REL C HUNTER

The magazine for the Searcher and Detectorist

Volume 1 Issue 3 September - October 2010

Minelab Introduces 2 NEW Detectors. See the specs on pages 18 & 19. 52,500 Roman coins found buried in an offering pot. Rare 33ct Emerald found in North Carolina ! Search for the Vikings. Great beach discoveries. Plus, so much more inside ...
Relic Hunter September - October, 2010 1

Front view

Side view

Conventional coils detection field

DD coils detection field

DD coils narrow detection field offers better target separation than a conventional coil.

Indicates increased scan area of Garretts blunted DD coil design.

Great Holiday Gift Idea!

Relic Hunter September - October, 2010

Welcome to Relic Hunter Magazine!

New detectors and new discoveries are always an exciting event. Garrett and Minelab have introduced NEW detectors! As always, we bring you the best in exciting content, from stories and videos, about hunting in the field to the equipment we rely so much upon. Readership has grown so dramatically since the first issue and now hunters and history buffs are beginning to ask for the next issue. Well, here it is. Enjoy. Author Country

Jim Leonard Editor & Publisher

Table of Contents of Main Articles:

52,000 Roman Coins in an pot Stagecoach Road Emeralds in North Carolina found! Not just a normal day In search for the Vikings Golden night down at the beach Folded up Hammy Metal Detectives University
In the News

Various

UK

George D. Lesche USA Terry Ledford Terry Barnhart Jeff Brown USA USA Germany

Stuart Littlewood UK Dave Gary Brun Various UK Norway Various

Behind every great find is a great story!

Share with the rest of the World !
Send in your hunting story along with a few photos. Dont worry about your writing skills. Ill personally make sure that your story is placed Email your story to: jleonard@jpl-designs.com
Cover photo by Minelab - NEW detectors

Relic Hunter September - October, 2010

52,500 Coins In A Buried Roman Pot

One of the largest such discoveries ever found in Britain.

Dave Crisp, from Devizes in Wiltshire, a relic hunter, has found about 52,500 Roman coins in one of the largest such discoveries ever in Britain. Dave Crisp, a hospital chef, came across the buried treasure while searching for metal objects in a field near Frome, Somerset in southwestern England. The hoard, which is valued between 1 and 3 million dollars, includes hundreds of coins bearing the image of Marcus Aurelius Carausius, who seized power in Britain and northern France in the late third century and proclaimed himself emperor. Dave Crisp, was using his metal detector, located the coins in April in a field in southwestern England, according to the Somerset County Council and the Portable Antiquities Scheme. The coins were buried in a large jar about a foot (30 centimeters) deep and weighed about 160 kilograms (350 pounds) in all.
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Crisp said a funny signal from his metal detector which prompted him to start digging. I put my hand in, pulled out a bit of clay and there was a little radial, a little bronze Roman coin very, very small, about the size of my fingernail. He then recovered about 20 coins before discovering that they were in a pot, and realized he needed some expert help. Because Mr. Crisp resisted the temptation to dig up the coins it has allowed archaeologists from Somerset County Council to carefully excavate the pot and its contents, ensuring important evidence about the circumstances of its burial was preserved, said Anna Booth, of Somerset Council. Somerset Coroner Tony Williams scheduled an inquest to formally determine whether the find is subject to the Treasure Act, a formal step toward determining a price to be paid by any institution which wishes to acquire the hoard. The hoard is one of the largest ever found in Britain, and will reveal more about the nations history in the third century, said Roger Bland, of the British Museum. The find includes more than 760 coins from the reign of Carausius, between 286 - 293.

Dave Crisp, said: At the time when I actually found the pot I didnt know what size it was but when the archaeologists came and started to uncover it, I was gobsmacked, I thought hell, this is massive.

Relic Hunter September - October, 2010

But why?

Why were there so many coins buried in one pot?

An offering to the Gods?

