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The Benington Hoard
Last year I started walking our dog Zeus out along the marshy areas where I live. As far as I know the area wasn’t a bombing range or anything of particular significance, but there were plenty of bits of old metal scattered about from previous times. Seeing what was lying about on the surface definitely got me rather more interested in what might lie just below it.
How To Straighten Bent Silver Coins
It always makes me think when I see the huge ploughs, rotavators and other farm machinery ripping through the soil, “It is little wonder that the humble, usually thin, hammered silver coin suffers so many various injuries.”
Danish Bronze Age Vulstringe
I must confess that I’m not exactly sure what the Danish word Vulstringe translates to in English, so perhaps it is best I explain – Vulstringe are in fact large bronze rings from the Danish Bronze Age and it has been concluded that they were most probably used as ankle adornments.
The History Detectives An After-School Detecting Club
I am a member of the Melton and Beauvoir Search Society and recently I was delighted to be asked by my daughter-inlaw, who is the Head Teacher at Billesdon Parochial Primary School in Leicestershire, if I would be willing to form a six week long after-school detecting club.
When The Tide Recedes
My Dad was visiting London, so for something a little different I decided to take him mudlarking along the River Thames foreshore. When the tide recedes, as is well known, many interesting coins and artefacts can be recovered from this zone.
Feisty Ferrets And Fallow Fields
The joys of detecting for me are not just confined to the discovery of artefacts and coins, but also to the meeting of people and occasionally their pets.
Two Gold Rings
It was a cold day back in November 2014 that I was on my new permission near a manor house in Dorset. I was with my then detecting partner Dodger, who has sadly since passed away, so he never heard the end to this story.
Amazing Heraldic Mount
I recall that it was rather an unremarkable signal, the type you would dig, but not get overly excited about.
Finding Cupid
I remember the day like it was just yesterday! It was a cold November morning and our club had chosen to visit a small, flat, sandy-soiled Lincolnshire field.
Field Test Rutus Alter 71
The Rutus Alter 71 has been around for a couple of years now, but late last year Rutus announced the new V.2.0 software upgrade, based on feedback from its users. I was really keen to see if it would make an already capable machine even better.
Lead – Love It Or Loathe It?
Lead has been used since the dawn of civilisation – from the ancient Egyptians who used it in the building of their temples, to modern man who uses it to shield against radiation. This diverse metal has certainly come a long way in 4000 years.
Who Are The Moravians?
I asked myself this very same question back in February, when Nigel, the Project Leader of the East Tytherton Heritage Project approached me for some assistance.
Field Test Minelab Equinox 800
For many months, the detecting scene has been buzzing about the arrival of an innovative new machine that promised to challenge most of the high-end detectors that currently dominate the scene. It seemed everyone was eager to hear more about the Minelab Equinox detectors, including myself.
Our Spanish Treasure
Roy and I have been detecting together for a few years on a regular basis. We mainly go to the beaches and estuaries in south and west Wales, as we like the freedom, the scenery and the smell of the salt air.
Pictures From The Past
Memorial Church Brasses are one of those rare types of an artifact that exciting, even when you know they will most likely be found as fragments.
The Mysterious Golden Bangle
Recently in the UK, a detectorist unearthed a rather magnificent artefact, this being a 12mm thick gold bangle weighing in at 310gm and measuring 240mm across.
Detecting In New Zealand
Detecting in New Zealand is definitely not a hobby for the faint-hearted, but if determined, then some really interesting finds can be made.
Starting Out With The Garrett Ace 250
Detecting became my new hobby just over a year ago now, following the sudden death of my father. We were both keen motorcycle fanatics and after his passing I just lost interest in the bikes and sought solace in detecting.
Bronze Age Founder's Hoard
It was a gloriously sunny Saturday morning back in August 2015 when I met up with my detecting mate Dave Langham.
Yorkshire Searchers Their Story
Ash and Old BottlesThis story starts way back in the 1980s when I travelled all over the UK with my friends, looking and hunting for old Victorian bottle tips. Scotland was my favourite place for bottle digging, with some of the nicest stoneware bottles and cream pots coming from this part of the country.
Anglo-Saxon Treasure
It was the middle of the Easter holidays in 2016 and I had been looking after my three daughters for eight days straight – to be honest, I was desperate to get out to regain my sanity.
The Mudlark Treasures Of Rae Love
Imagine walking barefoot in the middle of winter along the muddy Thames foreshore littered with rusty nails and broken glass!
A Medieval Rarity
Many of us dream of finding handfuls of gold and silver coins, but every so often a find is made that is not made of gold or silver but is equally (if not more) important and of historical interest.
Purse Spill Or Hoard?
Myself and my friend, Paul, have a lovely little summer permission that we detect together.
Coinage In Anglo-saxon England
The Northumbrian Series
Nine Golden Years
I started my detecting journey back in mid-2010, armed with my first detector, a Minelab Explorer SE Pro.
K-Pro Elite Presents Rakerpan
History in the Raking Back in 1997 I formed the K-Pro company, after designing and producing a range of bait waiters and trays for fishermen. K-Pro Elite Tackle swept the board, winning many awards for design and quality and was acclaimed throughout the fishing media as the finest of its kind.
Tanner Tales
Most of us have heard of the popular phrase ‘A lucky sixpence’, but just why this small coin should have been considered to have this almost magical quality is most intriguing. Having found quite a large number of them over the past six years, my interest was piqued, so with a little research I’ve found some rather interesting facts.
The Commonwealth Coinage (1649-60)
In 1649 Charles I was beheaded at Whitehall on charges of treason.
Anglo-Saxon Treasure
The year 2016 was one that I will certainly remember. It was in early October when I finally got the call giving me the Lincolnshire permission I’d had been waiting for.