Treasure Hunting

Yesterday I found the article about a Czech man who died and left behind a ton of great artifacts with no documentation and I really understood the importance of keeping records of what I’ve found and where I’ve found it.

Today I stumbled onto this website for all you U.K. metal detectorists - Portable Antiquities Scheme. I figured anything with the word “finds” in the web address can’t be too bad and their “search” feature is excellent - the “visual search” is pretty much the most amazing thing ever and their images are mind blowing! I figured anyone could use this to help identify finds or even just kill some time - lord knows I just did!

The coin featured left was silver, hammered shilling found in Hampshire. It was made during the rein of Elizabeth I (Post medieval: 1558-1603) and features her bust on the obverse side, and the royal shield as seen here. I can’t imagine what it must be like to hold something that old and with that much history.

Here’s some quotes from their website:

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Radio Prague, Czech Republic is reporting the story of a young relic hunter who tragically died two years ago in an apartment fire. When fire fighters arrived at the scene they saw an apartment “chock-full of strange looking metal objects.” There were more than 3,000 items in the man’s one bedroom apartment and with the help of experts from the Czech Academy of Sciences’ Archaeological Institute, the public is now realizing the man was an “amateur archaeologist,” maybe just another metal detectorist like ourselves.

On the black market these items, some of which are prehistoric, are worth millions of dollars. But as they have been found with no documentation or records about where they were found, they have almost no scientific value. There are bowls, cups, clips, bracelets, pins, rings, axes and more.

Miroslav Dobeš of the Archaeological Institute lamented lack of documentation over a spectacle-shaped pendant, one of the oldest copper objects found in Central Europe that dates back to roughly 4,000 B.C., has zero scientific value, and leaves historians baffled as to where it came from.

I’m not too crazy about the anti-metal-detectorist stance this article takes, but I do agree that it’s important to log where you’ve been and what you’ve found. And with today’s accessibility to digital cameras there is no reason us metal detectorists can’t keep good track of our relics and hunting grounds - if for no other reason than to show ‘em off!

The thrill of metal detecting, relic hunting, and coin shooting is about finding something significant to history sharing it with others. When you find that CSA belt buckle and see it lying in the same place a solder fell over 100 years ago you should preserve not only the metal object out of the ground, but the story of the solder that wore it - where it places him on the battlefield, among his troops and beside his friends.

I think now is as good a time as any to learn from someone else’s mistake and document your finds. Good luck and happy hunting!

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Since 1994 a television show about professional archaeologists has been gaining popularity in the United Kingdom, and this weeks episode caught my attention!

Time Team is a show that focuses on a team of archaeologists and is usually hosted by either Mick Aston or Francis Pryor. These archaeologists convene at a site with a team of trained professionals, usually in the U.K., that is locally known for an unsolved archaeological mystery or is personal property that has never been excavated and may have interesting items buried underneath. The Time Team uncovers as much as they can about the history of the site in three days and excavates any promising signals, often in conjunction with the local archaeological unit.

This week’s episode of Time Team caught my eye because the issue of “Archaeologists vs. Metal Detectorists” is address. Hosted by Tony Robinson, the show is focused on a possible Viking boat burial in Yorkshire, England. Metal detectorists made the initial discovery of coins, silver and swords and now a team of archaeologists is set to find the source of the objects.

But as Robinson follows the dig he discovers an uneasy relationship between archaeologists and the country’s 50,000 metal detectorists.

The episode is listed on My Park Mag.uk with the description: “For some, the hobby of detecting is all about learning more about the past, but for others it’s the lure of making money by selling what they find on the open market. At a time when the government scheme designed to promote better understanding between these two factions is under serious threat from budget cuts, the programme reveals just how precarious the relationship can be.”

This episode aired yesterday and is certainly worth a look. I’ll keep you folks posted on when it will air on the Discovery Channel UK, or maybe it will pop up on YouTube. Either way - this is one I don’t wanna miss!

Click here to see the Time Team’s page on the Discovery Channel UK’s website. Or click here to check out their Wikipedia page.

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Now that the holiday’s are over and the new year is officially in, we can get back to business as usual while the ground is frozen and it’s cold outside - RESEARCH!

One of our favorite websites is a must for every coin collector - www.CoinFacts.com - The Internet Encyclopedia of U.S. Coins. Easy to navigate and packed with information, this website gives us something to do even on the coldest of days. More importantly - this website gives us something to hope for! Practically every U.S. coin you’ve ever heard of. and even more that you haven’t. are carefully organized and cataloged with photos on this website. Their “Board of Experts” keep things interesting with a “Coin of the Week” which is archived for great reading and research.

One of our favorite is the 1776 Continental Dollar that says “Mind Your Business” on the back. CoinFacts.com reports “1776 was a momentous year for the thirteen American Colonies. On July 4 of that year, delegates to the Continental Congress signed a Declaration of Independence, sending notice to England and the rest of the world that the Colonies would submit no longer to outside governance and interference. In recognition of the solidarity of the Colonies and their assumption of the right as a sovereign entity to coin their own monies, plans were made to issue a Silver Dollar. Patterns, using designs provided by Benjamin Franklin, were struck in Pewter, Brass, and Silver.”

If Ben Franklin thought it was a good idea for us to mind our own business, who are we to argue? Either way, we’re sure all you coin shooters and collectors out there will find this website a great resource until Spring lets us all get out there and hunt again!

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As always, the friends behind TreasureHunting.com watch for news of unique treasure finds worldwide. Despite having only lived and treasure hunted in America, we envy the metal detectorists across the big-pond with their rich history that goes back thousands of years, through so many civilizations. And today we stumbled upon an article that makes us want to grab our detectors and hop on a plane to Europe now more than ever!

In north-east England, North Yorkshire to be exact, a metal detectorist found and recovered a frightening little object. Made of copper, and depicting the face of a “wild, violent and drunken female nymph” this find might have creeped us out at first. But thank goodness our fellow treasure hunter hung onto the little female figurine because it was identified and purchased by the Yorkshire Museum as a rare 2,000 year old Roman lamp!

Apparently only a handful of these lamps have ever been discovered in Britain and this one is in “brilliant” condition. The frightening head is thought to be that of a “Maenad” which translates to “raving ones,” who, in Greek and Roman mythology were the drunken, violent worshippers of Dionysus - God of mystery, wine and intoxication. Museum officials say it was common for Roman lamps to show the Maenad figures, as it was an example of what not to let yourself become.

If you had to create an object out of metal to warn future generations about “what not to let yourself become” - what would you make? For us, a violent, drunken nymph is a good place to start…

See the original article as listed in The Press here.

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Treasure hunting in the Philippines has been an exciting, promising hobby since World War II. Booty is supposedly scattered across Southeast Asia, hidden by Japanese occupation forces before the U.S. liberated the country and the exotic caves provide endless hope for treasure hunters and metal detectorists alike.

But as of early 2008, only Filipino citizens are allowed to conduct any kind of treasure hunt - meaning all booty is off limits to treasure hunting tourists like you and me! But it isn’t easy for the citizens either as they’ll need a one-year permit from the government and they’ll have to post a “surety bond” if the caves are on public or private land.

Why now, you ask? Well, their government has declared “all caves of cultural, palaeontological and historical value, with ancestral domains” and significant caves are off limits completely! This prompted all caves to come under government regulations to protect the country’s heritage and all items found and determined to have historical or cultural value will now revert to the government, while a committee will determine the share for the finder of other items of value.

The moral of the story - Look up the latest laws before you take your metal detector on vacation with you and stay up-to-date in order to stay out of trouble!

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