The hoard contains 766 coins bearing an image of the Roman general Marcus Aurelius Carausius, who ruled Britain independently from AD 286 to AD 293 and was the first Roman emperor to strike coins in Britain. Roman rule in Britain was finally stabilized when the Emperor Diocletian formed a coalition with the Emperor Maximian, which lasted 20 years. This defeated the separatist regime which had been established in Britain by Carausius. This find presents us with an opportunity to put Carausius on the map. School children across the country have been studying Roman Britain for decades, but are never taught about Carausius, our lost British emperor.
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Somerset County Council archaeologists excavated the pot -- a type of container which is normally used for storing food -- it weighed 160kg (350 pounds). Later the hoard was transferred to the British Museum in London where the coins are being cleaned and recorded.

The Frome Hoard

Coins found in the container dated the layers, from the earliest on the bottom to the latest located near the top, gave a clear indication that the may have been used as an offering pot, before the container was filled, sealed and covered over. Coins were tossed in as an offering, much like giving coins in collection plate. The coins date from AD 253 to 293 and most of them are made of debased silver or bronze. We think that whoever buried it didnt intend to come back to recover it. We can only guess why people buried treasure, some buried savings, others because they feared an invasion, perhaps this was an offering to the Gods. This discovery of the Roman coins follows last years discovery of a hoard of AngloSaxon coins in central England. The so-called Staffordshire Hoard included more than 1,500 objects, mostly made from gold.

Click the screen below to watch the full interview with Dave Crisp.

Relic Hunter September - October, 2010

A Day in the Stagecoach Roads

By: George D. Lesche t was a heavy wooded area with tall oak and pine trees a long the crested pathway. Most of the dirt paths were overgrown with holly trees and large vines with large roots incasing the floors of the forest. The narrow paths rolled and twisted up and down through the uneven ground. There was a stream at the base of one of the hills with a rotted log draped across its flowing current. This site was the area of an old stagecoach road that ran past the northeastern quadrant of Bridgeton, New Jersey. There were abandoned picnic areas and old trash from the early 1900s strung throughout the woods. We metal detected this spot in 1995 and 1996. In 1995, my father found a cast-iron horse and buggy from this spot. The wheels are cab were still intact, with no visible rust. It was a kids toy from the turn of the century. In 1996, I walked a long the forest grove late-winter metal detecting with my Whites Classic II. My father was off a small distance metal detecting on the other side of the stream. I walked a lot the narrow path, ducking under sticker bushes. I traveled up the long steep hill that ran about twelve feet up from the road level. Once on top of the hill I started getting sharp hits with my
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detector. I pulled my hand trowel out from my sheath and starting digging. The dirt was soft and powdery here a long the trail. I passed my hands through the sandish type soil and found a rusted brass cap shotgun shell. I would end up finding many of these this day. There was a larger path heading deeper into the woods. This path had side paths that sprawled out toward to confines of the forest. They were too narrow to metal detect and some had large logs across them making the pathways impassable. I stuck to the main pathway; I had many hits, but I found a lot of trash such as rusty cans, bottle caps, and pulltabs. At this point, I was getting frustrated with this spot, and half-heartingly giving up with lazy swings with the Classic II. My father called, Are you okay up there son? I responded, Yes dad, I have found nothing but trash so far. Did you find anything? No, well continue you on; call me if you need any help digging Okay. I walked past a spot where there was a long oak log running vertically to the pathway. Eleven years after this day in 2007, a friend of ours would find a civil war coat intact with all its buttons, still attached. At this time,

I did not know that the coat was laid gently underneath the backside of the log just under the leave piles. It would have to wait until 2007 to be discovered. I started to walk back toward the road. I gave up on this spot with nothing but trash to be found. I stood on the top of the hill still swinging the coil as I began my downward decent. I suddenly had a good hit toward the top of the hill, but it was on the slope. I was half-tempted not to dig this hit this time because of so much trash, but I decided one more and then Ill turn off my machine. I dug with my hand trowel and passed the soil over my coil. No signal came across the unit; I continued to dig deeper amongst the thickening tree roots. The soil was tattered in brown and orange colors, mixed with pieces of loose cloth.

