame 110-75 BC. when deities and portrayals of historical or semi-historical characters were most common on the coins.
 
The other strong feature is the nearly-parallel items on the reverse - but whether these are a pair of legs, the tip of a wing, or just what else they might be - or in what orientation - has so far eluded me.

Sorry - sometimes a feature is easily "placed", but those "legs" (if that's what they are) are at an odd angle - and the lumpish structures around them don't seem to correspond to the larger items on the reverses of any denarii with which I am familiar.

Mark. 

This one is actually pretty easy.  First, it's a "Denarius Serratus" - the edge is notched or serrated.  Second, and more importantly, the writing on the reverse is quite clear - or clear enough to place it easily as an issue of Ti. Claudius Ti.f. Ap.n. Nero - or T. Claudius Nero for short.  79 BC.
That unclear obverse is a diadamed and draped bust of Diana right, bow and quiver over shoulder and SC to the right.
The reverse of Victory driving a biga right is extremely common, but the combination of the sequence number above and the clear TI CLAVD TI F / AP N below the exergual line is what makes it easy.

RRC 383/1; CRR 770; RSC Claudia 5 and SR 310 are the references.

Mark

27th Jan 2012 More site updates , approved exports - 5 days to the kick off

I have only got to complete 2 more export license applications from the first half of the season and I am finished with just 5 days to the kick off. Then guys will be digging me loads and I will have to start again. I have another meeting arranged with the museum mid Feb to pick up any disclaimed treasures back from the British museum and you can take those home.

The forum competition count has now exceeded 8000 buttons dug so far this season which is a hell of a lot more than most members thought. The final total should be between 16,000 to 20,000 which an amazing number of just buttons to dig.

Check you guess on the free forum competition button page Current total is 8079

I just got another huge batch of approved export licenses in the post this morning and I have posted a list of names onto the members forum.

Fl Rob just send me a brilliant picture of Can Bill digging his first ever Celtic gold in Oct. Rob was nearby when Bill screamed and captured it all on his HD video camera and send Bill a DVD and this collage below as a Christmas present, great gift to remember the moment

I have updated another load of individual find pages below with finds from the first half of the season. The pages are getting huge so I will have to split them down further shortly.

	Romano/British artefacts		Buckles
	Livery, Corporation, train and railway buttons		Dress buttons
	Richard II to Edward V hammered silver coins

22nd Jan 2012 Two more plots of new land, exports and fixed hammered silver

I had a meeting with our biggest landowner yesterday and he has given us yet another 200 acre plot next to his existing 2000 acre site for detecting from the 1st Feb. I have added these fields to our A4 personal coloured maps and had a huge batch laminated at Staples for guys to carry with them out in the field. I took a drive around the land and entered two great drop off points into the Sat Nav's given to Barn leaders. One of the fields is a monster so you need to drive over the other site of the site to attack it. Mitch Chris has been cleverly overlaying historical maps on this new plot of land and there are lot of very interesting crop marks which he has posted onto the members forum. None of his land has ever been detected before so it will be great fun hotspotting it from the kick off.

Another new farmer has yesterday allowed us his search his 800 + acres to detect from the 22nd Feb. This site will have restrictions placed on it as it has one field of 'scheduled land' which it is illegal to detect on. Scheduled land is a designated site of National importance and must not be metal detected. The club is effectively trialling this new site to show the landowner how we run the show and it will not be open to every member yet. Wash Tom will be leading the team that will be the first guys to ever search it and at the end of Tom's 10 days hunt we will have a review with the landowner to see what his thoughts are.

I have also been updating the forum competition button total as I process the guys export pouches. Current total is 7631

I had major problem getting hold of these new top of the range slow cookers as everywhere was out of stock. There are only a couple of cookers on the market that have this digital timer and keep warm feature. Luckily a local stockist had 3 of them on the shelf and I drove and picked them up yesterday. I have never used a slow cooker so I will be practising with one using top recipes guys have been posting on the forum. I want to get up to speed on how to use the timers etc before the first Barn team arrives on the 1st Feb so I clue them in.

Colour: Stainless Steel
Size: 6.5 litre
Dishwasher safe ceramic pot
LCD display
Auto keep warm function
Programmable upto 24 hrs
Digital countdown timer
6.5 Litre capacity


Product Description

Because it is the ultimate in slow cooking. This versatile product is perfect for stews, casseroles, soups, stocks and even desserts. Simply put the food in the pot, set the cooking time then, when it has finished, it will automatically switch to hold. Put it on in the morning and come home to a cooked dinner that's ready to serve!

You can even lift out the elegant and stylish cooking pot and take it straight to the table and for those of you who are health conscious, you can be assured that all the vitamins and minerals will be retained in the sauce during cooking.

• Cook and hold feature
• Elegant ceramic crock pot for cooking and serving
• High, low and warm settings with indicator lights
• Automatic switching from ?Cook? to ?Hold? mode
• Flexible cooking time from 1 to 8 hours Perfect for healthy stews, casseroles & soups
• Glass lid with stainless steel rim & chrome plated knob
• Cooking rack
• Dishwasher safe parts
• 5 Year Guarantee

Coins are annealed before straightening

What I thought was a badly taco'd Mary turns out to be a 1544 Henry VIII groat

UK Tony sent me this taco'd 1624 James 1st hammered silver sixpence

18th Jan 2012 Kit review for 2nd half of the season - More exports - land looks excellent

Still busy preparing more export licenses and posted more find sheets and pictures to members forum. I had a quick meeting this week with the museum to hand in 4 more Treasures found in the guys find pouches.

I took a trip around the sites to see the land conditions and 90% of the 300 + fields are in perfect shape with tiny wheat shots showing through. There are a handful of just ploughed and rolled and several with a tiny rape crop we will have to search very early as they will shoot up later on in the season. There are several fields still in stubble that should be ploughed and rolled for the later hunts.

