Winter 2010

FIND OF THE MONTH JULY, 2010.

COIN:- Joint, Dennis Brown Victoria shilling. Dave Rhodes, Edward 111 penny.

ARTEFACT:- Ivan Falconbridge, gold and diamond ring.

Dennis Brown joint with Dave Rhodes

Ivan Falconbridge.

FIND OF THE MONTH AUGUST, 2010.

COIN:- Graham Reedman. Tealby penny.

ARTEFACT:- Joint, Terry Hurt ring. Ivan Falconbridge silver bangle.

Graham Reedman Terry Hurt Ivan Falconbridge

FIND OF THE MONTH, SEPTEMBER, 2010.

COIN:- John Wilkinson. Trajan denarius

ARTEFACT:- David Rhodes, seal.

John Wilkinson. Dave Rhodes

MOST UNUSUAL FIND OF THE MONTH

It was decided by club members to make a new category of finds to be included in the Find of the Month awards it is “The Most Unusual Find of the Month” there will a certificate for the winner but no cash prize.

JULY, 2010. John Radford for his pipe stem

AUGUST, 2010, John Radford for his “Pigmy Slave Bangle” or Wotsit”.

SEPTEMBER, 2010, John Gough, for his cattle ear tag.

John Radford John Radford John Gough.

OTHER FINDS SINCE THE LAST NEWSLETTER

RING

June Reedman

WHISTLE

Gavin Phillips

BADGE

John Radford

TERRET RING

Found by Andy Belton and Jeff Oscroft in two parts on the same search.

A terret ring was used on war chariots to guide the reins.

Period 100BC - 100AD.

ROMAN BALSAMARIUM OR OIL LAMP LID.

Derek Battle found this artefact on a club search. He did not identify it at the time. John Radford was looking through “ Celtic and Roman Artefacts” by Nigel Mills when he discovered on page 118 item R365 an image of a very similar artefact, this one also has a sitting duck ornament on it.

RING	JAMES1 PENNY	GEORGE 111 SHILLING

Ivan Falconbridge	Dennis Brown	John Radford


ROMAN BROOCH	CUT HALFPENNY	STATUE
	Jeff Oscroft. Cut halfpenny of either Stephen or Matilda. Which one? The jury is still out.
Jeff Oscroft	Jeff Oscroft	Terry Hurt
* CONGRATULATIONS TO JONATHON BRYANT. “Jono” has passed his full first aid requalification. The qualification is for three years. *

EYES DOWN - LOOK IN!

WHAT’S THE BIG ATTRACTION?

No it’s not free food! It’s the entries for the September Find of the Month competition!

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CLUB LOOK-ALIKES

ASHFIELD M D C FAMOUS LOOK-ALIKES.

Dave Hallam has provided these look-alike images for the newsletter. He said they were sent to him by a club member with too much time on his/her hands and wishes to remain anonymous to avoid any libel actions! ***

A SMALL DISPLAY OF CROTAL BELLS IN A CIGAR BOX
	Crotal bells, or rumbler bells have been in use for centuries. They have been worn by horses, cattle, sheep and even children. The “Bell-weather” or leader of a flock of sheep would wear the bell, hence the name. The display case shown here was made by John Gough, it is just a cigar box with a floor of quarter inch polystyrene board on which the bells are arranged and stuck in place with double sided carpet tape. A descriptive card is fixed in the lid with blue tack.. The collection shown here is of undamaged bells found metal detecting in Nottinghamshire over the past 32 years. Each one is tagged on the back with a code indicating where it was found. Most of the bells in the collection still ring when shaken Whilst on holiday in Cyprus a few years ago, I visited the Ethnographical Museum in Paphos, there I saw a case of five bells of a very similar design. The museum owner told me he had excavated them from local sites, some dating to before Christ. I sent him two bells to add to his display. I still wonder about the age and origin of the bells that do not have makers marks or decoration that are found in the British Isles.

