It has happened again.....another Lucky Dog Day!
It poured rain last night and the fields were muddy and not much fun to be in. Having to stop and clean the two inches of icky, clay mud off your coil, shovel and boots before you can walk another step just is not a fun time. We picked a field that has a wheat crop growing so we didn't have as much mud to deal with. It was a field that Clarence, Mindy and I had good success with a couple of years ago. I headed up the hill to a spot next to a farm building and heard a solid target in my headphones. I flipped over a shovel full of soil and there it was....that familiar glint of gold. Not wanting to get my hopes up, I picked it up and started to clean the mud off with a soft toothbrush. It sure looked like gold. I called Clarence on the radio and told him I have something that looks like gold but I just didn't know. He hiked across the field and looked at it. He thought it was gold, too. This is not a coin. It is a handmade, one of a kind, possibly a pendant, maybe a clothing fastener.....we just don't know yet. It looks like it may have held an intaglio or a gem stone which is now missing.
We called our expert leader, the man with the answers and the contacts to ID mystery items. He drove out to the field to take a look. He felt it was old gold, not plated as I had feared. By the time we drove back to our lodging, he had taken it home and looked at it under his electron microscope. He confirmed it is solid gold, Medieval or possible older. WOW! He is soaking it now in distilled water to get the mud and muck off. Not sure yet what it actually is. It might be one for the museum staff to decide. I loved it when I thought it was just electroplated. The fact that it is solid gold has put me over the edge (just a bit). Combine that with the rare Celtic enamelled brooch I found last week and Clarence's Celtic gold and Saxon gold...this has been our best trip ever for finds.
Before I forget...Aussie Vocabulary Word of the Day is....UTE. A "ute" is a small utility vehicle, like a pickup truck only smaller and with a flat bed on back. There you have it. Use it in a sentence three times this week.
Tomorrow we will detect a half day only as long as the predicted thunderstorms go around us. We will come in early, clean our finds and prepare anything that needs an export license to be taken out of the UK. We still need to clean the mud off our gear and pack everything up. We spend so much time packing and repacking to get all four bags under the 50# limit that we usually just give up and throw ourselves on the mercy of the airlines. We drive back into London Saturday morning and then we will be on our way home. I don't know what we will do next year to possibly beat this trip.
Good night all!
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Wednesday, April 10th
We took a break today from 10 hrs of detecting and spent half the day today doing some sightseeing. We started out this morning going to the old church ruins on the property where we metal detect. This church was abandoned in the 1550's and is such a peaceful place to walk around on the property. It also presents a good photo op for those Christmas card pictures.
We went detecting (highlights to follow) at a couple of different fields. In the afternoon, we visited Layer Marney Tower, Britains tallest Tudor Gatehouse and was built during the reign of Henry VIII. It includes the medieval wall painting of St Christopher which was saved from destructions during the Reformation by being painted over. It remainded undiscovered for over 300 years.
Next stop was Mersea, a small island a few miles from where we are staying, and the Roman Burial Mound. Last Fall, when we first got permission to hunt some land nearby, we heard about a woman who is the curator of the burial mound. She offered to give a tour and background information to anyone who might be interested. This has been on our "to do " list ever since. The woman was totally delightful and gave an entertaining presentation, complete with ghost stories, and knew the history of the excavation of the mound 101 years ago. Inside, was found a lead box with a hand blown green glass bowl sealed inside. Inside that glass bowl were the cremated bones of a Roman mystery person. They have been raising money to have these bones analyzed in hopes of finding out who this person was and why they would have built such an elaborate tomb.
The big surprise was....this woman had been to Portland, Oregon with a friend just last Fall. She had even visited Oregon City on a tour bus which stopped at The End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center. Here we are in a tiny town in the U.K. and we run into a person who had just visited out small town in Oregon, USA. It was an amazing experience today. How often do you have the opportunity to actually go inside a Roman Burial Mound?
Everyone enjoyed the break in the detecting day today. In spite of the shorter detecting time, we still made some good finds. Clarence and Mindy found hammered silver coins, Bruce found greenies and I found a greenie and a Roman bronze. Our Aussie newbies did OK today, as well. Lynne found a golf balls (pretty sure it's not Roman though), and a possible dagger quillion. Peter found a 1917 Gerorge V penny.
