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Spent 7 days detecting in ENGLAND!
pcgs69
Posts: 4,260 ✭✭✭✭
I really hate this damn new forum software. You can't use certain normal characters. It doesn't tell you what it is, but instead lets you guess what it could be. I feel like a computer programmer here. I think it's all set now.
There was an opening for an England hunt with Ron Guinazzo in March and I decided to take the opportunity. Ron is/was a member here and was on the Dig Wars television show along with a National Geographic show on the Thames river. Always seemed to pull out some stuff, plus a trip to England was something on my bucket list.
I convinced my buddy to fly out with me a few days early so we could check out London. It was coincidentally at the same time Bruce's 1794 dollar was in London. I glanced at Google earth and thought the museum it was housed in was too far west to be able to take a side trip to so I wrote it off.
We got to see Buckingham palace, Big Ben, the tower bridge and even took a trip on the Coca Cola London Eye. Nice view of the city from there.
Shoreline on the Thames. Just imagine what’s down there!
London Eye at night
On one of our walks down to the sights there was a man dressed in what looked like a revolutionary war era patriot. He was handing out a flyer and it turns out it was for the 1794 dollar! We were walking right past the museum that housed it. That was a huge surprise and it was nice to be able to see it. Lighting and display made it hard to see but it was still neat.
With the sightseeing done it was time to start detecting.
Day 1 went to a field near the barn we were staying. Got to the barn around 12:30 and got our gear ready. The field was nearby in case something didn't work. I tell you, detecting in fields that date back 2,000 years is pretty exciting. Just about anything can come up. I got a few “greenies” there. A greenie is essentially any copper coin. At first I thought they had to be old, but it looks like newer ones are also grouped in. Quickly saw that on average England farm fields are like old U.S. fields on steroids. Buttons everywhere and King George and misc coppers are found with regularity. I may have found a Roman scrappy coin but it’s just a blob at this point. Washington Brent got a hammered silver coin that turned out to be a Saxon penny which is a pretty scarce thing to find. At the end of the day Ron ordered us fish and chips.
Day two was our first full day. We all got up at 6:00 am and left at 7:00 am. It’s absolutely incredible how big these fields are. You could spend weeks at just one field and never get it all done. At this field one of the guys pulled a very nice 1599 Lizzie six pence. I got a crotal bell. Not sure on age but it is a bit beat up. We moved to a second field where I got my first silver of the trip. It was exciting to get silver but I have to admit a little disappointed at the same time because it was three pence from only 1875. We ended the day at 6:00 pm and Ron made some great chili for us that night.
Day three was a bit of a bust for all of us. I got some obligatory greenies and buttons and Ron got a cut hammered silver and a gold plated watch winder , Georgian era. One guy got a nice 1696 William III six pence. Unfortunately it was bent by the plow. Aussie Brad got a nice big roman bronze.
I have to admit after day three I was feeling bummed. These greenies and buttons would be great in the states but here they are common in England. In fact I've heard that buttons are the pull tabs of England. I started to question if it was worth making the trip. But tomorrow was a new day so we carried on.
I believe this was from day 3. The mystery man revealed… I’m in the back.
Day four (Tuesday) we hit a field that the group hadn't hit before. A friend of the owner had been doing it though. Started out slow for me with some more greenies and buttons and a couple hours in I got what we believe is a piece of decorative silver , maybe for the corner of a wooden box. It doesn't look too old but it felt good again to find something decent. That kept me going for a while and I decided to move to the field next to it. Got some more greenies and buttons and also managed a small 18th century toy canon (maybe about an inch to inch and a half long). Then I got a 12,40 on the CTX and got what looked like a brown silver coin. I rinsed it off and saw the bust of William III! Turned out to be a worn six pence from 1696!! My oldest coin (at that time). Gridded a bit and it slowed down. With a half hour left in the day got another 12,40 and got another six pence! But this one is from King George II (1727 to 1760). Not a valuable piece money wise but apparently scarcer to find detecting. Even Chicago Ron doesn't have one! And he has a lot of stuff.
