A Leaden Kind of Blog or ‘A Crap Post’

A Lump of Lead

A chunk of unidentified lead hidden in a tin for almost 20 years turned out to be a very interesting find for a Kent detectorist. He found the item in a small orchard in the mid 1990’s, long before the internet with detecting forums and Faceache made identification of items easy. Books on Roman coins were researched at the time but nothing could be found relating to the find.

After registering the find (somewhat late!) with the FLO, the old piece of lead was taken to London to be viewed by Dr. Sam Moorhead, National Finds Adviser, Ancient Coins at the British Museum. He recorded it as a “find of note” and was designated for inclusion in the British Numismatic Journal, ‘Coin Register.’

The detectorist was surprised when his ‘piece of lead’ was a possible trial piece of the reverse die of a silver medallion of Valens (AD 364-78). How it came to be in a small field in Kent is a mystery, as the mintmark is from Trier, in Germany.

A Roman lead, possible, trial piece, using the reverse die of a silver medallion of Valens (AD 364-78), dating to AD 367-75. ‘A FIND of NOTE’. KENT-7F3206. © PAS

Detectorists’ Bits and Pieces

WHY WE ARE DETECTORISTS

Mickey’s comment on text: “I reckon John’s just made that up, but I like it!”

You may be interested to know that in a recent survey carried out by the Disney Corporation on the top five everyday pleasures, the finding of money was number one! Could that be why so many of us are detectorists?

Here are the other four ‘pleasures’ in order: freshly washed bedding, not having to queue, somebody smiling at you, and helping someone. Well, there you go! Another Mickey Mouse production!

New Ostrich Metal Detector

The following letter was sent to ‘Bird Talk’ a USA guide to keeping pet birds. 

I have often wondered why the ostrich sticks its head in the sand. Is it just a old wives’ tale or do they really do that? Are they really trying to hide or perhaps looking for something? 

The reply was quite amusing : 

Your question is easy to answer. You must realise that it would be very silly for the birds to put their heads in the sand to hide. When ostriches do this they are simply looking for spare change. In fact, they are so good at doing this, many retired men in African countries use ostriches at the beach instead of metal detectors. The birds are much better at finding change than metal detectors – and they don’t need batteries or make those annoying beeping sounds . . . 

There followed some serious stuff about ostriches and the reply went on to say said that they were only kidding  . . . the only things that put their head in the sand were clams and politicians.

The RING of Truth

On a Mission

There was a recent story in the media – and one we are all familiar with – about a detectorist who was ‘on a mission’ to reunite a unique ring with it’s owner after he’d recovered it from a local field. He naturally thought whoever had lost it would be grateful for the safe return.

Don’t Assume Anything

We tend to assume that the return of such a find will be welcomed by the true owner, but this isn’t always the case as I related when I told the story about a ring found in the UK being reunited with the American ‘giver’. The recipient wasn’t very happy to get the ring back because it brought back memories of a sour relationship that he had been trying to forget. Not only that – he had remarried and was very happy in the new wife.

This simple and elegant womens wedding band is handcrafted in 14k yellow gold. Nine brilliant round cut diamonds are channel set half way around the band … courtesy of Avianne Jewellers

Then there was the case of the ring returned to a very pleased and grateful owner, but she wanted to keep it secret. It happened like this …

I was asked if I could find a ring lost in a field during a large village barbecue …

Evidently, a lady had emerged from the Portaloo flapping her hands to dry (like they do) and realised that her ring was missing only when arriving home. Although the organisers and friends had borrowed a metal detector and made a search they drew a blank, there was nothing to be found.