Found Another Medieval Coin This Evening (page 2)

nonjwspouse

Please keep posting updates as you find such highly interesting items! I'm enjoying the history lessons too.

moomanchu

You are so lucky to have a site like that. I would cover that whole area in a grid pattern. I to metal detect. Oldest coin I found was a 1787 new jersey penny, states had their own money.

This got me thinking. What if you were to "find" a coin which showed the Jews going into Babylonish exile on one side and the image of Nebuchadnezzar on the other side with the letters "607 BCE" in raised profile on it?

I wonder how many JWs would see it as proof for the Bible aka GB.

Not to take away from your find. Congrats again.

slimboyfat

Can you say how did you start to do metal detecting and learn about how and what equipmeant to use? Are you part of a local group? Maybe you know this person although it says anonymous.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-37285349

cofty

SBF - The biggest challenge to getting started is finding permissions from landowners. A lot of people buy detectors and then realise they have nowhere to use them. I got a machine because I live in the countryside and had the ok to detect anywhere on the 1400 acres of the estate.

One way around that is to join a club who organise rallies. You could google where the closest is to you. They will be more inclined to welcome you if you come with some permission you can share though. For me I prefer to detect alone. It's a great way to relax after work for an hour walking in the countryside. If you find something interesting that's a bonus.

Machines range in cost massively. Mine is a mid-range Garret AT Pro. The problem with cheap machines is a lack of discrimination. I have a good idea what the signal is before I dig it but with the basic detectors you will end up digging a lot of rusty scrap.

There are some that boast about having a lot of depth but the reality is most of your finds will come from the plough soil which is no deeper than the blade of a normal spade. It is considered bad form to dig deeper than that as you are potentially disturbing archaeology.

Legally everything you find belongs to the landowner. I show everything interesting to him and he is going to set us a display cabinet in the "big house". If it is a valuable item you are entitled to 50% of its value and of course there are laws about what you must declare as treasure. In Scotland the laws are far more restrictive than in England.

For me a big part of the hobby is building up a picture of the history of this one location. It features a lot in historical records so I have been able to put together a timeline.

Edited to add - That David coin is a beauty. I have a coin of the Scottish king William the Lion who was captured at Alnwick by Henry II. Not as valuable as that one sadly.

The Rebel

I have never taken up the exciting hobby of picking up bottle tops with a metal detector. However as a child I did find a " sainsburys" coin . Sainsburys was founded in 1869 and is now one of the Uk's largest retailers. Anyway the coin I found, was over a 100 years old and thinking myself rich, i asked my parents help me write a letter to sainsburys head office asking it's worth. I was informed by sainsburys that these coins were once used as promotional incentives but had no current value.

However as a young boy I was not deterred and insisted my dad purchase his petrol from Esso Petrol so I could collect my " Esso" coins of each member of the English World Cup squad in 1978.

Anyway thanks to this thread I have spent 3 hours hunting for that collection, and then having found it I looked up its value on Ebay. £ 20.00 + 2.80 p & p. :-(

The Searcher

What a great and exciting way to relax - and exercise!

Just curious, have you ever scoured beaches, or is it not worthwhile?

tornapart

That's so cool Cofty! How fascinating! I live in an area that was pretty busy during the times of the wars of the roses and the early tudors. A friend while working actually discovered a hoard of coins, possibly hidden during the English civil war, they ended up in the local museum. It must be very exciting to discover something like that and to learn all about the area you live in and what it used to be like. Do you ever watch Tony Robinson's 'Time Team' on TV?

Found Another Medieval Coin This Evening

Village Idiot

zeb