Cool find.
I'm about to pull the trigger and order a Minelab X-Terra 705 with a few extras. I'm ordering it from a UK shop, JoanAllen.
Latest Ancient Coin - 660 Year Old Fourpence
by cofty 14 Replies latest social physical
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cofty
I found a second silver coin this weekend!
Detectorists refer to finding a "hammy". Before the 17th century coins were struck by hammering the silver flan with a die and a big hammer. That is why they are so often off-centre. Finding a hammy is the goal of any detectorist - one or two a year is a good hit rate.
This one is a half-groat of Queen Elizabeth I. It dates to around 1580. It is tiny compared to the one in the OP at just 17mm. I already have one identical to this but somebody has hammered a nail through her face. It was a time of religious strife. She was a Protestant Queen in a post-reformation England. It's not uncommon to find Lizzie coins with deliberate damage to her portrait. The owner of the estate where I live was involved in the Catholic "Rising of the North" around this time.
The two pellets to the right of the badly worn - or vandalised - bust indicates it is a twopence.
The inscription on the obverse reads "E D G ROSA SINE SPINA" which translates as "Elizabeth Dei Gratia (by the grace of god) A Rose Without a Thorn"
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cofty
Happy hunting Eden!
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Lostandfound
Was there some village/settlement adjacent to your house in the past?
Seems the locals then a bit careless with things, money then having a value considerably more than today's coins
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cofty
There was an estate here since at least the 12th century. It was owned by two knightly families and then became crown property for a while after the reformation. I have put together quite a detailed history of the estate by researching national and county archives.
From the 17th century another family lived here for 4 generations. They were on the wrong side of the English Civil War. They were a Catholic family and maintained a priest here. They also fought on the losing side of the first Jacobite Rebellion and then the '45. One of the brothers was hanged at York for his efforts.
The coins I find mostly span the years from around 1180 to the 19th century. I suppose if one person drops one coin once a decade over 500 years that adds up to a lot of coins to be found.
Of course most of them are under a foot of earth. The only accessible finds are those that have been turned over by the plough.