The new radios for the 2nd half of the season are proving to be very tricky to set up. I downloaded a 66 page user manual but was not aware that any changes of frequency to match our OFCOM license have to made via a special USB lead and PC software. I have ordered them up directly from Motorola and it allows you to set up groups, private numbers etc on the radios. You dial up any individual on the network, send texts or do just a global transmission.

I have also been updating the forum competition button total as I process the guys export pouches. Current total is 7470

Just two weeks to go before the start of the 2nd half of the season and I have been getting the 'Barn' packs together and added yet more kit. I have put a detailed list below to show you all the kit you get on arrival.

The 'Barn' self catering hunts have become extremely popular with a Senior member running the show with their own mini bus. On these events you come and go as you please and some 'hard core' teams hunt from 7am to 10pm. The crews decide on the hours they want, some of the team come in at 6pm and others stay out very late. Making sure the guys have very piece of kit to make their stay easier has built up over the last few years.Min Mindy is kindly bringing another dozen of those brilliant 'chain gang' long handled spades members love. I cannot get these in the UK and they are the best for digging and my favourite. Her first Barn crew is 8th Feb so they will be available for the start of the season to save guys fighting over them !!

The self catering Barns are very modern and have all the mod cons except a decent coffee maker and slow cooker. I have added new digital coffee makers to the Barn 'pack' we supply as it is the model I use. It has a timer so you can set up the start time and have piping hot coffee when you crawl out of bed. The new slow cooker with the keep hot timer will mean the food will not spoil if guys decide to stay out later if the weather is really nice or they have found a hot spot. The guys have been discussing slow cooker recipes they use on the members forum and I have posted Mindy's tasty chicken one below. There is now a new category on the forum with tried and tested recipes guys have used and other members can copy and try out.

Barn teams supplied package now includes the following.

6.5 ltr slow cooker
Digital coffee maker
7 plastic coffee mugs, drinks tumblers and spoons
2 small Tuppaware containers for tea and sugar in the field
5ltr stainless steel push button top Thermos - for hot water all day in the field
1.5ltr stainless steel Thermos pour jug - for milk or soup in the field
Large and medium Thermos cooler boxes - one for large bottles of drink, one for sandwiches or hot chow


7 individual A4 field maps
1 AO full scale team maps
Sat Nav with field, supermarket, eateries locations etc
7 diggers
Mobile phone for daily contact
Digital MP3600 radios

Plastic basket for scrap buttons for comp hunt

Slow-Cooker Chicken for you Barn House guys

More before and after pictures of members fixed hammered silver coins below. I have not cleaned the badly taco'd voided long cross as it is very fragile now it is straightened. Remember to fix a badly bent hammered silver coin it has to be annealed several times to prevent it breaking, hence the initial change of colour on the shoots below.

1558-60 Elizabeth 1st hammered silver sixpence - 1st issue Lis mint mark

1247 Henry III hammered silver voided penny

Rev HEN/RIO/NLV/VND Henri of London mint

1592-5 Elizabeth 1st hammered silver shilling (12 pence) Tun mintmark - sixth issue

31.61mm dia

13th Jan 2012 Beauty fixed gold and silver coins

I took a whole bunch of members bent gold and silver coins into our goldsmith before Christmas and there were some really tricky fixes to be done. A couple of UK guys sent me in their treasured hammy gold finds also for fixing. UK Paul's badly bent Henry VIII turned out mint but UK Clive's Edward III and 323 BC silver had already been badly repaired previously and he wanted to see if our expert could improve on them. The Alexander turned out brilliantly and the Edward gold is definitely better comparing the before and after shots. I have a whole bunch of fixed silver hammered to post tomorrow with before and after shots.

Can Ron's fixed 1728 Portuguese Joao V milled gold - 1/2 Escudo (800 Reis) 0.9170 Gold

John V of Portugal

Badly straightened before Edward

Fixed 1361-69 Edward III gold half noble - Treaty period - Satire before Edward

Fixed 1509 -26 Henry VIII hammered gold angel - Portcullis mint mark - before picture is far left

5.15g, 28.19mm

Before bad hole repair

Greatly improved Alexander the Great Silver Drachm 323 BC

Can Ryan's C1351 Edward III hammered gold qtr noble

1.79g

12th Jan 2012 More exports and reported treasures - fixed coins ready

Still busy finishing off the export licenses and updating the site pages. All the latest fixed hammered gold and silver coin are ready for pick up and I will be posting the before and after pictures tomorrow.

I have also been updating the forum competition button total as I process the guys export pouches. Current total is 7219

'Rusty bucket'? Rare Roman helmet found in Britain

LONDON — A rare Roman cavalry helmet dating from Emperor Claudius' invasion of Britain nearly 2,000 years ago was unveiled on Tuesday after painstaking restoration lasting nearly a decade.

Stunning Roman helmet

Just found this in a guy’s export pouch I am preparing. It was black and caked in mud but I gave it a quick wipe to discover it is silver underneath and I reported it as treasure. It has a lion’s head inscription. I am not exactly certain but is a medieval clasp of some description. I contacted the finder who has given me the find spot and date and the British museum have already issued a treasure number.

The Treasure number issued for this case is 2012 T21.

There have been some more great bonus finds in the pouches including this early King John short cross penny below.

More neat bonus finds out of the export pouches, Georgian miniature domino and

1199 King John hammered silver short cross penny - Class 4c
Obv HENRICVS REX
Rev HVE.ON. CANTE - Moneyer Hve of Canterbury

As dug and partially cooked pics of 2nd C Roman silver

I had to get a provisional ID for the export licenses application from Mark Lehman on Miss Jeff's silver Roman that has been cooking since Oct. The black crust is mega hard and it will take a lot more work to reveal what appears to be a mint Roman silver underneath. Mark's ID is below.