Possible sterling thimble found too:
2nd milled silver, it ended up being KG II six pence
We headed to an Italian place that night and I got a pizza. Very good.
Ended day 4 with 45 buttons and 15 greenies ranging from the 1700s all the way up to 1915.
I will have to clean up all the greenies when I get them back. We leave everything in England with the main guy. He looks through everything and identifies what he can. He then applies for an export license and ships our finds over once one is attained.
Day five (weds) Within 20 minutes I got a typical button or lead signal in the corner of the field. It turned out to be my first hammered silver! Not much detail and mangled by a plow but I believe it may be a Lizzie. Will check more when I get it back. Things slowed for a bit and a second field yielded little for me, but I did get an 1897 Queen Victoria Diamond Jubilee cross. One of the members got an 1811 silver bank token which was really nice. I moved to field three and within 10 minutes another hammered silver was staring at me. This one turned out to be a Charles I two pence with a great strike. It dates to 1645,1646!
My first hammered fresh out of the ground:
2nd hammered fresh out of the ground
2nd hammered cleaned up
It was quiet for all for a while then at 5:30 Aussie Brad pulls out a gold Celtic quarter stater! What a thing to see. He radioed over and we all saw that beautiful gold pony in his hand. Dirt still in the crevices his hand was visibly shaking.
Aussie Brad’s Celtic quarter stater, freshly dug!
We all moved to his area and five minutes later another member pulls out a gold ring! It ended up dating to the 1922.
The rules are whoever finds gold buys a round of beer at the pub. So later that night we each got a couple of free cold ones! Everyone wins.
Day 6 (Thursday) we headed to a couple of fields. First one was a bust and we hit one in the afternoon that's yielded good stuff for them in the past. Pretty slow going with a greenie here and there and of course some buttons. I then got a roughly 12,20 on the CTX and out comes another hammered silver. This was my third hammered and sixth total silver coin for me for the trip. I believe Ron said it was a Lizzie but its super worn. Still old! Another guy got a hammered too. Ron made some more of his world-class chili to finish up the day.
The last day: Friday, Ron and his wife got some cut hammered silvers. I dug every little blip to try getting one but to no avail. Did get a little gold plated bead and a copper hammered coin (still needs to be ID'd) and on the way to lunch I got a decently,detailed Roman bronze. Will have to see who the emperor is.
After lunch, a couple of us went to a different field and I got a button, that I think may be an 81st regiment button (I don’t know much about military buttons). A guy at the first field stayed there and found a cut hammered silver and an old seal matrix. I'm not sure of its age but it may be 1500s or 1600s or even earlier. We ordered Chinese food to end the day. I rocked the sweet 'n sour chicken.
Overall got over 140 buttons. I believe one or two date to the 1600s and they run the range up to modern times. Ended with between 35 and 40 greenies but will look at when I get them back. One of the greenies you could see the rim sticking out of the ground. I took a pic and hoped it was old. Upon wiping it...1962!?!?
Random group of various things
It was a fun trip but don't under estimate the physical strain from an 11 hour day. It’s rough, plus you dig endless amounts of lead which can be frustrating. Still a great experience and am considering it again in the future. I really want gold next time. My three realistic goals for this trip were hammered silver, a milled 1600s silver coin and a Roman bronze. So I hit those goals. A big thanks to Chicago Ron for his expertise. HH all.
Everyone’s one favorite find:
11 o’clock: Saxon penny
1 o’clock: gold plated watch winder
5 o’ clock: my Charles 1 hammered 2 pence
7 o’clock: Washington Mike’s 1599 Lizzie six pence
10 o’clock: Aussie Brad’s gold quarter stater
Middle: Chicago Gretchen’s 1811 silver bank token
My silver:
Huh, didn’t realize the middle coin was upside down. Oops!
There is a website which already has a few of our finds photographed.
