A SELECTION OF FINDS MADE DURING THE PERIOD.

BADGE

THE OLD COVERED BRIDGE

Song c. 1931

Found by John Radford

Silver denarius of Septimus Severus

 found by John Radford.

CROTAL BELL

  The bell had been silvered  and the loop filed off in the past.

Found by John Gough.

Roman brooch before and after straightening. Oops!

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HOW NOT TO DO IT!

This Roman Brooch was found by a club member who, quite rightly wishes to remain anonymous. (John Gough.)

The anonymous club member heated the brooch to cherry red with a blow lamp and then gently applied pressure in an attempt to straighten it. A picture is worth a thousand words!

 “JOEY”

In 1836 a new groat was put into circulation it was the same diameter at the silver three-pence but thicker and it had a milled edge. It was soon nicknamed the “Joey” after the distinguished gentleman pictured on the left, Joseph Hume M P.  He was behind the introduction of this new coin in order to use when paying small fares for short cab rides. The nickname is thought to have been a derisory one introduced by the cab drivers who were given the Joey instead of the usual sixpence for a four-penny journey and thus denied the customary two-pence tip.  

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MYSTERY OBJECTS

Above are six images of items from the booklet “Mystery Objects From the Collection of Roy Wells”  The late Roy Wells was an avid collector who spent most of his life collecting and preserving artefacts especially those with connections to Nottinghamshire and in particular Newark, where he lived. His interests were wide, ranging from cannon balls, coins, lead tokens to ephemera. Most of which would have been lost but for him. He was a good friend to metal detectorists.

              Some of the artefacts in his collections are most unusual being reminders of long lost crafts and occupations. For many years he staged a display of these fascinating objects entitled ‘Guess the Object’ which mystified, educated and entertained audiences of all ages.

CAN YOU GUESS THE OBJECTS?

Answers at the end of the web page

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DETECTORIST OF THE YEAR, 2011/2012.

TERRY HURT

Terry Hurt is shown being presented with the “Detectorist of the Year” award. This award is for the club member who has received in total the most points in the  “Find of the Month” competition over the club year.

           Terry won the award by amassing a magnificent total of 90 points, his nearest rival had 44 points.

WELL DONE TERRY! 

FIND OF THE YEAR AWARDS FOR 2011/2012

David Budding being presented with the artefact “Find of the Year” shield by the club chairman, Dave Hallam. David won the award for his superb palstave axe head, pictured below, which he found on a club search in  June 2011.

ARTEFACT OF THE YEAR

PALSTAVE AXE HEAD

COIN OF THE YEAR

The Club Chairman, Dave Hallam, presenting the coin “Find of the Year” shield to John Wilkinson  for his hammered silver Coenwolf penny found on a club search in October, 2011.

This was the first hammered coin ever found by John!

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ASHFIELD METAL DETECTING CLUB’S FAMOUS LOOKALIKES

I was looking through my old gardening books recently when I came across “Mr., Middleton’s All Year Round Gardening Guide” and thought the caricature on the cover reminded me of someone in our club, no prizes for guessing who, his picture is above - three times!

Cecil Henry Middleton launched the World Service “Dig for Victory” campaign in 1939 to help the war effort, his informal and chatty radio style soon had a large following and his gardening books became the best sellers of the time. He died in 1945 aged 59. 

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ANOTHER CLUB

LOOK-ALIKE

Jeff Oscroft our fearless search secretary poses in the outfit that  trendy metal detectorists will be literally falling over themselves to wear this coming winter. The clothes are available from any good charity shop reject department.

   Some have likened Jeff to The Phantom Custard Pie Thrower in the children’s television show of yesteryear, Tis Was, however the jury is still out on that matter.

THE PHANTOM CUSTARD PIE THROWER

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DERBY MUSEUM BURGLARY

 Between the 2^nd., of May and 19^th., of June 2012, 1,100 objects were stolen from a secret Derby Museum store, the stolen items were mainly  made up of gifts to the museum donated between 1880 and the present.  They consisted of trade tokens local to Derbyshire, pocket watches, coins and Derbyshire commemorative medallions. The value of the stolen items has been calculated at £53,000. A spokeswoman for Derbyshire police said museum staff had worked on the collection recently, but the thefts came to light only when another museum made a request to borrow some of the items.

Part of the haul has been recovered by Derbyshire detectives as a result of a dealer in Birmingham alerting the police when part of the stolen property was offered for sale. It has not been released how much of the £53,000 haul has been recovered and how much is outstanding. Meanwhile, additional security measures and procedures have been put in place at the storage facility. ( A saying about “horses and stable doors” comes to mind).

Derbyshire police has stated that two arrests on suspicion of the burglary had been made, the two men arrested are aged 27 and 29 and from Spondon, Derbyshire. They have both been released on bail. (It is to be hoped that neither of the men own metal detectors!).

Alan Mandel the vice-chairman of Derby Civic Society remarked, ”It seems that the 1,100 items were taken over as period of six weeks from a secret museum storage location which I find very puzzling.” So do we!