This is a denarius of Marcus Aurelius, 166 AD, and aside from some minor considerations (for example, I'd like to see if there is anything in the exergue on the reverse - it might or might not be inscribed: "PAX" - and that would make a difference) I can pretty well tell what's likely to be under the crud on the obverse.
The obverse legend should be: M ANTONINVS AVG ARM PARTH MAX (if it turns out to be at all different, that would make a difference) - and the piece can be specifically dated to 166 AD. on the basis of the titlature on the reverse - TRP XX IMP IIII COS III - Tribunician Power for the 20th time, Imperator for the 4th time, Consul for the 3rd time.
The reverse shows Pax standing left holding an olive-branch and cornucopiae.  Pieces of otherwise essentially the same types are known both with and without "PAX" in the reverse exergue.

It appears to be in a pretty nice state of preservation (if what's under the crud is as nice as what's been exposed).

Mark

Updated all the individual pages below with finds from the 1st half of the season

	Henry VII & VIII hammered silver coins		George 1st to III milled gold and silver coins
	Large denomination gold and silver Elizabeth 1st hammered coins		Small denomination Elizabeth 1st hammered silver coins
	Bells and whistles		Keys

9th Jan 2012 More exports and approved licenses - disclaimed treasures- Forum comp total passes 7000 - new gear arrives

That was quick as I got a huge batch of approved export licenses in the post this morning. I though with the Christmas break it would take a while longer yet. I have posted the list on the members forum and you can decide if you want them shipped or picked up on your next trip.

Still got another dozen or so export applications to compile yet before the start of the season on the 1st Feb. I have posted a bunch more to the members forum and updated the Forum comp page with the latest button count. It is amazing that we have dug 7000 + so far with a final total probably close to 8000 for the half season. I just completed Kansas Barry and Teresa's export pouches and they dug 300 buttons just between them. I expect the final total for the season to be between 15 to 20 thousand which is lot of holes to dig !! Amazing that we all thought initially some of the members guess were crazy high but the new land for Feb could produce 15,000 on it's own. Fascinating competition this season.

Check you current guesses on the competition page - current total 7037

Lots of new kit arrived or on order for the start of the season

I just took delivery of 30 smart new coffee mugs today + 30 tumblers and a dozen spoons for lunchtime Barn teams to use . I still have 2 dozen of the old ones but some are starting to get tatty and we can keep those as spares to cover any breakages.

We now have 3 sets of those 5ltr stainless steel push button top hot water thermos's for all day coffee and tea out in the field for each Barn team and full board. The additional 2.5 litre one can be used for hot soup or milk.

I also ordered up another new set of the brilliant Thermos cooler chests we use, I got another 30 litre one for fizzy drinks and the 13 litre ones for hot meals in the field. I ordered up another load of ice packs for the drink as several leaked last season.

Min Mindy has started a trend at the Barn house with her tasty slow cooker meals, roast beef, chicken and tasty thick soups. She currently uses a cheapy 4ltr version she bought so I have ordered up 3 of the bigger 6ltr state of the art jobbies with digital timer and keep warm features. The Barn teams now can hunt even later with no worries about the food spoiling. Several of the Barn leaders want to use as they are just so easy to use and food is ready when they get home early or late.

I have also ordered up another touch screen Garmin nuvi Sat Nav for Barn teams to use. I bought this model last season to trial and it is brilliant and a lot easier to use than our existing push button Garmin units.

15thC medieval gold ring 4.00g, 22.11mm

I have received several more letters from the British Museum disclaiming more of the guys treasures including another one of NS Andy's finds. Andy has already got back the medieval twisted gold ring, Medieval Sapphire and gold bezel and now his decorated flow and banded medieval ring. The curator report put the ring at 15thC which is 100 years earlier than I first thought at Tudor.

Treasure Report:   2011/T255                                                                        
Parish/County:          Tendring District, Essex

A medieval finger-ring with a D-sectioned hoop. The outside of the hoop has cabled decoration which alternates with bands of beading enclosing areas engraved with flowers. The ring would originally have been enamelled, but no traces of enamel remain. It is distorted and has evidence of much wear.

The finger-ring is gold and dates from the fifteenth century.

Dimensions: length 22 mm, width 18 mm.

         
J P Robinson
Curator of Medieval Collections
5th January  2012

4th Jan 2012 More exports and finds - More land ?- Ron's article on the Treasure Act & exporting

1857 Bank of Upper Canada one pence bank token

1340 Edward III hammered silver penny - Canterbury mint

Under a month now to the kick off to the start of the 2nd half of the season and I am still beavering away with export applications. I found 4 more silver treasures in the guys pouches while revisiting every piece dug. I have reported them to Colchester museum and have arranged to drop of them off next week. Among Can Drew's pile of copper coins in his export pouch I was amazed to see a huge token with a design I had never seen before. Quick clean up revealed a beauty 1857 Bank Token from Canada !! It is amazing when you revisit every piece of metal in guys pouch there is often a thick brown coin that a guy did not realise was a hammered silver like the Edward III above.

I am still waiting to hear if we have secured another large plot of land for the 1st Feb. One of our landowner has relatives who have a further 3000 acres of land who might be interesting in allowing us to search it. The existing landowner has already added 5 new fields to his 66 field site for the 1st Feb kick off so we still have 300 + fields ready for the start of the 2nd half of the season. Every guy hunting here gets their own a personal A4 map to carry around showing all the fields they can hunt in a numbered grid. I wanted to get some more laminated copies of these maps made up but will have to wait until we get the feedback from the landowner.