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EXTRACTS FROM THE NOTTINGHAM AND DISTRICT YEAR BOOK 1750.

The following is for the year 1750 and gives a flavour of what travel would be like, describing the state of the roads, the large amount of forest and how dangerous travel was in those days. It is hoped that it may assist the metal detectorist to form an idea in his/her mind of where casual losses may have been made. The roads were in such an execrable state, as with few exceptions, not to be passable for a cart, or other wheeled vehicle. Consequent on this, the internal trade of the island had to be carried on by means of packhorses, and a few navigable rivers, the very idea of canals a good macadamised roads being deemed highly problematical. Lines of horses or mules, each from a dozen to thirty or forty in number, the first having a bell, conveyed through long winding lanes a large part of the merchandise the trader or merchant, who in most cases accompanied his pack, received his balances in guineas, which, with a pair of loaded pistols, he carried in his saddle-bag. On the principal highways, where passable, heavy and cumbrous vehicles were used, as an improved means of locomotion. These clumsy contrivances were made very strong, to resist injury from the dangerous inequalities of the roads, and carried no passengers on the roof but each had a large basket—literally a basket—swung behind, for half-price passengers. The coachman had four horses in hand, and a postilion rode a pair of leaders. Three miles an hour, including stoppages, was thought a good pace, and four, a wonderment. There were also road-waggons, travelling at a still slower rate, as cumbrous and ugly as the mind can well conceive.

So defective were the roads in the Midland counties, that, up to about this period, they were generally of the most primitive kind—rude, rutty, and abominable. Even in the neighbourhood of Nottingham, some of them were at times impassable in vehicles of any description; and in the winter months, it happened not infrequently, that waggons and coaches stuck in the mud, and were left there till extrication became more easy. In 1749, William Hutton, the Birmingham historian, who gained a precarious subsistence in Nottingham as a bookseller, attended Southwell on market-days, whenever practicable. He represents the road [now one of the best in the county] as " despicable," and as taking him five hours to traverse the fourteen miles, though a good pedestrian. In one of these journeys he describes himself as meeting in the Forest, four deer-stealers returning with a buck, and being put in fear lest he should be knocked on the head to keep silence. The Forest, it may be remarked at this point, retained much of its pristine glory, and the road from Nottingham to Mansfield passed through what was for the most part, in spite of large enclosures, one continued wood. The road to Loughborough, long in a most dangerous and impassable state, having recently been the subject of extensive repairs, was decidedly in the best condition of any.

The Trent, however, was the great highway for goods and merchandise. The town was supplied through its medium with bar-iron, block-tin, wines, oils, groceries, salt, tar, hops, hemp, flax, drugs, and foreign timber; and in return, sent coal, lead, timber, corn, wool, potters-ware, and large quantities of Cheshire, Warwickshire, and Staffordshire cheese …...to be continued if wanted.

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THE MARIE THERESA THALER

by Dave Hallam.