Link to finds page
Scroll down about 3/4 of the page. Look for the images with these descriptions…mine that are on there are:
19thC livery button
Georgian key hole surround
1645, 6 Charles 1st hammered silver half groat, Sun mint mark
1727 , 1760 George II milled silver six pence
1875 Victoria milled silver three pence
17thC William III milled silver sixpence
18thC apothecary weight (I believe this is mine. Just looked like a square to me)
1897 Victoria diamond jubilee badge
17thC button
18thC toy cannon
There was an opening for an England hunt with Ron Guinazzo in March and I decided to take the opportunity. Ron is/was a member here and was on the Dig Wars television show along with a National Geographic show on the Thames river. Always seemed to pull out some stuff, plus a trip to England was something on my bucket list.
I convinced my buddy to fly out with me a few days early so we could check out London. It was coincidentally at the same time Bruce's 1794 dollar was in London. I glanced at Google earth and thought the museum it was housed in was too far west to be able to take a side trip to so I wrote it off.
We got to see Buckingham palace, Big Ben, the tower bridge and even took a trip on the Coca Cola London Eye. Nice view of the city from there.
Shoreline on the Thames. Just imagine what’s down there!
London Eye at night
On one of our walks down to the sights there was a man dressed in what looked like a revolutionary war era patriot. He was handing out a flyer and it turns out it was for the 1794 dollar! We were walking right past the museum that housed it. That was a huge surprise and it was nice to be able to see it. Lighting and display made it hard to see but it was still neat.
With the sightseeing done it was time to start detecting.
Day 1 went to a field near the barn we were staying. Got to the barn around 12:30 and got our gear ready. The field was nearby in case something didn't work. I tell you, detecting in fields that date back 2,000 years is pretty exciting. Just about anything can come up. I got a few “greenies” there. A greenie is essentially any copper coin. At first I thought they had to be old, but it looks like newer ones are also grouped in. Quickly saw that on average England farm fields are like old U.S. fields on steroids. Buttons everywhere and King George and misc coppers are found with regularity. I may have found a Roman scrappy coin but it’s just a blob at this point. Washington Brent got a hammered silver coin that turned out to be a Saxon penny which is a pretty scarce thing to find. At the end of the day Ron ordered us fish and chips.
Day two was our first full day. We all got up at 6:00 am and left at 7:00 am. It’s absolutely incredible how big these fields are. You could spend weeks at just one field and never get it all done. At this field one of the guys pulled a very nice 1599 Lizzie six pence. I got a crotal bell. Not sure on age but it is a bit beat up. We moved to a second field where I got my first silver of the trip. It was exciting to get silver but I have to admit a little disappointed at the same time because it was three pence from only 1875. We ended the day at 6:00 pm and Ron made some great chili for us that night.
Day three was a bit of a bust for all of us. I got some obligatory greenies and buttons and Ron got a cut hammered silver and a gold plated watch winder , Georgian era. One guy got a nice 1696 William III six pence. Unfortunately it was bent by the plow. Aussie Brad got a nice big roman bronze.
I have to admit after day three I was feeling bummed. These greenies and buttons would be great in the states but here they are common in England. In fact I've heard that buttons are the pull tabs of England. I started to question if it was worth making the trip. But tomorrow was a new day so we carried on.
I believe this was from day 3. The mystery man revealed… I’m in the back.
Day four (Tuesday) we hit a field that the group hadn't hit before. A friend of the owner had been doing it though. Started out slow for me with some more greenies and buttons and a couple hours in I got what we believe is a piece of decorative silver , maybe for the corner of a wooden box. It doesn't look too old but it felt good again to find something decent. That kept me going for a while and I decided to move to the field next to it. Got some more greenies and buttons and also managed a small 18th century toy canon (maybe about an inch to inch and a half long). Then I got a 12,40 on the CTX and got what looked like a brown silver coin. I rinsed it off and saw the bust of William III! Turned out to be a worn six pence from 1696!! My oldest coin (at that time). Gridded a bit and it slowed down. With a half hour left in the day got another 12,40 and got another six pence! But this one is from King George II (1727 to 1760). Not a valuable piece money wise but apparently scarcer to find detecting. Even Chicago Ron doesn't have one! And he has a lot of stuff.