Chicago Ron is featured in this months Gold Prospectors magazine and he ensured that the author included all the relevant information on the Treasure Act and correct exporting criteria while detecting in England. Ron has been a senior member her for 7 years and has had numerous treasures go through this Act and has part of a Celtic gold coin hoard displayed at Colchester museum.

Check out Ron's England detecting videos on his U Tube site . Includes all his UK & USA gold finds

Uploaded more export find lists and pictures to the members forum.

I have also been updating the forum competition button total as I process the guys export pouches. Current total is 6585

30th Dec 2011 More site updates and exports

Germany Bremen Stadt 1 Groten 1751 silver coin

Uploaded more export find lists and pictures to the members forum. Boston Beau had a great bonus German silver in his pouch I cleaned up and ID's as the legend was so clean and a perfect date.

I have updated a load more individual pages below with finds from the first half of the season. It was great first half of the season for milled silver and only our 3rd foreign milled gold coin.

I have also been updating the forum competition button total as I process the guys export pouches. Current total is 6456

	Foreign gold milled silver coins		Victorian milled silver and gold coins
	18th to 20thC Conder & copper tokens		Snake buckles 16th to 20thC
	Lead tokens Roman to 17th C		Foreign hammered gold & silver coins
	Roman 3rd/4th C bronze coins

27th Dec 2011 More updates, exports and holiday snaps

Nice to get a short break over Christmas but I have so much to catch up on before the 1st Feb kick off so I have to press ahead. I have updated a load more individual pages with finds from the first half of the season. Most of the pages are getting too big and want splitting into other sub categories. The first half of the season produced a load of milled silver 'firsts' for the club, 2 Charles II shillings, Mary four pence and a stunning Queen Anne penny. I have added Kansas Barry's 211 BC Roman silver coin to the top of the Romano/British ancient silver coin page as this is the oldest ever coin found in Britain. New additions are added to the bottom of the page.

Senior members Wash Tom (middle), Jake and Min Mindy

Wash Tom just sent me the snaps of their detecting trip to the Bahamas on the beaches. Both Mindy and Tom found neat gold rings and loads of clad coinage , but what stunning place to hunt. All 3 guys are back again in the 2nd half of the season and it ain't gonna be as warm and sunny in Feb !!

More export find lists and photo's posted to members forum.

24th Dec 2011 Hoard reports -more treasure updates and disclaims - bonus export finds

A man from Preston has found a rare medieval badge while testing out his new metal detector.

The collection of more than 200 coins and pieces of jewelry was found in September close to Silverdale by Darren Webster, 39.
The hoard, which was in a lead box, includes a coin thought to refer to a previously unknown Viking ruler.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england...shire-16178699

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england...shire-15495283

13thC silver annular brooch

I have just received notification from the British Museum of more disclaimed treasure including WA Jim's silver annular brooch and Boris's medieval gold ring. The curator's report dates this find as late 12thC and it is in mint undamaged condition. These finds are physically at the British museum in London so it takes a couple of months for them to be returned to the finder. I have just applied for the export license for this find. I posted a list below of the latest disclaim treasure numbers and updated the Hoard and Treasure page.

George III 1/3 guinea gold coin weight

Medieval dagger quillion -A Medieval cast copper alloy dagger guard or quillion probably dating from 1200 - 1300 AD.

71.03mm L

More find lists and export pictures uploaded to the members forum. Lots of bonus bit and bobs in the pouches including this really neat George III coin weight and Ont Jim found an exact match of his hammer looking find on the PAS database and it is an early dagger quillion. PAS ref and link SWYOR-C960B2

I have been updating the forum competition button total as I process the guys export pouches. Current total is 6383

Late 12thC gold finger ring

Treasure case 2011 T212 - Silver hawking bell - Ill Mark - disclaimed

Treasure case 2011 T505 - 14thC Medieval gold mount - Ill Mark - disclaimed

Treasure case 2011 T88 - 12thC Medieval gold finger ring with green stone- Can Boris - disclaimed

Treasure case 2011 T206 - 17thC silver bodkin needle - Tenn Brad - disclaimed

Treasure case 2011 T214 - 16thC silver gilt dress hook- Can Dan- disclaimed

Treasure case 2011 T244 - 12thC medieval silver pin - Gene Z- disclaimed

Treasure case 2011 T253 - 16thC silver dress fitting - James - disclaimed

Treasure case 2011 T254 - 13thC Sapphire in gold setting - NS Andy - disclaimed

A couple of X Barn members who have eating allergies and don't want to hunt long hours are trialing a new hotel for the club. They will have their own car so after I drop them off to the fields they can leave when they like. They both wanted double rooms so they can get a good nights sleep. I have asked the guys to give me full and honest feedback on their stay and if it checks out we can use it for the club.

The hotel is literally 1/2 mile from our new 4.5 miles sq site and the rooms look very comfortable.

This modern hotel and leisure club, located to the south of Colchester, is the premier hotel in north Essex.
The hotel features 110 bedrooms which have been carefully designed with your personal comfort in mind.
The beautiful scenes of Constable country, including Flatford Mill and Dedham, are a short distance and numerous other attractions include Colchester Castle, art galleries, stately homes, gardens and a number of English vineyards open to the public.
The elegant lounge and cocktail bar provides the perfect meeting place and somewhere to relax before dining in the splendid Roman Room Restaurant, which offers a selection of international cuisine, complemented by carefully selected wines from around the world and served by friendly and professional staff.
The Lifestyle Health & Leisure Club is complimentary to residents during their stay and facilities include a 15-metre indoor swimming pool, jacuzzi, steam and sauna rooms, fully air-conditioned gymnasium and 2 outdoor tennis courts. Beauty treatments are available by appointment and for an additional charge. Unfortunately the hotel does not have a lift.