Today's Aussie vocabulary word(s) is appropriate for us on those ten hour days in farmer's fields:
Outdoor Dunny= outdoor bathroom or out house. In our case, that would be a trip to the woods or bushes in you are lucky enough to be in a field that have them.
Bonus vocabulary word or phrase: Mindy and I learned this one yesterday while talking to Giles, the tractor driver in the field. I asked if they had problems with night hawkers, people who sneak onto private property, under cover of night, to metal detect without obtaining permission. He said there main problem was with "fly tippers". I am picturing the college prank of cow tipping but on a much smaller scale. I'm trying to get that image in my head when he explained the fly tipping is people who come along and tip out trash "on the fly" on their fields to avoid paying the trash hauler. In other words, illegal trash dumping. It makes more sense than trying to sneak up on a sleeping fly.
Enough for tonight. We have two days left for me to find that elusive gold coin. Clarence has two gold items this trip, so I am behind. See you all back here tomorrow..............
We went detecting (highlights to follow) at a couple of different fields. In the afternoon, we visited Layer Marney Tower, Britains tallest Tudor Gatehouse and was built during the reign of Henry VIII. It includes the medieval wall painting of St Christopher which was saved from destructions during the Reformation by being painted over. It remainded undiscovered for over 300 years.
Next stop was Mersea, a small island a few miles from where we are staying, and the Roman Burial Mound. Last Fall, when we first got permission to hunt some land nearby, we heard about a woman who is the curator of the burial mound. She offered to give a tour and background information to anyone who might be interested. This has been on our "to do " list ever since. The woman was totally delightful and gave an entertaining presentation, complete with ghost stories, and knew the history of the excavation of the mound 101 years ago. Inside, was found a lead box with a hand blown green glass bowl sealed inside. Inside that glass bowl were the cremated bones of a Roman mystery person. They have been raising money to have these bones analyzed in hopes of finding out who this person was and why they would have built such an elaborate tomb.
The big surprise was....this woman had been to Portland, Oregon with a friend just last Fall. She had even visited Oregon City on a tour bus which stopped at The End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center. Here we are in a tiny town in the U.K. and we run into a person who had just visited out small town in Oregon, USA. It was an amazing experience today. How often do you have the opportunity to actually go inside a Roman Burial Mound?
Everyone enjoyed the break in the detecting day today. In spite of the shorter detecting time, we still made some good finds. Clarence and Mindy found hammered silver coins, Bruce found greenies and I found a greenie and a Roman bronze. Our Aussie newbies did OK today, as well. Lynne found a golf balls (pretty sure it's not Roman though), and a possible dagger quillion. Peter found a 1917 Gerorge V penny.
Today's Aussie vocabulary word(s) is appropriate for us on those ten hour days in farmer's fields:
Outdoor Dunny= outdoor bathroom or out house. In our case, that would be a trip to the woods or bushes in you are lucky enough to be in a field that have them.
Bonus vocabulary word or phrase: Mindy and I learned this one yesterday while talking to Giles, the tractor driver in the field. I asked if they had problems with night hawkers, people who sneak onto private property, under cover of night, to metal detect without obtaining permission. He said there main problem was with "fly tippers". I am picturing the college prank of cow tipping but on a much smaller scale. I'm trying to get that image in my head when he explained the fly tipping is people who come along and tip out trash "on the fly" on their fields to avoid paying the trash hauler. In other words, illegal trash dumping. It makes more sense than trying to sneak up on a sleeping fly.
Enough for tonight. We have two days left for me to find that elusive gold coin. Clarence has two gold items this trip, so I am behind. See you all back here tomorrow..............
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Tuesday, April 9th
This week has become the Battle of the Axes. Yesterday, Clarence found that little 1400BC - 850BC bronze axe head. Today, he found a partial copper alloy socketed axe head, also 850BC. Not to be outdone, Mindy made a visual find of a stunning and huge hand napped flint axe head dated to 11000BC. It's beautiful and you can just image it being used all those years ago. How can I compete with those two? I did manage to find a couple of Roman bronze coins (1st to 4th Century), one of which had a nice image still remaining. Amazing these have been in that field for 2000 years.