Maria Theresa was born in on May 13, 1717, as daughter of Emperor Charles IV and his wife, Elisabeth von Braunschweig-Wolfenbuettel. She succeeded her father in 1740 at the age of 23. She was Queen of Hungary and Bohemia and Archduchess of Austria. Maria Theresa's father had tried to guarantee the female succession through the Pragmatic Sanction. Unfortunately, not everyone agreed to this idea, leading to the War of the Austrian Succession against Frederick of Prussia and his allies. Internally her reign was marked by great reforms in the areas of justice, finance, education and medicine. Maria Theresa created the foundations of the modern state.
In 1736, Maria Theresa married Francis Stephen of Lorraine. With him, she had 16 children. Francis Stephen was an able businessman, but he had little political ambition. Even after he became the emperor, he preferred to leave the business of governing to his wife. He died in 1765 and was succeeded by his son Joseph II, who became the co-regent with his mother, Maria Theresa. Maria Theresa died on November 29, 1780, at the age of 63. The literature often refers to Maria Theresa as an Empress. In reality she only had this title as the spouse of Emperor Franz I from 1745, when he was elected Holy Roman Emperor, until he died in 1765. She herself was never elected Empress, due to the Salische Gesetz, which only accepted succession to the male heir.
On September 21, 1753, Maria Theresa and the Duchy of Bavaria signed a coinage convention. This treaty defined the exact weight and silver content of every silver coin to be struck in Austria and Bavaria. The Maria Theresa Thaler, also called "Levante Thaler" or "Levantine Thaler", was effectively created by this coinage convention. The thaler's weight and silver content was actually already determined at July 30, 1748, in an edict issued by Maria Theresa. Until the coinage convention was signed, its weight and silver content was only used for coins struck in areas ruled by Maria Theresa. It should be mentioned that the Maria Theresa Thaler had less weight and contained less silver than previously struck thalers. With the amount of silver directly indicating the value of currency, one might also call this "inflation". Thalers with Maria Theresa's portrait were struck since 1741. Initially, the coins had a changing appearance. Starting with 1765 (after her husband died), the Thaler was struck with Maria Theresa's portrait showing a widow's veil. The appearance started to be similar only after Maria Theresa died in1780. Since then, the thaler has been restruck with date 1780. Initially, they were easy to identify variations in the coin's appearance. Due to improvements in coin striking technology, the coin's appearance has been almost unchanged since 1850. For this reason, the strike date of coins struck after 1780 is often not easy - if at all - to determine. The Maria Theresa Thaler was official currency in Austria until October 31, 1858. It was used as currency in large parts of Africa until after the second world war. It was common from North Africa to Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenai, all the way to the coastline of Tanzanian. It could also be found everywhere in the Muslim areas of Asia and in India. On September 19, 1857, Emperor Franz Josef I of Austria declared the Maria Theresa Thaler to be an official trade coinage. Subsequently, it was restruck not only in Austria, but also in Rome, London, Paris, Brussels, Bombay, and other locations. This can be seen as an indicator for the importance of this coin. Several hundred million pieces of the Maria Theresa Thaler were struck since 1751. In the first two hundred years alone the confirmed count reaches 320,000,000. Some sources even claim that more than 800,000,000 pieces have been struck. Today, the Maria Theresa Thaler is still struck as needed in the Vienna mint.
The obverse has a portrait of the mature Empress. She wears a widow's veil (which was reduced in size in order to meet Arab demands at the time) and a brooch with nine pearls. The inscription "M. THERESIA D.G. R.IMP.HU.BO.REG." translates as: "Maria Theresia, by the grace of God Roman Empress, of Hungary and Bohemia Queen". Below the bust are the initials "S.F.", which stand for the names of the two Guenzburg mint officials in 1780, Tobias Schoebl (S) and Joseph Faby (F). The reverse shows the imperial double-headed eagle with the arms of Austria at the centre, surrounded by four quarters representing Hungary, Bohemia, Burgundy and Burgau (Guenzburg). The inscription reads "ARCHID.AVST.DUX.BURG.CO.TYR.1780" and translates: "Archduchess of Austria, Duchess of Burgundy, Countess of Tyrol, 1780". The "X" next to the year, sometimes referred to as cross or saltire, indicates that the coin has been struck following the coinage convention of 1753.
The raised edge of the coin shows the motto of the Empress "IUSTITIA ET CLEMENTIA" (Justice and Clemency) with various ornaments.

Below is the Marie Theresa Thaler found by Dave Hallam on a club recent search.

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BUSTS ON ROMAN COINS THAT MAY BE FOUND IN BRITAIN (5)

Maximinus 1 235-238.

C. Julius Verus Maximinus was born of peasant stock in Thrace. He was reputably a man of great stature and strength. The Historia Augusta reports that he was 8’ 6” (2.6m) tall! He rose through the ranks of the army until in A.D. 235 he seized the throne with the aid of his legions. He was on campaign for all his reign, never once visiting Rome. He was murdered with his son, Maximus, in A.D. 238 by his troops.