21st Dec 2011 More exports -more page updates

Loads more export find lists and pictures posted to members forum. I have also updated a load more of the individual find pages below with finds in these categories from the 1st half of the season.

A complete list of individual finds pages by type can be found on the Index page

	Military buttons named regiments		James 1st hammered silver and gold coins
	George 1st gold and silver coins		Military & Navy badges
	William IV silver coins		Military buttons numbered regiments
	George III gold and silver coins		Navy buttons
	George IV gold and silver coins		George II silver coins
	Trade weight - all metals		Foreign military buttons
	Jettons

18th Dec 2011 More exports - new shelter for the field - page updates - Ron's latest pound of gold video

Chicago Ron has just posted his latest end of the year video with Ill Mark and they found 16oz of gold each, amazing to watch then fondle their piles of silver and gold finds.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLjROsRaEgY

A couple of years ago I bought a 'supposedly' quick pop up shelter to leave out in the field for guys. It was very well made but too complicated and took ages to put up and take down and blew away too easily. It is now sitting in the garage unused. I have been surfing the net looking for another 2 minute shelter as we already have the portable fire and cooker I bought to leave in the tent for guys to keep toasty and make hot soup.

Most of the quick tents are either too low, too complicated and have a built in ground sheet that will be be a mud pit but I think I have found a real nice simple job. The steel frame just pulls out in seconds so instant shelter. I am looking to trial it in Feb on our first hunt and if it works then I will get a couple more that the Barn teams can use if they want to. It will be a good place to leave the new 5 ltr push top hot water jug and 2 ltr milk jug we just bought to keep out of the wind.

I am still busy banging away preparing export license applications and posting full find lists and photo's to members forum. I have reported three more potential Treasures to the museum that I cleaned up, Atl Mike's possible 17thC decorated open topped silver thimble above, a cast decorated silver hanger and a 17thC Charles 1st silver button. Mike also had an early copper plate that was caked in mud. After I soaked it for a couple of days in distilled water multi coloured enamel showed through and with the two mounting points reminds me of Roman scale armour. I will be dropping it off to the museum at my next meeting so their experts can take a look.

I have started updating a load of individual find pages on our site with the finds so far this season. I have a ton of updates to complete yet.

I have also been updating the forum competition button total as I process the guys export pouches. Current total is 6200

	Saxon gold and silver coins		King John to Richard hammered silver coins
	Henry III - long and short cross silver coins		Watch winders
	Seals and matrix		Edward III gold and silver coins
	Clothing fasteners		Saxon relic finds
	Saxon harness fittings		Stone Age finds

9th Dec 2011 Disclaimed treasures, donations and more exports - radio licence approved

I finally got through our Ofcom radio licence yesterday for the club and we now have 20 top of the range professional Motorola Mototrbo Digital DP3600 devices. These give crystal clear digital reception with the ability to call other individual users on the system or do a general broad cast. We will be using these on our new 4.5 sq plot from Feb 1st.

Features

• Signalling - ETSI DMR
• Channels - 160
• Large textured push to talk button for ease of use
• 5 programmable buttons to improve ease of use and increase operator efficiency
• Keypad enables flexible radio operation and text messaging
• Large easy to use menu navigation keys enable intuitive user interface
• Flexible menu driven interface with user friendly icons or two lines of text for ease of reading text messages
• Emergency button to help ensure rapid response to critical incidents
• Sophisticated Emergency Calls help employee safety
• Powerful front projecting speaker
• New accessory connector meets IP57 submersability specifications and incorporates RF, USB and enhanced audio capability
• MilSpec - 810 C,D,E,F
• Meets IP57 environmental sealing helps ensure continued operation in tough working conditions
• Compact and ergonomically friendly microphone
• Accessory connector supports USB interface and enhanced audio capability
• Tri-coloured LED indicators provide clear feedback on radio operating status
• Quick, easy-to-use Group, Individual and All-call capability
• PTT ID helps improve communications efficiency and system discipline
• Remote Monitor features help ensure employee safety and enable fast assessment of remote user status
• Elegant channel scanning schemes help ensure calls are received first time every time
• Dual mode analogue / digital scan - facilitates a smooth migration from analogue to digital
• Send quick text messaging via programmable buttons

More export find lists and picture sheets have been posted to the members forum and a new category has been requested by the members so that the voting for the 'pouch of the year' at the end of the season is easier. The best pouches will be uploaded to this new topic so guys can review the 'best of the bunch' at the end of the season before they vote for their favourite.

Stunning 1704 Queen Anne commemorative silver cuff links

3 ancient gold ingots

I dropped off the last of the reported treasures to the museum yesterday and picked up several more disclaimed items such as Col Bruce's excellent gold inscribed ring below. Unless the museum experts can prove that the find is below the Treasure Act threshold of 300 years old then it cannot go forward for inquest. This ring probably dates around the 1770's by the style of the script. This find is therefore returned to the finder and can be taken home once an export license is approved. I also picked up 3 disclaimed gold ingots as again they are undatable unless an expensive non destructive test is carried out. These were found in close proximity to our Saxon gold coin hoard so they could be of the same period . They are now going off as a group to a Saxon expert to evaluate them further as they match the gold ingots found at the famous Sutton Hoo hoard site.

Org Mary's stunning Queen Anne cuff links have also been disclaimed as the date for queen Anne (1702 -1714) straddles the Treasure Act cut of date of 1711. The museum were very interested in acquiring these finds as none of this type have ever been found before. Both the finder and landowner have generously donated this find to the Colchester museum. Wash Tom has also donated a very early medieval animal headed spout to the museum which I dropped off yesterday.