Tonight's entry is a little different because we were having too much fun at dinner tonight. I let everyone else get away before I wrote down their best finds of the day. We were having a good time with our new Aussie team members and learned some Aussie words today. Peter asked for a biro earlier today none of us knew what he wanted. So..our Aussie vocabulary word of the day is...biro...definition...a pen to write with. A generic term for any common writing instrument with ink. We can always learn something new, even on holiday. We were also celebrating tonight because Lynn's suitcase, which left Perth, Australia with them but failed to arrive in London on Saturday, was finally delivered here this evening. She has been wearing borrowed clothes and boots and is really happy to finally have her own things.
Pictures of our finds are now appearing on the club website. To see them, go to www.colchestermetaldetecting.co.uk , click on Finds, click on March II. Now scroll to the bottom of the page where the newest entries are added. Our finds (from our group) start with the Large C8th Century Saxon Mount which is a rectangular piece with cut out of a lion. From then to the bottom of the page, you will see finds made by our group of seven. There are some pretty amazing items and more are added each day as they can be photographed and identified.
It is now 10:30 and everyone else has gone to bed. I need to run downstairs and check on our laundry before I go to bed myself. English washers and dryers are quite different from what we are accustomed to. We use "speed wash" which runs a load in about 45 minutes. A normal cycle is twice that long. The dryer will take close to two hours and you need to periodically empty the tray in the bottom where the water accumulates, otherwise, the clothes will never dry.
More tomorrow...............
Tonight's entry is a little different because we were having too much fun at dinner tonight. I let everyone else get away before I wrote down their best finds of the day. We were having a good time with our new Aussie team members and learned some Aussie words today. Peter asked for a biro earlier today none of us knew what he wanted. So..our Aussie vocabulary word of the day is...biro...definition...a pen to write with. A generic term for any common writing instrument with ink. We can always learn something new, even on holiday. We were also celebrating tonight because Lynn's suitcase, which left Perth, Australia with them but failed to arrive in London on Saturday, was finally delivered here this evening. She has been wearing borrowed clothes and boots and is really happy to finally have her own things.
Pictures of our finds are now appearing on the club website. To see them, go to www.colchestermetaldetecting.co.uk , click on Finds, click on March II. Now scroll to the bottom of the page where the newest entries are added. Our finds (from our group) start with the Large C8th Century Saxon Mount which is a rectangular piece with cut out of a lion. From then to the bottom of the page, you will see finds made by our group of seven. There are some pretty amazing items and more are added each day as they can be photographed and identified.
It is now 10:30 and everyone else has gone to bed. I need to run downstairs and check on our laundry before I go to bed myself. English washers and dryers are quite different from what we are accustomed to. We use "speed wash" which runs a load in about 45 minutes. A normal cycle is twice that long. The dryer will take close to two hours and you need to periodically empty the tray in the bottom where the water accumulates, otherwise, the clothes will never dry.
More tomorrow...............
Monday, April 8, 2013
Monday, April 8
This morning, we were on our way to our chosen field when we passed by another field we have under contract. It hadsbeen rough plowed and not huntable without risking a broken ankle. The farmer came through for us and it was freshly rolled and planted. We turned around and headed out into that field. Unfortunately, it didn't have many targets. You just never know if you are going to walk across a pot of gold coins or fnd a big hunk of buried plow parts, like newbie Lynn did today. After a few hours of roaming aimlessly around 100 Acres, we headed back to the field where I had found the Roman fibular brooch and Clarence found his Celtic gold. There are still lots of targets to dig on that field. Some people, not me, made some good finds.
Clarence, once again, had the top find of the day. It is a Stone Age bronze axe head from 850BC. CA Dan found a harness mount. Aussie Peter is quite proud of his 1945 Three Pence. Aussie Lynn found a grotty Roman bronze coin plus the earlier mentioned piece of farm equipment which we decided to leave buried in the field since we couldn't get it out. Bruce had a good day with an 1853 milled silver coin and a hammered silver penney. Mindy found a stunning Celtic bronze coin and a silver button. Today, I had to be content with a pile of buttons and one milled siver coin.
