Detectorist's Golden Goal

Having been interested in detecting for quite some time, last year I finally decided to ‘bite the bullet’ and by myself a metal detector.

- Sccott France

Initially, I wasn’t sure about which machine to get but cautiously decided to purchase a Garrett Ace 150. It looked a good machine to start off with and if I didn’t like the hobby, then my finances would not have taken too much of a beating. Since then, I’ve had a few interesting finds but nothing quite as fascinating and intriguing as one that I found in February 2020.

I was searching a harrowed field on a farm permission that I have in the village of Aspull near Wigan. I was really enjoying the day, especially as I had just found a nice silver shilling of George VI dated 1941 – a small silver coin struck when the world was at war, the same year as Pearl Harbor and the German invasion of Russia took place. The next good signal resulted in me digging several inches into the soil and old stubble mix. I suddenly spotted the glint of dirty gold and my first thought was that I had found a coin of some sort.

Gold Medal

However, cleaning away some of the surface soil revealed that it was, in fact, a medal or pendant. I was quite excited and took some photographs to send to my dad, who then contacted Treasure Hunting magazine on my behalf. Later on, when I got home, I washed the find and discovered that it was a sports-related medal, possibly associated with long service or an outstanding effort. It was awarded in relation to the 1911-12 season to an A.P. Seddon who was a center-forward for Cleckheaton AFC. I contacted Cleckheaton Football Club to inform them of the find and to see if they have any club records that may reveal more about Mr. Seddon and why he was awarded the medal.