I have been updating the forum competition button total as I process the guys export pouches. Current total is 5977

Updated the Hoard and treasure page with the latest information on their status

An italicized long s used in the word "Congress" in the United States Bill of Rights

17th/18thC gold ring - inscription uses old style long S as a normal S - Maker Rh - no hallmarks

4.41g, 19.66mm

Inscription reads 'CONTENT IS A TREASURE'

1st Dec 2011 Exporting in full flight - finds fixing

2 gold nobles, Portuguese milled gold and a 1/4 noble for fixing

Bruce's disclaimed treasure for fixing

I have been busy this week preparing the export licence applications and posting full find lists and photo's onto the members forum. This is always an interesting time of the season as guys get to see exactly what the clubs expert hunters can achieve in a week. Chicago Ron's pouch had 12 pages of finds to process and most of them are captured on video as he dug them below. I have also been getting a pouch ready to take to our gold smith for him to work his magic again. I have several tricky finds fro him to try and repair like Col Bruce's disclaimed silver ring and a Gold Nobel a guy sent me that had a horrible straightening job done on it with 2 large creases. I am giving it to our goldsmith to see if he can make the botched job any better. I have a whole bunch of bent hammered silver to take along as well.

The export process is very exacting and every metal object over 50 years old must be photographed and submitted to export duty with a detailed finds list. That includes every musket ball and copper coin. Export duty submit the papers to an expert 'advisor' who ensures no finds listed are of National Importance and require a hearing to allow them to be exported. Reported treasure finds are not included in a guys export application as they have to go through the Treasure process first to see if they are acquired by a museum or disclaimed.

If you are coming to England metal detecting is is illegal to take any find over 50 years old of the country and if caught you face a huge fine and up to 8 years imprisonment.

Check out the Export page on this site for more info

Note Export duty has moved from MLA to Arts Council and new address and phone numbers apply.

From Monday 3rd October 2011 please send all export licence applications to:

Export Licensing Unit
Arts Council England
14 Great Peter Street
London
SW1P 3NQ

I have been updating the forum competition button total as I process the guys export pouches. Current total is 5822

1. 1641-3 Charles 1st hammered silver shilling - Triangle in circle mintmark Tower mint under Charles 1st
2. 1561 Elizabeth 1st hammered silver sixpence
3. 1567 Elizabeth 1st hammered silver sixpence
4. 1526-44 Henry VIII hammered silver groat - Arrow mintmark
5. 1279 Edward 1st hammered silver penny - Cross Moline - Class 9a Obv EDWAR ANGL DNS YB Rev CIVI/TAS/DVR/ENE- Durham mint
6. 1341 Edward III hammered silver penny - Cross 3- Florin type Obv EDWAR ANGL DNS HYB Rev CIVI/TAS/LON/DON - London mint
7. 1341 Edward III hammered silver penny - Cross 3- Florin type Obv EDWAR ANGL DNS HYB Rev CIVI/TAS/CAN/TOR - Canterbury mint
8. 1341 Edward III hammered silver penny - - Florin type Obv EDWAR ANGLE DNS HYB
Rev CIVI/TAS/DVN/ELM - Durham mint
9. 1361-69 Edward III hammered silver penny - Cross 2- Treaty Obv EDWARD ANGL R DNS HYB Rev CIVI/TAS/LON/DON - London mint
10. 1272 Edward 1st hammered silver penny - Class 2 Obv EDWR ANGL DNS HYB
Rev CIVI/TAS/EME/DV * - Durham mint - reverse die error
11. 1634 Charles 1st hammered silver penny
12. 1300 Edward 1st hammered silver farthing - New issue with inner circles both sides - Type 28d Obv +EDWARDVS REX A Rev CIVI/TAS/LON/DON
13. 1464 -70 Edward IV hammered silver halfpenny - Trefoils by neck
Rev CIVI/TAS/LON/DON - London mint
14. 1351-1361 Edward III hammered silver penny - Pre treaty Obv EDWR ANGL DNS HYB
Rev DVR/REM * - Durham mint
15. 1247 Henry III voided long cross hammered silver ¼ penny
16. 1215 Henry III hammered silver half penny
17. 1215 Henry III hammered silver half penny
18. 1634 Charles 1st hammered silver penny
19. 1560-1 Elizabeth 1st hammered silver penny
20. 16thC Elizabeth 1st hammered silver penny

1. Worn hammered silver coin with Apothecary weight emblem
2. 16thC Elizabeth 1st hammered silver half groat
3. Worn hammered silver coin
4. Georgian intaglio – figure with anchor
5. 2ndC Roman Fibular brooch
6. 2ndC Roman Fibular brooch
7. C 1stC AD Celtic drinking vessel spout - face decoration 34.94mm W x 20.63mm L - 27.20g
8. C8thC Saxon gilded pendant
9. 16thC Tudor button
10. 1640's Civil war lead bullet melting bowl
11. Roman hanging pendant
12. 2ndC Roman Fibular brooch
13.18thC toy cannon
16. 2ndC Roman Fibular brooch
17. Medieval spur fragment
18. Medieval pendant with glass stones and gilding remaining
19.18thC Navy silver button
20. Roman minimus Roman bronze coin

1.1490-1550 Nuremberg Ship penny jetton
2. 1586 Hans Krauwincel II Rose orb Jetton
3. Georgian finial
4. Victorian mount
5. 3 -1634 Charles 1st hammered copper rose farthings
6. 1500-1650 buckle
7. 17thC crotal bell
8. Pressed copper Chinese style ink well cover
9.19thC buckle
10. 18thC 1 scripula apothecary weight
11. Post medieval lead bale seal
12. Post medieval lead bale seal
13. 3 Georgian watch winders
15. 330 AD Constantine Roman bronze coin - Shewolf & Twins reverse which is typically found on the VRBS ROMA
16. 1500-1650 buckle
17. 15thC lead token
18. 17thC hammered copper trade farthing
19. 1500-1650 buckle
20. 16thC Tudor button