Weather forcast tomorrow is calling for rain. It will make for boot sticking muddy fields but we are up for the challenge. Check back tomorrow for new stories and finds...hopefully I will find gold tomorrow since the detecting days are winding down.
Clarence, once again, had the top find of the day. It is a Stone Age bronze axe head from 850BC. CA Dan found a harness mount. Aussie Peter is quite proud of his 1945 Three Pence. Aussie Lynn found a grotty Roman bronze coin plus the earlier mentioned piece of farm equipment which we decided to leave buried in the field since we couldn't get it out. Bruce had a good day with an 1853 milled silver coin and a hammered silver penney. Mindy found a stunning Celtic bronze coin and a silver button. Today, I had to be content with a pile of buttons and one milled siver coin.
Weather forcast tomorrow is calling for rain. It will make for boot sticking muddy fields but we are up for the challenge. Check back tomorrow for new stories and finds...hopefully I will find gold tomorrow since the detecting days are winding down.
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Sunday, April 7th
Who knew there could be TWO Lucky Dog Days in a row??? Clarence found another gold today before noon. We are back on the field where all the Roman coins were found a couple of days ago. This gold is actually a Saxon gold ingot 3.21g 8.43mm diameter. He also found four hammered silver coins, a brooch with a red stone, a brooch with an amethyst looking stone and six more bronze Roman coins. What can I say...he is really on a roll.
Bruce did pretty well, too. He found two Roman bronzes and an 1865 One Pence coin. CA Dan found a hammered silver coin and a cuff link. Mindy found a cute little Roman offering pot. One of our newbies, Peter, on his first full detecting day ever, found the one we all dream of...a hammered gold Half Noble. This is THE coin I have been wanting to find since my first trip to England. I spent the afternoon hoping it has had a friend out there for the last six hundred years but no luck. I did manage to find two more Roman bronzes and about a kazillion four hole buttons (modern). After the past couple of days, I guess I can't complain. Maybe tomorrow will be my golden day?
Update: My fibular brooch has been confirmed as Roman 1st Century. Clarence's broken Celtic gold from yesterday is actually a broken part of a Celtic Full Stater, not a Quarter Stater as first thought. The broken part is 1.68 g and 13.74mm diameter. Not too shabby. We still have five days to find more.
Bruce did pretty well, too. He found two Roman bronzes and an 1865 One Pence coin. CA Dan found a hammered silver coin and a cuff link. Mindy found a cute little Roman offering pot. One of our newbies, Peter, on his first full detecting day ever, found the one we all dream of...a hammered gold Half Noble. This is THE coin I have been wanting to find since my first trip to England. I spent the afternoon hoping it has had a friend out there for the last six hundred years but no luck. I did manage to find two more Roman bronzes and about a kazillion four hole buttons (modern). After the past couple of days, I guess I can't complain. Maybe tomorrow will be my golden day?
Update: My fibular brooch has been confirmed as Roman 1st Century. Clarence's broken Celtic gold from yesterday is actually a broken part of a Celtic Full Stater, not a Quarter Stater as first thought. The broken part is 1.68 g and 13.74mm diameter. Not too shabby. We still have five days to find more.
Saturday, April 6, 2013
Saturday, April 6th
Today was a Lucky Dog Day!!! First of all, the sun came out and the wind was light. It was really cold this morning, the skylight in our bathroom was totally frozen over. By 1pm, we were out in the field with five layers of clothes on. By 3pm, my jacket and fleece vest were unzipped to cool down and I was considering leaving a couple of layers in the middle of the field to pick up later. Clarence, Bruce and I stayed out until 7:30 tonight. To top it off, there was a gorgeous sunset tonight.
We were in a field that had just been rolled and planted and no mud. We spent the entire time on one field and had lots of targets to dig. Besides the usual greenies, buttons, bits of lead and about a hundred shotgun shell primers, we three made some outstanding find. Clarence started it off with a broken Celtic gold coin. We are guessing about 1/3 to 1/2 of the coin remained. The rest is probably still out there in the field. Then he found two hammered silver coins. Bruce found his first ever milled silver coin. This one is a William III that has been folded into a love token. I finished up the afternoon with my first ever fibular brooch. Normally, we think of these as Roman but this one is huge and knobby and might turn out to be Saxon.