The cloth was black and contained many holes. It could have been someones jacket from many years ago or a handkerchief, but that was my assumption. I tossed some off the soil off to the side and saw a large coin like item appear on top of the dirt pile. I reached for it and swiped it over the coil to make sure it was metal. The coin or token had a weight to it like a half dollar weight. It had a modest amount of gold plating on it. It read: 1925 Charlie Chapin See me at the Gold Rush the back says At Criterion Theater November it also read Second -Third - Forth . What did this mean, I thought to myself. My father walked up and said, What did you find there son? I handed him the token and said, I dont know, says Charlie Chaplin on it.

Relic Hunter September - October, 2010

Stagecoach Roads Continued

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Dad looked at it flipping it to the back and then to the front again. Well, there used to be an old movie theater rumored to be from back here. This coin here can at least date it back to the earlier 1920s. He continued, Those park areas could have been part of the movie theater or at least a rest stop for the stagecoach road that ran through here. I nodded and took back the token from my father. He said, That is a very valuable piece you have there; put it in your pocket so you dont lose it. I put the token away and gathered up my gear. We started walking back to the truck since the temperature dropped to about forty degrees. When the day trip was over we only found the single token, but it is such a rare item that it would have made up the price of several large cents. At the truck my father put the metal detectors away and said, Congratulations son, you are Mr. Lucky. I nodded and said, I know, dad We both jumped in the truck and went on home.
Relic Hunter September - October, 2010

Editors Note: This find intrigued me after I read the story from George as to determine the origin of this token. With some Googleing, looking up names of theaters and Charlie Chaplin, I found a few movie posters from The Gold Rush. The Gold Rush was a 1925 silent film comedy written, produced, directed by, and starring Charlie Chaplin in his Little Tramp role. The film also stared Georgia Hale, Mack Swain, Tom Murray, Henry Bergman, and Malcolm Waite. Chaplin declared several times that this was the film that he most wanted to be remembered for. The Criterion Theatre is long gone, however there was reference to one in New York City and this token could have been used for admittance for the 1925 movie debut.

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A gem hunter pulls an emerald from a North Carolina farm.

by Terry Ledford

So large that its being compared with the crown jewels of Russian empress Catherine the Great was pulled from a pit near corn rows at a North Carolina farm. The nearly 65-carat emerald its finders are marketing by the name Carolina Emperor was pulled from a farm once so well known among treasure hunters that the owners charged $3 a day to shovel for small samples of the green stones. After the gem was cut and re-cut, the finished product was about one-fifth the weight of the original find, making it slightly larger than a U.S. quarter and about as heavy as a AA battery. The emerald compares in size and quality to one surrounded by diamonds in a brooch once owned by Catherine the Great, who was empress in the 18th century, that Christies auction house in New York sold in April for $1.65 million, said C.R. Cap Beesley, a New York gemologist who examined the stone. While big, uncut crystals and even notable gem-quality emeralds have come from the community 50 miles northwest of Charlotte called Hiddenite, there has never been one so big its worthy of an imperial treasury, Beesley said. It is the largest cut emerald ever to be found in North America, Beesley said in a telephone interview from Myanmar, an Asian
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country rich in precious gems. The discovery is a rarity for emeralds found not in the rich veins of South America and Asia but in North America, said Robert Simon, owner of Windsor Jewelers in Winston-Salem. Most of the stones that have come out have not been gem-quality that I would mount in jewelry, said Simon, who was part owner of a 7.85-carat, dime-sized emerald found in the same community in 1998 that has since been set in jewelry and sold to a private owner. Terry Ledford, 53, found the roughly 2-inchsquare chunk rimmed with spots of iron a year ago on a 200-acre farm owned by business partner Renn Adams, 90, and his siblings. The rural community of Hiddenite is named for a paler stone that resembles emerald. It was so dark in color that holding it up to the sun you couldnt even get the light to come through it, a quality that ensured an intense green hue once the stone was cut with facets that allowed light into the gems core, Ledford said. The North Carolina stone was cut to imitate the royal emerald, Ledford said. A museum and some private collectors interested in buying the emerald have been in contact, Ledford said. Modeling an empresss emerald is likely to have less influence on the North Carolina stones sale price than its clarity, color and cut, said Douglas Hucker, CEO of the American Gem Trade Association, a Dallas, Texas-based trade association for dealers in colored gems. A 65-carat cut emerald from North Carolina is a big, big stone, he said. But once an emerald is cut, its subject to the same type of market conditions that any emerald would be. Emeralds are part of North Carolinas mineral claim to fame, though other places in the U.S.