22nd Nov 2011 Stonking 'cooked' Saxon silver and cooking Roman silvers update

I still have a bunch of finds from last week to post to the latest finds page but I have been doing serious 'cooking' over the weekend and it is amazing how different soil conditions effect the hardness of the horn silver crust that grows on ancient silver coins. One of the Roman silver coins has been 'cooking' for over a year now. The Saxon sceat coin is 500 to 700 years 'younger' than the Roman silvers so the crust although very hard 'cooks' off a lot quicker and the detail on the coin below is stunning. It is the first series of that type we have found with a crowned bust facing right. If you find any Saxon coins in the UK then you can send them to Dr Martin Allen who runs the National early medieval corpus database and he will record the findspot, issue you a unique EMC reference number and send you back a full ID. I have the 3 large Saxon reference volumes on Saxon coins but there are just so many types that it is far better sending it off to the expert for their opinion. Check out the Saxon coin page for examples of the ID's and EMC numbers issued to members coins. Martin has recorded it and send back it's type and EMC number below.

I still have 7 members Roman silver coins in various stages of 'cooking' and it takes just patience to let the crust slowly melt away.

Mass Mike's- 1/2 found Nov 2010 is showing detail and 90% done
Miss Jeff's - Crisp whole coin found Oct - stubborn crust 60 % done
Sal's - 1/2 a crisp coin found Nov - starting to clean
Wendel's - Charriot BC type coin found March - 80% done - lettering under horses showing through
Can Bill - Cooking since March and rough condition - 80% done
Barry's - Very early BC coin found Oct - 1/8 inch thick crust and coin is very brittle and laminating- gonna take a long time
Mindy's - 1/2 found Oct - 'cooking' quite quickly and showing a very unusual square motif on obverse

As dug

'Cooked' 1.08g,11.96mm

Saxon silver sceat - Circa 600-775 AD - cooking it to remove crust - sent to the Fitzwilliam museum for recording on the Early medieval Corpus database and ID

'The new find (EMC 2011.0261) is an interesting example of an imitation of Series C (note the unusual style of the portrait and the pellets around the head).'

Martin

Jeff's crispy Roman starting to show more detail

Wendell's Latest BC Roman pictures - back in to the cooker

Sal's Cooked half a silver Roman - sent off for ID to Mark Lehman - Britannia on reverse

Mindy's 'Cooking' half a silver Roman - sent off for ID to Mark Lehman - interesting reverse

19th Nov 2011 Saxon and Roman silver to end the first half of the season

1743 George II milled silver penny and size comparison with an Elizabeth 1st shilling

1560-1 Elizabeth 1st hammered silver shilling - Martlett mint mark

Sal's team has a brilliant end to their hunt and to close the first half of the season. Louisiana Mike got the little and large of silvers with a crisp Elizabeth shilling and a George II tiny milled penny. Sal got three really neat Roman finds including a very crispy Roman silver. However the best find was a Saxon silver sceat with great detail under the crust. I have put it straight into the 'cooker' to remove the crust and then send it off to the Fitzwilliam museum for recording. I have tons more finds to post to the latest finds page yet. I will start preparing the export application paperwork shortly and will then update the competition page as I count the buttons. All of Sal's team are taking their buttons home so I have no update this week to do on the forum comp page.

During the half season break I will time to approach the 9 new land owners who have shown interest in us searching their land. Hopefully some of these new guys will be on board and we can start using their land when we kick off in the 2nd half of the season on the 1st Feb.

Saxon silver sceat - Circa 600-775 AD - cooking it to remove crust

Huge 4thC Roman cruciform brooch

Roman decorated dagger pommel

17th Nov 2011 More hams and widgets - Barn feed back - Ron's latest video

I have been busy posting out more export pouches and getting finds ready for my next museum meeting to hand in treasures. Meanwhile Sal's team have been finding the usual hammered silver and great widgets and I have posted a bunch to the latest finds page.

Solid silver - Royal Navy artillery badge

The Royal Naval Artillery Reserve or Volunteers as they were initially known, were established in 1873 and were recruited from either keen amateur sailors or those who were in the merchant service.

16th C lead ampullae - no handles or decoration type

Expert's feedback on the Celtic gold find by Mike is it unknown so far. I have also checked all the Indian ‘fanams’ tiny gold coins from the 15thC to see if any match without success. The star symbol in the centre of the coin is a classic Celtic symbol and the 'fanams' are all all dots and they used a lot better quality gold.

The first Barn feed back forms worked well with an excellent rating by the guys for Mindy's Barn hunt. Food, land, accommodation all scored 10/10. Comments made about the poor intermittent Wifi service and a larger fridge required have been taken on board by the owner.

Chicago Ron has just posted his latest video's on U- Tube

Mark and I have been hunting this beach for 3 weeks, there were lots of other hunters there over that 3 week period. Some got goodies others went away disgusted. We had 22 foot waves a month ago and it removed lots of sand. There is very heavy iron all over this beach.
Today the streak ended!
Mark and I spent 5 hours on the giving beach and I think she may be done giving. I tried Detecting and sifting. But alas no bling. This has been the most gold we have dug from a single beach ever. In 15 hunts I managed 32 gold, 25 rings, 2 earrings, 2 chains, 1 bracelet and 2 charms. Total gold weight was 96.7g mostly 14K
I believe Mark has about 25 gold. He is suppose to send me a pic of his stuff and I will post it when I get it. I will of course check in on her from time to time to see if the vault has reopened.

This was one fun 3 weeks of hunting.