Update to previous finds: I found out today that the red enamaled brooch I found was not Roman from Celtic from the 1st Century. It is the first ever Celtic brooch found by anyone in our club here in Colchester. I also found out today that the mystery coin weight I found was actually a trade weight from Henry VIII era
We were in a field that had just been rolled and planted and no mud. We spent the entire time on one field and had lots of targets to dig. Besides the usual greenies, buttons, bits of lead and about a hundred shotgun shell primers, we three made some outstanding find. Clarence started it off with a broken Celtic gold coin. We are guessing about 1/3 to 1/2 of the coin remained. The rest is probably still out there in the field. Then he found two hammered silver coins. Bruce found his first ever milled silver coin. This one is a William III that has been folded into a love token. I finished up the afternoon with my first ever fibular brooch. Normally, we think of these as Roman but this one is huge and knobby and might turn out to be Saxon.
Update to previous finds: I found out today that the red enamaled brooch I found was not Roman from Celtic from the 1st Century. It is the first ever Celtic brooch found by anyone in our club here in Colchester. I also found out today that the mystery coin weight I found was actually a trade weight from Henry VIII era
Friday, April 5, 2013
Friday, April 5
Today was a great day. The wind was still blowing but it was warmer today. We hit several different fields today including one that turned out to be one we didn't have permission to be on. The land owner drove down for a bit of a chat but all was good by the time he left. We have permission to detect from the man who farms the land but evidently not from the owner of the land.
There were some really nice finds made today. Bruce found an interesting Medieval bucket mount. Mindy has a really special bronze belt slide with a gold gilt decoration, a complete belt buckle and a Tudor open fretwork button. Clarence has a nice lead token, greenies and some assorted bits and bobs. Mary had a great day with a Knights Templar badge, a Roman enameled brooch, and a coin weight.
Today was the last day here for Alaska George and CA George as they both head home tomorrow. Mindy will take them back to London early tomorrow morning and then she picks up a couple from Australia who will be joining us for the week. They will be back around noon and then we will go out again and detect in the afternoon. With only a week left, and so many fields we want to detect yet, we are having to make a list and pick the ones we have to get to. It has been so wet and cold here that the fields that have been planted are not germinating and the rough plow fields are too wet to work in. A couple of weeks ago they had three tractors stuck in one field, each trying to pull the other one out.
That's our report for the day. We hope to have more stories and fnds to share tomorrrow.
There were some really nice finds made today. Bruce found an interesting Medieval bucket mount. Mindy has a really special bronze belt slide with a gold gilt decoration, a complete belt buckle and a Tudor open fretwork button. Clarence has a nice lead token, greenies and some assorted bits and bobs. Mary had a great day with a Knights Templar badge, a Roman enameled brooch, and a coin weight.
Today was the last day here for Alaska George and CA George as they both head home tomorrow. Mindy will take them back to London early tomorrow morning and then she picks up a couple from Australia who will be joining us for the week. They will be back around noon and then we will go out again and detect in the afternoon. With only a week left, and so many fields we want to detect yet, we are having to make a list and pick the ones we have to get to. It has been so wet and cold here that the fields that have been planted are not germinating and the rough plow fields are too wet to work in. A couple of weeks ago they had three tractors stuck in one field, each trying to pull the other one out.
That's our report for the day. We hope to have more stories and fnds to share tomorrrow.
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Thursday, April 4
Enough already with the snow. Isn't this April? Today sure did look like winter. Only three of our seven hunters opted to head out this morning. Clarence and I, CA Dan and AK George opted to stay in this morning. We sat at the table drinking hot coffee, telling tall tales and watched the snow blowing sideways. We had planned to walk down to the neighborhood pub for lunch but it was too miserable outside to even do that. After lunch, Mindy, Bruce and CA George showed up. They had hit a hot spot and were finding lots of Roman bronze coins and wanted to give us a chance to share in the fun. We all piled on layers of clothes and went back out for the afternoon. We found a total of 32 or 33 Roman coins for the day's count. The landowner had actually called the person who runs these tours to tell them he had just rolled that field since he knew we wanted to get on it. That was really nice of him to do that and shows what a good relationship we have with the landowners here. Tomorrow is CA George and AK George's last day so they get to pick where we go. We may be split up in two or three different farms but they are close to each other.