also are rich in gems. Maine mines have yielded aquamarine and amethyst, Montana bears sapphires, Idaho is known for star garnets, and Arkansas has diamonds. Its not fully known why small, subterranean cavities containing emeralds formed in central North Carolina, said geologist Michael Wise of the Smithsonians National Museum of Natural History, who has studied the underground world around Hiddenite for years. Emeralds are produced where a superheated fluid carrying the element beryllium migrated through rocks that contain chromium, Wise said.

North Carolina Emerald Mining

Emerald mining, at the only two fee for dig mines, that are open to the public today, to dig for North Carolina emeralds, mostly consists of digging through soil, or in tailings piles from previous mining operations. Both of these may require screening and washing your finds to locate the smaller emeralds in the waste material. To screen your emerald bearing material youll need a box screen with 1/8 mesh screen in it. Simply place a shovel full of material in your screen and shake out the dirt. Then take the material left in your screen to a tub with water in it or another water source. Now wash off your material to get rid of any remaining dirt that may be on the stones and begin looking for the wonderful green color of your emeralds. Once you find an emerald staring up at you from the waist material, youll know why some men have spent a lifetime searching for these exquisite gemstones.

Emerald Mines Open to the Public

This doesnt happen frequently, Wise said. The conditions have to be just right to make an emerald. ... It happens to be the case at this particular place. Adams said decades ago when his parents owned the farm, they allowed anyone with a shovel to dig for emeralds on the property for $3 a day. Virtually all of it was too full of flaws to be cut into precious stones and was mostly sold to mineral collectors, Adams said. Ledford said they dont plan to quit after pocketing the profits from their big find, Ledford said. Well definitely keep on mining, he said. It would be good to know you dont have to go and could do it for pleasure. You feel like youve got to find something to survive but since we found this emerald, once we get it sold, there will be less stress.

Currently there are only two fee for dig emerald mines open to the public that will allow you to search for your own North Carolina emeralds: Crabtree Emerald Mine Spruce Pine, NC Emerald Hallow Mine Hiddenite, NC

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Not just another day

By Terry Barnhart

y hunting partner Jaime Sites and I went out Sunday afternoon for a little detecting. I have been in a silver slump now for quite awhile. And today that all ended in a big way. We drove around the countryside looking for an old farm house and started knocking doors, we spotted a nice looking property with a late 1800s large brick home, so we stopped talked to the owner and got permission and began to hunt. The first few feet into the yard I got a 1926 buffalo nickel, that was a good sign, then the next three targets were wheat pennies. I knew there had to be silver and I wanted it! Well my partner Jaime signaled to me he just dug a 1946 silver quarter and that got me excited, I wanted silver bad! I continued to find several more wheats then I walked along the sidewalk and got a solid 07-47. I was thinking no way this could be a half dollar, I havent even got a silver dime here yet! I cut a nice deep plug just in case, didnt want to scratch a silver half dollar, removed a little dirt and I saw a large silver rim peeking at me from the bottom of the hole. My heart was racing as I reached in and removed the coin, it was a 1895 barber half! I was pumped because this is my first ever barber half and I also ended my silver slump, in a BIG way. I stood up and the very next signal about a foot from the barber half I get another solid 0747.........I am thinking this cant be happening..... another half!? Could it be? I once again cut a large plug knowing the possibility of a half dollar was very real, and once again it was another silver half, this time it was a 1918-s Walker. I was on cloud nine......I did not field clean either coin, so I did not know the actual dates until I got home. I wrapped them in a soft cloth and placed them in my pouch. The thought of having a possible key date half was killing me! I continued to detect some more and scored 2 Rosies in one hole, then a 1918D Merc dime, too bad it wasnt 2 years older! One 1904 indian
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penny, and finished up the day with a silver war nickel. I Ended up with 11 wheats dating from 1909 to 1941. My partner found the 1946 silver quarter, a silver ring with a small turquoise stone, 3 tokens, several wheats and a toy cap gun. All in all it was a super hunt for both of us. Turned into a 6 silver day! I wont forget this hunt for awhile!