Chicago Ron


I have posted 2 videos on youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfPDWTj0C6k Beach cut Bonanza 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRYwNe6PXNc Beach Cut Bonanza 2 part 2

Roman decorated pot shard

13th Nov 2011 Mike kicks off with a Celtic gold ?? and 11,000 BC spear head - More land

Sal's hard core 'Barn' team arrived safely lunchtime and picked one of our old ancient sites. They were going to finish early at 8pm to do the food shopping and I get a phone call at 7.30 pm from Sal as Louisiana Mike has found a Celtic looking gold coin. I shot over to the site and was amazed at this tiny little coin as it the smallest gold coin I have ever seen dug. I initially thought is could be Saxon as the size matches a silver sceat. However having played with it and going through the Hobbs ref book there are Celtic gold 1/4 staters that match this weight and size. It is possible that this is an unrecorded type as I cannot match it so far. I have sent pictures and dimensions off to one of the leading Celtic coin experts for his views. Mike had a blinding afternoons hunt eyeballing an 11,000 BC Stone Age axe head and a real nice medieval hammered silver farthing. Great start to the last hunt before the 1/2 season break.

One of our local farmers has also given me the names of 3 additional new farmers that might be very interested in us searching their land. I now have a list of 9 potential new plots to research before the opening of the 2nd half of the season.

The smallest ancient gold coin I have ever seen dug - Size of a Saxon sceat with Celtic gold type markings - checking the ref books as I have never seen a gold like this before. 0.42g, 7.85mm

11000 BC Stone Age axe

10th Nov 2011 Kick off again in 2 days - Hoard video - 6 more new sites - 10% recession busting price drop for next season

Sal's hard core 'Barn' boys arrive on Sat so just a couple more days to the kick off for the last hunt before the half season break.

Posted more widgets and silver to the latest finds page.

A club up in the north of England dug an amazing silver Roman hoard and they captured it on video. Unfortunately they got a bit carried away and excavated the find themselves. In the case of any find below the plough line the best practise is to call out the local museum and get them to excavate it carefully. One of our guys made the same mistake with an Axe hoard he found 8 years ago which was excavated before I came out to the field. All the members now know that if they discover any find below the plough line they stop immediately and we inform the museum to come out to the field. Here is a list of all the Find Liaison Officers who you should contact if you are lucky enough to find a hoard and their telephone numbers. http://finds.org.uk/contacts

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQL3K...ure=digest_sun

I have counted the last bucket of scrap buttons from Mindy's barn hunt and added them to the forum total which now stands at 5614. Remember this is only buttons guys are chucking away and does not include those they have in their pouch for exporting. Amazingly while I was counting the buttons there were 6 real nice buttons guys missed including:

I will give them away as a prize to the guy that digs the most interesting button during the season.

I have updated this years find of the year page with some of my favourite finds so far this season.

At the end of the season every guy that comes here gets to vote for his personal favorites find throughout the season (not his own finds of course) The find with the most votes gets the holder a free weeks full board detecting next season and the engraved Roman jug, not forgetting his name on the role of honour shield !
These are not the definitive list but are a few of my current favourite, guys can vote for any finds that are on our club site for the season 2011/2012.

I have been given a list of half a dozen new farmers names by one of our existing land owners that might be interested in us searching their land in the 2nd half of the season. Currently we have 300 + fields and if we take on yet more land as a club we need more bodies out there to do it justice and pay the farmers. Currently the recession is biting hard out there so I have taken 10 % off all prices of next years tours to enable more guys to afford to come. We are already $600 cheaper per week than any other UK detecting tour with up to twice as many detecting hours so this price drop will make us the even more unbeatable value. The new land on offer is around one of our Barn self catering accommodations so just a walk up the road. It is a very well known Celtic, Roman and medieval area. Louisiana Sal's hard core Barn boys arrive on Sat and it is the last hunt of the 1/2 season, once they have gone I will start seeing the new farmers and will keep you posted on the progress.

Idaho Orv has done an amazing final cleaning job on his debased green Roman silver he dug in March which was exported to him. I gave it the basic 'cooking' to remove the green crud so Mark could ID it but Orv gave it the final attention to fully reveal the bust so I have sent it back again to Mark for an update.

As dug and then 'cooked'

Final cleaning - Aurelian (270-275)

6th Nov 2011 Stonking 11,000 BC axe head find - Mark's export approved - last day of hunts

Created a new 2011Nov finds page to speed up load times, halved the Oct finds page size . Uploaded a ton of great finds to it today.

It's Mindy's Barn team's last day of hunting and they have decided to finish early to go back to the Barn to clean up and pack up. Some of the guys will continue to hit the land available around the accommodation but Mindy has to get the mini bus ready to hand back in. I have not counted their scrap button bucket this week yet and will add it to the forum comp total tonight, forum comp page

I will have a few days break before Sal's hard core Barn boys arrive next Saturday. These are serious hard core hunters and will be out there from 7am to 10 pm every day with night lights.

Amazing huge 11,000 Stone Age flint axe head - this is beautifully crafted with a thumb slot for easy holding
155mm L x 48.63mm W

Medieval barrel lock

The guys had another great day with more hams and widgets yesterday but the find of the trip has to be Mindy eyeballs a huge stonking 11,000 BC flint axe head.

Great news for Ill Mark as his export license for his Roman gold find arrived approved yesterday. This find will be available to view shortly on the PAS database as the find spot and details were recorded with the museum. Remember NO find over 50 years old can leave England without an approved export license and you are risking a prison sentence and a large fine if caught smuggling. Exporting has now moved from the MLA to under the umbrella of the Arts Council so check out their new website

http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/

Posted a load more silver and relics to the latest finds page

Claudius (41-54 AD) Roman gold coin 19.6mm, 7.81g