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INTERESTING WEBSITES

www.finds.org.uk

This is a very useful site of great interest to metal detectorists providing information on the Portable Antiquities Scheme with news items, events lists, conservation of finds and most important the database of recorded coins and artefacts. A large percentage of the database contains items that have been found by metal detectorists and recorded by a Finds Liaison Officer although now a small proportion of finds are self recorded by the finder before being submitted for inclusion in the database.

www.ukdetectornet.co.uk

The UK detector net was established in 1992 by Brian and Mo’ Cross, some of you will remember them from the “Red Rocket” series of articles in the metal detecting magazines. This site is a forum for metal detectorists to exchange views, pose questions about the hobby and identify finds, it also has a for sale, exchange and swap section. Registration is needed before the full contents of this forum can be accessed, registration is free. Membership of the forum now stands at 5712 members.

 www.detectorist.co.uk

Detectorist.co.uk is a website there on the same lines as the previous site bit with fewer members, 2755 to date. However this does not detract from the site and it is still worthwhile to register for free. The site has an interesting Detector Brand Discussion Section in which all the popular brands of metal detector our featured and a lively discussion can be entered into about the merits of a detector you own or intend to buy.

 www.UKDFD.co.uk

Is a site for the recording of finds. It is not intended to compete with the Portable Antiquities Scheme database and detectorists are allowed to record find under the 300 year old rule imposed by the Portable Antiquities Scheme. The easiest way to explain the object of the website is to reproduce the UKDFD’s own introduction:-

“The UKDFD is an initiative by members of the metal detecting community to promote good practice within the hobby. It is an easy-to-use, friendly and supportive online facility for detectorists to record their find and to ensure that information is preserved for future generations.

Those joining the scheme have immediate access to the database for uploading details of their finds, and simple instructions are provided at each stage of the process. A personal gallery is created for each user on entering their first record, which, as it grows, may be browsed or searched in the same way as a personal database. Items submitted are reviewed by our own team of experts and full identification details are provided or confirmed as soon as possible.”

The site has a comprehensive list of reference articles which include:- Barrel padlocks, Buckles through the ages, Buckles visual catalogue, Button makers, Coin Weights, Crotal bells, Edwardian half-pennies, Pennies, Harness pendants, Long-cross pennies, Nuremberg jetton, Papal bullae, Pocket sundials, Seal matrices, Thimbles and other metal detecting finds. Registration is free.

I will include other interesting websites in future newsletters if there is sufficient interest.

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S. P. Q. R.

The letters S. P. Q. R. can be found on Roman coins recovered by metal detectorists in Britain. The letters were widely used by the Romans on coins, standards and public monuments to signify Senātus Populusque Rōmānus ("The Senate and People of Rome"). They can be found on numerous coins of gold, silver and bronze from the reigns of Augustus down to Constantine the Great.

              In Rome today sewage and water supply accesses contain the label "SPQR" in recognition of the innovation in sewage and water supply realised during the Roman times.

Denarius of Vespasian

Snapshot of manhole cover taken in Rome.

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GOLD AUREUS OF MACRINUS AUCTIONED

This magnificent gold coin was sold for $203,150 or £127,050 in real money at an auction held at the Long Beach Convention Centre, California.

The coin is dated to 218AD. Macrinus was made Augustus in 217 and in 218 was put to death by the troops. 

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MEDAL FOR CAPTURE OF THE BLACK PANTHER AUCTIONED 

The Queen's Gallantry Medal and the handcuffs used in the capture of  Donald Neilson, known as the Black Panther, were auctioned in the Coin and Medal sale on the 26th., of September at Bonhams in Knightsbridge. The Gallantry Medal had with it the actual notebook used by PC Tony White at the time of Neilson's arrest. The Gallantry Medal and other items were expected to sell for between £12,000 and £15,000, however they did not realise the reserve price and were not sold.

              Over a period of ten years Donald Neilson committed over four hundred burglaries and during his attacks on post offices killed five people . He was also responsible for the kidnapping and death of a 17-year-old girl, Lesley Whittle. He died in prison in 2011 aged 75.

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BOOKSHELF

HONEST PENNY

By Gale Pedrick and Jean Stroud.

Pelham Books, 1970.

I bought this book with others at an auction for very little. The cheapest copy  I can find is from AbeBooks.co..uk at 62p and £2.57 postage. It is a delightful book full of little known facts relating to the penny.

Extract from the dust jacket:-

“The Penny, the best-known and possibly the most highly-regarded coin of all, is to disappear from British currency on February 15,1971. Honest Penny is an authoritative yet entertaining record of the Penny through a thousand years of British history, beginning with the Roman denarius. It is much more than a history, however, for it examines the many different ways in which the Penny has influenced social and domestic life in this country.

Honest Penny can appeal to those who appreciate a factual account of its thousand-year existence and equally to those who enjoy an element of adventure and romance in their study of such a subject.”

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GREAT SEAL OF THE KING OF ENGLAND

HENRY V11. 1485—1509