Relic Hunter September - October, 2010

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In Search for the Vikings

by Jeff Brown

Detectorists and archaeological authorities really can work well together.

I was out searching today with a certified group of detectorists. An archaeologist had done some research and was hoping to find some proof of an early middle-age/Viking settlement, near a village here in Schleswig-Holstein. (see map to right) Well, we didnt find anything middle age/Viking, but we did have some success. It went something like this: We had divided the field into sections and had been searching for about two hours with absolutely no finds. I decided to have a break and went to the car to get a coffee. I had just finished one section, and on the way to the car I went the first lane on the next section. The car was parked to the right of the field, and I was just about to veer off to the car, still no good signals. Then I thought I might as well finish the last 10 meters. PEEEP! Two steps later a good signal. And out came this.

Looked definitely like part of a bronze sword.

So I searched around for 5 minutes, and lucky day today, got the tip of the sword.
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Schleswig-Holstein lies on the base of Jutland Peninsula between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. Strictly speaking, Schleswig refers to the German Southern Schleswig, whereas Northern Schleswig is in Denmark. The state of Schleswig-Holstein further consists of Holstein as well as Lauenburg, and the formerly independent city of Lbeck. This makes it one of the few nations with a boundary where the name is used in two countries; usually it is two counties villages that share the same name, as in Somerset.

Well being quite chuffed, I thought I deserved a coffee now. If theres more to be found it can wait 3.5 thousand years and ten minutes! Apart from that, half the group were now searching the area. Just finished my coffee, and one of the lads came. Ich habe noch einen Stck gefunden I found another piece Half an hour later we had a part of the grip: These bits will be in the workshop on Monday to be cleaned and conserved, dated, and decided if it is complete, or if we search for any still missing parts. Was a good day, and shows again that hobby detectorists and archaeological authorities can really work well together, even if we possibly prove some of their theories can be wrong! And laid together looks something like this:

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Relic Hunter September - October, 2010

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Folded Up

esterday, a non-detec wasted 3 hours 55 mi produced a few stand worth detailing.

Of course I enjoyed an overdos cise than staying at home and anticipation before digging ou This is after all, is what most of an item to proudly show our fr

The start of my intended four h and Pro coil saw three signals i walking to my favoured produ nored as they said do not both third signal sang out loud and folded penny.

It is clenched firmly on a strip o folded and must have been do thoughts as to when and why strip. Perhaps Ill find out and d

At this stage I intend to leave it son years ago when I carefully

As far as cleaning was concern in warm water using a soft too photographs apart from cropp sure the vertical axis ran true.
20 Relic Hunter September - October, 2010

p Hammy
by Dave

ctorist would consider that I inutes in a search which only dard bits and bobs that are not

se of fresh air, got more exerhad numerous moments of ut a small piece of lead (say). f us do in the quest for finding riends.

hour search with my E-Trac in the first five minutes (while uctive area). The first two I igher to dig me. However, the clear and turned out to be a

of silver which, in itself, is also one intentionally. I havent any y it was folded up with a silver do an update

t as is having learnt my lesstraightened a love token

ned I merely washed the coin othbrush. I did nothing to the ping the image and making
Relic Hunter September - October, 2010 21