GORDIAN 111 238—244.

M. Antonius Gordianus was born about A.D. 225 he was given the title Caesar by the joint emperors Balbinus and Pupienus After their murders in A.D.238 he was proclaimed Augustus by the Praetorian guard although he was only thirteen years of age. At that tender age he directed the Persian campaigned with great success but due to the treachery of M. Julius Philippus, the Praetorian prefect, he was deposed and murdered in Mesopotamia in A.. 244.

PHILIP 1 244—249.

M. Julius Philippus (Philip the Arab) was born in Arabia in A.D. 204. After bringing about the murder of Gordian 111 he became emperor in A.D. 244. He made his son, Philip, who was five years of age Caesar. In A.D. 247 he raised him to the rank of Augustus. In A. D. 249 Philip was killed in a battle at Verona fighting against the legions of Trajan Decius. As soon as the news of his death reached Rome his son, who was in the Praetorian camp, was also killed.

TRAJAN DECIUS 249—251.

C. Messius Quintus Trajanus Decius was born about A.D. 201 in the Balkan village of Budalia, he gained senatorial rank and became governor of Lower Moesia. Whilst putting down a rebellion in Upper Moesia his troops forced him to seize the throne and march on Italy. After the battle of Verona he became emperor. His short reign was ended when he was killed with his son, Herennius Etruscus fighting the Goths in A.D. 251.

TREBONIANUS GALLUS 251-253.

C. Vibius Trebonianus Gallus was born in A.D. 206 in Perugia he attained high rank in the army and after the death of Decius he was made emperor by the troops in A. D. 251. His reign was subject to many troubles including the plague, even his adopted son, Hostilianus, died of it at Rome. Gallus raised his own son, Volusianus, to the rank of emperor.

VOLUSIAN 251-253.

C. Vibius Afinius Gallus Vendumnianus Volusianus, the son of Trebonianus Gallus was made emperor by his father in A.D.253. Aemilius Aemilianus was proclaimed emperor by the legions after a victory against the Goths. Gallus marched from Rome to meet Aemilian but when only fifty miles north of Rome both Gallus and Volusian were murdered by their troops who changed their allegiance to Aemilian. Shortly after Aemilian was murdered in turn by the troops.

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BOOKSHELF

In this issue of the newsletter I would like to introduce you to a book I bought, for £1 about two years ago, from a charity shop. It is ‘How it all Began in the Pantry’ by Maurice Baren.

The cheapest copy I can find on the internet is £1.76 plus £1.99 postage, from Daleside Books, Leeds.

This is a fascinating book giving the origins of more than five hundred food products. Beautifully illustrated with over three hundred photographs, advertisements and illustrations it is a mouth-watering treat for everyone.

Although not a ‘metal detecting book’ how can anyone resist finding the origins of foods like Humble Pie, Gentlemen’s Relish and Bombay Duck, to name but a few explained in the book? JMBG.

GREAT SEAL OF THE KING OF ENGLAND

RICHARD 11, 1377—1399.

ARTICLES WANTED FOR NEWSLETTER

The figure on the left is one of the older club members thinking hard about an article for a future issue of the club newsletter. He is not named for legal reasons.

Seriously, articles, suggestions, photographs and ideas are urgently wanted for the newsletter. Apart from two or three members who contribute regularly, other club members do not seem to be interested. The more contributions that come in, the more frequently the newsletter can be issued.

If this photograph inspires anyone to do anything for the newsletter please contact John Gough at a club meeting, on a club search or by email to john.gough1@ntlworld.com.

Thank you.

The Ashfield Metal Detecting Club reserve the right not to be responsible for the correctness, completeness or quality of the information in this newsletter and does not, necessarily, support the views of the contributors.

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