Update: The Mystery Item I had found yesterday turned out to be part of a Medieval decorated nut cracker. There are photos of our finds at www.colchestertreasurehunting.co.uk Click on Finds and March II page. The newer postings are at the bottom of the page.
Update #2: We looked at a Wind Chill chart and found out that yesterday we were out all day in wind and cold that was a Wind Chill Factor of 24 degrees. No wonder we were all worn out. It's a good thing there are really large hot water tanks here as all three apartments had hot showers running for quite some time.
Tomorrow is Team Lucky Dog picture day. We have matching shirts for our group and have been trying to get a group picture all week. For some odd reason, no one wanted to spend much time outside in thier stylish short sleeve shirts long enough to get a photo. With the two George's leaving tomorrow, we have opted to do an indoor picture after dinner. It won't be as scenic but we won't all be blue from the cold.
The adventure continues tomorrow............
Update: The Mystery Item I had found yesterday turned out to be part of a Medieval decorated nut cracker. There are photos of our finds at www.colchestertreasurehunting.co.uk Click on Finds and March II page. The newer postings are at the bottom of the page.
Update #2: We looked at a Wind Chill chart and found out that yesterday we were out all day in wind and cold that was a Wind Chill Factor of 24 degrees. No wonder we were all worn out. It's a good thing there are really large hot water tanks here as all three apartments had hot showers running for quite some time.
Tomorrow is Team Lucky Dog picture day. We have matching shirts for our group and have been trying to get a group picture all week. For some odd reason, no one wanted to spend much time outside in thier stylish short sleeve shirts long enough to get a photo. With the two George's leaving tomorrow, we have opted to do an indoor picture after dinner. It won't be as scenic but we won't all be blue from the cold.
The adventure continues tomorrow............
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Wednesday, April 3
This is Spring? Are we sure of that? Our high today was 38F with 20-25 knot winds . It was brutally cold out all day. Some of us found a lower corner of a field that was somewhat shielded from the wind. It was almost tolerable. Except for a few tough souls, namely CA George, AK George and Bruce, we found shelter in the van with the heater running for a good chunk of the afternoon. Joe and Jeanette, our new friends from Malta, stayed out in the cold and made some interesting finds. The rest of the group headed back to the house early to clean our finds and get ready for dinner.
After dinner, Joe and Jeanette came over to show us pictures of their life in Malta before they head home tomorrow. It is a beautiful island in the Mediterranean but all metal detecting is illegal there. The wonderful part of these detecting trips to England is making new friends from all over the world.
I was lucky to have found a couple of special finds today. I found my first toy cannon, about two inches long. I also have a mystery item. It is bronze and appears to have a face on either side of it. We don't know yet what it is but guesses so far are part of a pair of scissors or the trigger of a rifle. At any rate, it is very old. I will keep you posted on what the decision is.
Tomorrow's weather is supposed to be worse than today. Is that even possible? If so, Clarence, Mindy and I will probably take the day off and stay home. I only brought three long sleeved t-shirts (it IS Spring, you know) so doing a bit of laundry tomorrow might be a good idea.
Good night!
After dinner, Joe and Jeanette came over to show us pictures of their life in Malta before they head home tomorrow. It is a beautiful island in the Mediterranean but all metal detecting is illegal there. The wonderful part of these detecting trips to England is making new friends from all over the world.
I was lucky to have found a couple of special finds today. I found my first toy cannon, about two inches long. I also have a mystery item. It is bronze and appears to have a face on either side of it. We don't know yet what it is but guesses so far are part of a pair of scissors or the trigger of a rifle. At any rate, it is very old. I will keep you posted on what the decision is.
Tomorrow's weather is supposed to be worse than today. Is that even possible? If so, Clarence, Mindy and I will probably take the day off and stay home. I only brought three long sleeved t-shirts (it IS Spring, you know) so doing a bit of laundry tomorrow might be a good idea.