GOLDEN NIGHT DOWN AT THE BEACH

by Stuart Littlewood As usual every weekend I arrange a club dig for Sunday for our local club, Dewsbury District Metal Detecting Club, but at this time of the year it is very hard finding anywhere to get a dig for the day, as all the local farms are fully cropped up so its pasture or the beach for the day. For the last 3 weeks, me and 2 of my detecting mates, also members of DDMDC, arrange a night out for beach detecting on the east coast. At night, its quite on the beach and you have the full stretch of the beach to yourself for all night and parking is free after 17.30PM. This particular night, Thursday, July 8th, we arranged to meet at Pauls house at 18.00PM. When I arrived there, we all quickly got our detectors and sand scoops, pouches, and headlamps together and loaded everything in to Pauls car. This week as last week we had gone in my car. After going to the local petrol station for our sandwiches and drinks, we had a steady drive to the beach. This usually takes us an 1hr to 1hr and 30 mins depending on traffic on the A64. We got to the beach about 20.00PM and we parked up on the side street. To our surprise, no one was detecting on the beach tonight. It was high tide but there was around 25 feet of beach to detect still.
Relic Hunter September - October, 2010

So after we had a quick brews and a sandwich. We got our detectors and diggers out and got ready for a nights detecting. I was using the Minelab Excalibur 2 - Mark was using a Minelab E-trac - Paul was using is Laser Trident 2 We headed out on to the dry sand of the beach to start off while the tide started going out.... We all split up and went our separate ways. I searched a area of around 40 foot square finding plenty of loose change 4 x 50p,3 x 10p, 9 x 20p, 4 x 1, 13 x 5p, 14 x 2p, 10 x 1p, (6 x old 1967 one pennies) and the usual pull tabs or bottle tops. Paul and Mark had about the same amount of success after 1hour of detecting on the dry sand. After about 1 hour, I decided to detect down the side of the beach wall, which was around 700 meters long but only 2 foot tall up to the road level. After about 20 yards I had found a hand full of change and had found about 6 or 7 buried beer cans and 3 tent pegs. I had left my discriminate at no 1 so I didnt want to miss anything as while I detected.
Excalibur 2 Settings Were: Discriminate Mode = set to 1 Threshold = Silent hum Volume = High Sensitivity = 4

22

After 100 yards I decided to boost up my sensitivity from 4 to 9 and immediately started noticing the difference in the amount of coins I was getting. Plus the depth was a lot deeper. I also started getting lots of small 5p at a depth of 1ft. Then I got a very silent signal but it was a 2 way signal so I decided to dig it anyway. I dug in the sand down to a depth of around 0.5ft and I could see that it was a gold ring with 26 set stones set in the ring.... absolutely amazing seeing the ring in my hand. This was first ring I had found with the Excalibur Paul, Mark and I stood together looking at the ring and sharing and looked at each others finds of the night. Paul and Marks remarks were thats one nice ring, well done Stu.
The aquamarine is surrounded by 13 small, bright sparkling diamonds that glisten continuously with 4 diamonds cascading down the shoulders of the ring. The ring is set in 9ct yellow gold stamped 375. The ring has a 0.50ct crisp, bright aquamarine stone in the centre.

We all set off detecting again with more eagerness than before. I had a big grim on my face hoping tomorrow would never come. After walking around about 20 yards I got back to the find spot of were the ring came out. Paul runs up to me with a big grin on his face, Ive just found something that will match your ring and it was stuck half buried in the sand, so I said, come on then, show me, expecting it to be a iron screw or a rusty bolt and he opened his hand and there was one of the nicest 18ct gold belcher chain with a rose gold latch at one end and a loop at the
Relic Hunter September - October, 2010

