by EdenOne 23 Replies latest social physical
I've always wanted to buy one and try it.
Like Disposable Hero said, bottle digging is fun, too. I remember when I was in junior high school I found an old 19th century dump that was exposed by the side of a lake by erosion. I used to go there every day after school and dig up old medicine/spirits bottles and sell them at the antique shop. My parents never gave me any allowance, so it was a great way to make some pocket money.
I have been detecting for the last couple of years. It is a great hobby if you love history and the outdoors. If you go into it looking for treasure you will probably get frustrated and give up.
The law in England is quite reasonable. You must have the landowner's permission. Anything you find belongs to the landowner although if it is to be sold there is a legal precedent of a 50:50 split.
To avoid disturbing archaeology it is good practice not to dig deeper than the plough. Everything in that level is out of historical context and you are saving it from further damage. In England you should report historical finds to the "Portable Antiquities Scheme". This helps build up a picture of historical clues that is open to all researchers.
Silver of gold objects older than 300 years must be reported to the coroner within 14 days. They belong to the nation but you will eventually get paid a very conservative estimate of their value. Similarly 2 or more silver coins more than 300 years old that went into the ground together - or 10 copper ones - must be reported.
I ma lucky to live in a rural estate that has been inhabited for many centuries. I have found around a dozen old silver coins and loads of medieval and post-medieval artifacts.
Here is couple..
King John cut half Penny dated approx 1200 ---------------- Medieval Dagger Pommel
Henry VI Groat dated approx 1422 -------------------- Queen Victoria Gold Sovereign dated 1900
Possibly the most stunning hammered coin ever. It's a Charles I threepence from 1644 minted in York a few years before they cut his head off.
Cofty, thank you for posting the pictures!
Marina
Sweet pictures! Amazing they are still in that state of preservation after being in the dirt. Or were they found in something that protected them?
Also, if anything over 300 years old "belongs to the nation", how is it you still have them?
Or did you take the pictures prior to turning them in?
Thank you.
These had been tumbling around in the plough soil. The King John coin - of Magna Carta fame - has been getting shuffled by ploughing for 800 years.
They are solid silver and clean up nicely. Sometimes they are very badly worn or damaged. Notice the Henry VI Groat has some silver missing at the 4 o'clock position. This is a result of illegal clipping. People would risk stealing a little bit of silver from the edges of coins and melting it down. It was risky as it was High Treason and would result in being hanged, drawn and quartered if caught.
Before the 13th C the only coin was the silver penny so if you wanted to spend half or quarter of a penny you had to physically cut it. This was legal.
Sir82 - Silver coins over 300 years old only have to be handed in if 2 or more are found together - ie a hoard.
So far I have not been lucky enough to find a hoard.
Edited to add - most people in medieval times would never own a coin
Medieval coinage went through development as medieval economy changed between 1000 and 1500. Bohemia and Saxony had one of the largest silver deposits in medieval Europe; so, silver coins were rather abundant. Silver coins are often found in medieval peasant cottages. From 1200 onward it was much easier to collect taxes through silver content over other goods. Medieval cities and markets were established in Holy Roman Empire such way, that no peasant needed to walk more than one hour to nearest market place. Bohemia had 1 million people in 1200 and there was 2 to 3 millions of silver denari in circulation. Prior Black Death the population increased to 3 millions, while coinage barely doubled, which was reason, why so many people in the feudal era had hard time to own coin if ever.
Wealthy landlords did not care much for silver coins and sought out gold coins (ducats or florints). Kingdom of Hungary was the biggest medieval supplier of golden coins in Central Europe from wealthy ore mines in current Central Slovakia (there is a 150km long range called Slovakian Ore Mountains). As population boomed in golden age of feudalism- which in Central Europe coincided around 1350- the circulation of small silver coins plummeted due hoarding. The banking crisis of 1390-1396 in Bohemia was tied to disappearing small coins where poor masses lacked a means to pay taxes, while silver mines produced tons of it. The monarchy wanted to prevent hoarding silver by decreasing silver content, which had exactly opposite effect. Older coins were even sought, prices went up due inflation, and bankrupted merchant homes in Germany demanded silver coins. The creditors even collected army and sieged Prague in 1396 to demand payment in good silver coins. In the 15th century due plagues and constant warfare, population shrunk by 40%, prices decreased, and silver coin circulation returned back to balance.
Coins are excellent source of economic conditions in country and trades routes. If country was under economic stress, the coinage suffered. This evident in the Roman Empire where silver content decreased in the 3rd century. Scandinavians coinage is often excavated in Central Europe due Hansa trade system. 30Years War was so devastating in Holy Roman Empire that coinage in Hapsburg realm was devaluated by almost 90%.
As teen we were helping excavating local monastery in our HS. What was the most interesting to me back then, that bodies decomposed and there was only belt buckles and other metal artifacts. Outside of my hometown there was a hill where legend had it that monks from near-by Cistercian monastery hid their treasury during Reformation. While all monks were tortured and executed, they never revealed where they buried the treasure. So over the centuries, bunch of people dig through the hill and find nothing. We as HS kids, we camped one weekend on that hill to be a part of tradition to look for the treasure, but we find nothing valuable. Only broken pottery, arrows, glass beads.
You see quite a few people on the beaches here in Florida with them. Beachgoers drop and lose all kinds of jewelry and coins.
You can't go out on a beach early in the morning without seeing them working all over. I have read some websites in which people claim they more than pay for the device with just one good find (a gold ring or gold chain for example).
I have been tempted to try but most comments tended to recommend a higher quality one (starting around $300 - $500) or else you spend too much time finding bottle caps and other trash.
Just my 2 cents.
Rub a Dub