Good night!
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Tuesday April 2nd
Today was not a really great day for me. It was warmer but the winds were blowing 20-25 knots which made i t really cold. This afternoon, we went to some new land that our club just put under contract. About 20 years ago, as the story goes, a local detectorist found a gold Roman coin at this farm. The only problem, all these fields were in rough plow. I'm talking ankle busting rough ground with 12-14" differences in elevation as you try to walk through it. It was exhausting and we weren't finding enough good targets to make it worth the effort. That said, a few good finds were made.
CA George found a possible silver spoon. Mindy found a complete buckle with a lovely design on it. Bruce found three Greenies and a really unique candlestick that looks like it had been run over by a mack truck. AK George found a nice silver hammered coin. Clarence found a hammered silver James 1st penny (very pretty) and some greenies. I found junk..antique junk...modern junk....just plain junk. CA Dan did even better than me since he found a handy stack of hay bales and took a nap instead of tackling the rough plow field. Tomorrow is another day.
Tomorrow we have asked for a nice flat field that is easy to walk on. That is, if any of us can even walk at all tomorrow morning. I can already smell the scent of Deep Heat muscle rub wafting through the air. I will admit, the Baileys I am enjoying as I write this seems to be helping, too. At least, I don't care as much about all the aches and pains right now.
Good Night!
CA George found a possible silver spoon. Mindy found a complete buckle with a lovely design on it. Bruce found three Greenies and a really unique candlestick that looks like it had been run over by a mack truck. AK George found a nice silver hammered coin. Clarence found a hammered silver James 1st penny (very pretty) and some greenies. I found junk..antique junk...modern junk....just plain junk. CA Dan did even better than me since he found a handy stack of hay bales and took a nap instead of tackling the rough plow field. Tomorrow is another day.
Tomorrow we have asked for a nice flat field that is easy to walk on. That is, if any of us can even walk at all tomorrow morning. I can already smell the scent of Deep Heat muscle rub wafting through the air. I will admit, the Baileys I am enjoying as I write this seems to be helping, too. At least, I don't care as much about all the aches and pains right now.
Good Night!
Monday, April 1, 2013
Today is April Fool's Day and Mother Nature was laughing at us all day long. It started out cold and windy and didn't get much better. I had on long underwear, a long sleeve t-shirt, long sleeved fleece, a heavy fleece vest and topped with a windproof, waterproof jacket. Also, long underwear pants with jeans, topped with wind proof rain pants. My hood was up over my head and hat and headphones kept my ears warm. Also, wool socks, heavy rain boots, and gloves. Yes, I still got cold at times.
This morning we went to a field that had been one of our favorites last year. What a difference a year can make. There were very few targets at all and those were buttons, pieces of wire and bits of lead scrap. In the afternoon, we went to a proven Celtic gold coin field. It was still in rough plow and hard to walk on and detect on...but we did anyway. We all wanted to hunt that field since we had a good chance of finding gold coins. The young couple who have been joining us from Malta for a few days did manage to find a beautiful little Celtic gold. They were so excited that for just a few minutes they were warm again. We have been feeling sorry for them as they buy more clothes to layer but they are out there every day in the cold and wind. It was a beauty little gold coin and I'm not even ashamed to admit that I wish it were mine. There is always tomorrow...............
This morning we went to a field that had been one of our favorites last year. What a difference a year can make. There were very few targets at all and those were buttons, pieces of wire and bits of lead scrap. In the afternoon, we went to a proven Celtic gold coin field. It was still in rough plow and hard to walk on and detect on...but we did anyway. We all wanted to hunt that field since we had a good chance of finding gold coins. The young couple who have been joining us from Malta for a few days did manage to find a beautiful little Celtic gold. They were so excited that for just a few minutes they were warm again. We have been feeling sorry for them as they buy more clothes to layer but they are out there every day in the cold and wind. It was a beauty little gold coin and I'm not even ashamed to admit that I wish it were mine. There is always tomorrow...............