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other end. We noticed the loop had a 1 mm gap. This was probably how it was lost since the chain was very heavy. We were all very shocked of the finds of the night At this time the tide had started going out and the wet sand was dropping to a incline as gullies started showing in the sand. I said to Paul, shall we all try down here on the wet sand? So we all decided to search the wet sand within 20 minutes lots of loose change and some more 1967 one pennies were found. We started heading across the beach, Mark shouts out, got a ring! This was also a nice
24 Relic Hunter September - October, 2010

engraved silver ring that looked like a childs ring. Next we started searching in a line across the beach towards the bottom of the south beach on the flat wet sand. The signals were few and far between, probably only 2 signals for every 200 yards. After a half hour, we all headed back towards where we had started. As we got half way, Paul said lets try that soft sand again. We walked and detected the soft sand. Our legs and arms were aching and I got another signal, just out side the deckchair stall. I said to Paul its a 5p by the

looks of it, so I used my sand scoop and stuck it in the ground. I could here the jingle in the scoop and I could see the round edge of a small coin, half in the sand so I picked it up and my finger went through the center of it. I couldnt believe it. We walked over to were the streetlights shone on the sand so we could see what I had found. It was a lovely aquamarine and diamond gold cluster ring. At the end of the night we had found about 35 total, in loose change and plenty of gold. This will be night we will always remember. Well be back soon!

Click below for more information DDMDC:

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Relic Hunter September - October, 2010

MY OLDEST COIN FIND TO DATE

(with a twist) by Pete Briggs, Yeasty
Im blessed to be in an area where really old coins can be found. Ive done a lot of research and have narrowed it down to where I think Id identified some likely areas to improve my chances. My research has led me to find 4 colonial era coins (a Connecticut Copper, 2 King George II halfpence, and a King George III halfpence) and an early (1805) Draped Bust Half Cent. However, the circumstances that led to the finding of the King George I halfpence are a little different with a twist at the end. Weve been having some very hot and humid weather around here but finally, last Friday, the humidity had dropped somewhat so I decided to go out on a hunt but it had to be in a SHADY AREA! I decided to go over to a well pounded park which had plenty of nice old trees and just search in their shade. I was hoping to find a silver rosie or even a merc dime if I got lucky. After swinging the E-Trac for about a half hour and finding 3 clad quarters and a clad dime, I got a sweet 12 46 tone and, I thought, another quarter. Well, LO AND BEHOLD, a large copper coin popped up! At first I thought it was a large cent or some kind of token because its diameter and thickness were different from the other colonial coins Id found, but after carefully brushing off some of the dirt I saw that the bust was facing to the right! I went to the car, got out the water bottle and rinsed it off somewhat. Then I saw Miss Britannia sitting there on her shield and holding her trident. I was also able to easily read the date. 1721! To say the least, I was dumbfounded. I would never have expected to find a colonial era coin in this area. I now have found examples of all 3 Georges who ruled during our colonial period! After looking at it for about half an hour I called my detecting buddy Mike and told him about it. He said hed be right over to look at it. Of course, he was suitably impressed! We hunted together for about another hour and found only more clad

coins and then we went home. Now heres the twist: About an hour after I got home Mike gave me a call. He said Hey! That coin you found nearly cost you $100! Confused, I asked him what he was talking about. He told me that he went to a store after he left the hunting site and realized he had lost his Lesche digging tool. So he returned to find it. Well, he found it but then noticed that MY Predator shovel and Lesche hand tool were stuck upright in the dirt next to where I had parked! I was so stoked about finding the halfpence that I had forgotten them when I left for home! I thanked him profusely and we met up and he returned them. He was very happy that my forgetfulness trumped his and that he said he would make note of it to everyone at the next metal detecting club meeting! And yes, I will deserve it. (Note: I almost used a more vulgar term for forgetfulness but this is, after all, a family oriented e-magazine. But you all know what I mean.) The moral of the story is that research will pay off but sometimes luck gets on your side. Also, I like being lucky more than being good! However, I do plan to paint the Predator shovel a BRIGHT ORANGE to help in not being such a D_ _ _ _ _ S. Uh, I mean to help in not forgetting it again! HAPPY HUNTING!
Relic Hunter September - October, 2010 27

In The News:

Plumber unearths WWII prisoner of war camp for 10,000 German soldiers in his back garden
The Daily Mail Reporter

shocked plumber has discovered a prisoner of war camp that housed 10,000 German soldiers during the Second World War - in his back garden. David Murray, 39, was digging behind his bungalow when he unearthed a dog tag that clearly belonged to a German prisoner. He gained permission from his landlord to continue excavations and within an hour
28 Relic Hunter September - October, 2010

he had located old bottles, buttons from uniforms and used ammunition. A shocked plumber has discovered a prisoner of war camp that housed 10,000 German soldiers during the Second World War - in his back garden. David has now recovered more than 2,000 items from the camp, including a live grenade that had to be blown up by a RAF bomb disposal unit.