Possible sterling thimble found too:
2nd milled silver, it ended up being KG II six pence
We headed to an Italian place that night and I got a pizza. Very good.
Ended day 4 with 45 buttons and 15 greenies ranging from the 1700s all the way up to 1915.
I will have to clean up all the greenies when I get them back. We leave everything in England with the main guy. He looks through everything and identifies what he can. He then applies for an export license and ships our finds over once one is attained.
Day five (weds) Within 20 minutes I got a typical button or lead signal in the corner of the field. It turned out to be my first hammered silver! Not much detail and mangled by a plow but I believe it may be a Lizzie. Will check more when I get it back. Things slowed for a bit and a second field yielded little for me, but I did get an 1897 Queen Victoria Diamond Jubilee cross. One of the members got an 1811 silver bank token which was really nice. I moved to field three and within 10 minutes another hammered silver was staring at me. This one turned out to be a Charles I two pence with a great strike. It dates to 1645,1646!
My first hammered fresh out of the ground:
2nd hammered fresh out of the ground
2nd hammered cleaned up
It was quiet for all for a while then at 5:30 Aussie Brad pulls out a gold Celtic quarter stater! What a thing to see. He radioed over and we all saw that beautiful gold pony in his hand. Dirt still in the crevices his hand was visibly shaking.
Aussie Brad’s Celtic quarter stater, freshly dug!
We all moved to his area and five minutes later another member pulls out a gold ring! It ended up dating to the 1922.
The rules are whoever finds gold buys a round of beer at the pub. So later that night we each got a couple of free cold ones! Everyone wins.
Day 6 (Thursday) we headed to a couple of fields. First one was a bust and we hit one in the afternoon that's yielded good stuff for them in the past. Pretty slow going with a greenie here and there and of course some buttons. I then got a roughly 12,20 on the CTX and out comes another hammered silver. This was my third hammered and sixth total silver coin for me for the trip. I believe Ron said it was a Lizzie but its super worn. Still old! Another guy got a hammered too. Ron made some more of his world-class chili to finish up the day.
The last day: Friday, Ron and his wife got some cut hammered silvers. I dug every little blip to try getting one but to no avail. Did get a little gold plated bead and a copper hammered coin (still needs to be ID'd) and on the way to lunch I got a decently,detailed Roman bronze. Will have to see who the emperor is.
After lunch, a couple of us went to a different field and I got a button, that I think may be an 81st regiment button (I don’t know much about military buttons). A guy at the first field stayed there and found a cut hammered silver and an old seal matrix. I'm not sure of its age but it may be 1500s or 1600s or even earlier. We ordered Chinese food to end the day. I rocked the sweet 'n sour chicken.
Overall got over 140 buttons. I believe one or two date to the 1600s and they run the range up to modern times. Ended with between 35 and 40 greenies but will look at when I get them back. One of the greenies you could see the rim sticking out of the ground. I took a pic and hoped it was old. Upon wiping it...1962!?!?
Random group of various things
It was a fun trip but don't under estimate the physical strain from an 11 hour day. It’s rough, plus you dig endless amounts of lead which can be frustrating. Still a great experience and am considering it again in the future. I really want gold next time. My three realistic goals for this trip were hammered silver, a milled 1600s silver coin and a Roman bronze. So I hit those goals. A big thanks to Chicago Ron for his expertise. HH all.
Everyone’s one favorite find:
11 o’clock: Saxon penny
1 o’clock: gold plated watch winder
5 o’ clock: my Charles 1 hammered 2 pence
7 o’clock: Washington Mike’s 1599 Lizzie six pence
10 o’clock: Aussie Brad’s gold quarter stater
Middle: Chicago Gretchen’s 1811 silver bank token
My silver:
Huh, didn’t realize the middle coin was upside down. Oops!
There is a website which already has a few of our finds photographed.