Sunday, March 31, 2013
March 31, 2013
Happy Easter, everyone. The Easter bunny found us in England and left a package of Cadbury mini-eggs at each of our places at the breakfast table. We headed out for the first field about 8 and hunted until 6 tonight. The weather wasn't bad for most of the day and the sun actually came out for a while. Mostly, it was overcast, windy, 34 F degrees and spitting snow. We have been joined for a few days by a nice young couple visiting from Malta. Needless to say, they are not used to this cold weather but are putting on a brave face and staying out with us. They made a couple of neat finds today and that helps keep the enthusiasm up.
Our group did pretty well today, too. CA George found a complete crotal bell. Alaska George found, in his own words, some good old junque. CA Dan reported in with "just going slow and steady" and tomorrow will be his day. Bruce found some greenies today along with some buttons and bits and bobs. Clarence had a beauty today with a Portuguese hammered silver coin. Mindy showed me some of her \good finds but that was before dinnner and of course, now I can't remember what thay were. Let's just say they were outstanding she predicts we will all be finding gold tomorrow. I found silver today,too. This one was a William III milled slver coin, similar ot yesterday's find.
I am literally falling asleep at the key board so it is time to call it a nght. Clarence is sitting with me while I write this. He fixed us each a glass of Bailey's Irish Creme which is REALLY GOOD STUFF. It help us relax and get some sleep at night. Check back tomorrow!
Our group did pretty well today, too. CA George found a complete crotal bell. Alaska George found, in his own words, some good old junque. CA Dan reported in with "just going slow and steady" and tomorrow will be his day. Bruce found some greenies today along with some buttons and bits and bobs. Clarence had a beauty today with a Portuguese hammered silver coin. Mindy showed me some of her \good finds but that was before dinnner and of course, now I can't remember what thay were. Let's just say they were outstanding she predicts we will all be finding gold tomorrow. I found silver today,too. This one was a William III milled slver coin, similar ot yesterday's find.
I am literally falling asleep at the key board so it is time to call it a nght. Clarence is sitting with me while I write this. He fixed us each a glass of Bailey's Irish Creme which is REALLY GOOD STUFF. It help us relax and get some sleep at night. Check back tomorrow!
Saturday, March 30, 2013
March 30, 2013
We're back in England. looking for treasure. This year's cast of characters is: Mary and Clarence, MN Mindy, OR Bruce (first Colchester, UK trip), CA Dan, CA George and Alaska George.. We flew into London yesterday and spent the night at Heathrow Cottage, a lovely B&B built in 1654. This morning, we picked up our rental van, drove up to Essex and got settled in our guest lodging at Rye Farm. We unpacked all our detecting gear and were in the field by 1pm. We hunted until 6pm in a cold wind with spits of snow and sleet.
Clarence had the find of the day today with a beautiful little Roman fibular brooch. I found a "slick willy" which is a William III silver coin, well worn so there are little or no markings. CA Gary found a cut half hammered silver coin. Bruce, on his first trip to England, got an idea of how crazy we are but seemed to adapt just fine. How many people do you meet in an England farm field wearing an Oregon Duck hat? Alaska George was the smart one who chose to help Mindy with the grocery shopping and stay inside where it was warm and dry. He will be out with the rest of us tomorrow.
There you have it. We are so happy to be back and have this incredible opportunity to search for ancient coins and artifacts. This is a trip that most people only dream about and we get to live it. Tonight is the start of Daylight Savings time so we are changing our clocks yet again. Who needs sleep when there is treasure waiting just outside. Check back tomorrow for the latest update.
Clarence had the find of the day today with a beautiful little Roman fibular brooch. I found a "slick willy" which is a William III silver coin, well worn so there are little or no markings. CA Gary found a cut half hammered silver coin. Bruce, on his first trip to England, got an idea of how crazy we are but seemed to adapt just fine. How many people do you meet in an England farm field wearing an Oregon Duck hat? Alaska George was the smart one who chose to help Mindy with the grocery shopping and stay inside where it was warm and dry. He will be out with the rest of us tomorrow.
There you have it. We are so happy to be back and have this incredible opportunity to search for ancient coins and artifacts. This is a trip that most people only dream about and we get to live it. Tonight is the start of Daylight Savings time so we are changing our clocks yet again. Who needs sleep when there is treasure waiting just outside. Check back tomorrow for the latest update.
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