Link to finds page
Scroll down about 3/4 of the page. Look for the images with these descriptions…mine that are on there are:
19thC livery button
Georgian key hole surround
1645, 6 Charles 1st hammered silver half groat, Sun mint mark
1727 , 1760 George II milled silver six pence
1875 Victoria milled silver three pence
17thC William III milled silver sixpence
18thC apothecary weight (I believe this is mine. Just looked like a square to me)
1897 Victoria diamond jubilee badge
17thC button
18thC toy cannon
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Comments
Why is 400 to 1000 year old material within detecting range, when we're lucky to find 1890s material at maximum depth here?
bob
You suck, once again.
Those are some sweet finds! Your hammered two pence looks fantastic. Big congrats on that one! Looking forward to details about the greenies.
It sure looks like you put the hours in and got quite a few coins. I believe a lot of guys who go on similar trips find far fewer coins than that.
That quarter stater sure looks sweet.
I've always been amazed at how many of those old gold coins are found in England. I know they're a tough find there too, but at least they seem to be found with some regularity. One would think that they'd be treasured and therefore wouldn't have been dropped that often.
Lafayette Grading Set
You suck, once again.
Those are some sweet finds! Your hammered two pence looks fantastic. Big congrats on that one! Looking forward to details about the greenies.
It sure looks like you put the hours in and got quite a few coins. I believe a lot of guys who go on similar trips find far fewer coins than that.
That quarter stater sure looks sweet.
I've always been amazed at how many of those old gold coins are found in England. I know they're a tough find there too, but at least they seem to be found with some regularity. One would think that they'd be treasured and therefore wouldn't have been dropped that often.
Thanks for the You Suck, Zot! I was really surprised about the detail of the 2 pence. Ron even was surprised how well struck it was. I guess a lot of them have a weaker strike.
Will keep everyone posted when the coins get returned to me. It’s possible some of the smaller ones could even turn out to be buttons, or other things. I didn’t try doing too much to them there because all we had was water to clean them with. I do know at least three are from the 1900s (I think 1914, 1915 and 1962). At least two are from the 2nd half of the 1800s. Some may be tokens, and I know there will be a good share of slicks with no details left. But if you notice that one in the bottom third of the “greenie” pic, on top of everything, it looks like a Willliam III copper.
Regarding the quantity of gold coins in England…Ron offered some input as to why they seem to come out with more regularity than other places. At least the Celtic coins. He said that some guys have a theory that, instead of circulating, many of these quarter staters were actually used as an offering for good crops. So, essentially, the theory states they threw the coins into the field so the gods will give them a good crop yield. That might make some sense as to why they come up with some regularity.
Back to the Silver Beach…here are a couple pics of the “other” finds from Sunday. In the first pic are the sort of keepers and coins. Some guy’s day was ruined when he lost his pair of glasses. Got a couple of spoons, portion of a blue marble, a brass what’s-it, and a couple round things that looked like rings coming out. One is the ring from an old pull tab and the other is a brass something or other.
Pic 2 is the junk
Great finds. If I detected that many hours in a week my legs would be toast. Did you have to share anything with the landowner
My feet were killing me after the first day. They still hurt after that, but it was a lot of walking and bending. I thanked you a couple of times for making me get those knee pads. They were a life saver.
As far as I know, my meager finds weren’t enough to merit sharing any value with the land owner. I’m not sure of the full agreement with the land owner, but if anything of value (not sure what the amount is), we would negotiate how much the farmer would get in terms of cash. Since real value can often be hard to tell for sure… do you use book value? Ebay? Auction? They said they often use roughly 1/3 of book value and negotiate with the land owner. So the finder of the gold coin will probably have to pay something like 100 to150 pounds to the owner. No one mentioned that I’d have to provide any funds for my finds. I suppose if something proves to be valuable they will notify me and we can go from there.
Pic 2 is the junk
OK, that's a nice sample. Now show me the bucket..
Dang. Detecting for old gold and silver on a trash-free beach! I'm green with envy!
had an opportunity to MD there.... great finds though.... Cheers, RickO