Self-employed plumber David, of Much Hadham, Herts., said he was completely shocked at the find. He said: It was a huge shock when I found the tag, it was just poking out of the ground so it was just luck I saw it glint in the light. Ive been storing all of the items in my shed but its getting very full up now so I am hoping to get a Nissan hut to display everything in. The grenade was a complete shock too, I spotted it in the ground and didnt realise what it was, it didnt look like the ones you see in films at all. I tried to defuse it a couple of times myself but I couldnt get the screws off the top. Its a good job because the RAF said it was very unstable. They werent very happy with me when I

told them Id been holding it next to my ear and listening to see if it would go bang. Its really incredible to think that 70 years 10,000 prisoners of war were walking around in my back garden. The Wynches Camp opened in 1939 and first housed Italian prisoners, but later took Germans - some of whom did not leave until 1947. Historians believe that the camp was also used for Allied training and accommodated American and Indian Gurkha units as they geared up for war. The 40-acre camp, which held up to 10,000 prisoners, was situated in Much Hadham, and Davids landlord owns 20 acres of the land it stood on. Following the war, the camp was opened, leaving prisoners to work as farmhands beRelic Hunter September - October, 2010 29

In The News:
fore they were released when it was torn down in around 1950. Some prisoners are thought to have remained in Much Hadham after the closure, with rumours that a number fathered children and married local girls. David, who lives with his brother, dad-ofthree Alec, 35, who is also a plumber, has so far excavated just one acre of the site. He believes it could take a years of digging and researching before the camp is fully exposed. David spends all his free time armed with a metal detector and has discovered over six pits filled with historic artefacts. Round brass washers and coins from all over the world, including German coins with Nazi emblems, have been among the smallest items found. Bottles of alcohol, mineral water from Bishops Stortford, boot polish from Philadelphia and 1930s retro perfume bottles have also been discovered on the site. David has also dug up live ammunition for Lee-Enfield .303 calibre rifles and .45 calibre pistol rounds and is now painstakingly labelling each item. He is continuously patrolling the site to watch for night hawkers, who he fears will steal the historic artefacts. He is working alongside local historian Richard Maddams to research the camp and the duo hope to write a book on their findings. They are appealing for anyone with information about Much Hadham in the Second World War period to contact them on murraya@tiscali.co.uk.

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In The News:

Minelab Strikes Gold in Chicago!

Minelab USA is Downers Grove (Chicago area), Illinois newest business member! The world famous metal detection technologies company, known for its exclusive premier level gold detecting machines and coin, relic, and treasure detectors, has moved its headquarters to Downers Grove, Illinois. With record sales and a business plan for focused business growth, Minelab has chosen to more centrally locate their Minelab USA headquarters. The Chicago area is the perfect central location to further expand and support its operations. Minelab USA Vice President Gary Schafer states, We are excited about the opportunity to better serve our North and South American markets with a more centrally located sales and service center. While we are maintaining a sales office in Las Vegas our new Minelab Americas headquarters features a Customer Care Center and product distribution point. We are now officially opened in Downers Grove, Illinois a western suburb of Chicago. A state of the art demo room, a full service repair workshop and Minelab trained and certified technicians will ensure customers receive excellent service and are delighted to be a part of the Minelab community. Since its origins in 1985, Minelab has been the world leader in providing the best metal detection technologies for customers, including the land mine detection needs of humanitarian and military organizations. With offices in Australia, Ireland, and the United States, Minelabs employees seek to always understand the diverse customer requirements and to apply its technologies to meet the customers needs. Minelab have a worldwide vision to provide first class products, services, and customer care while increasing interest and knowledge in the field of metal detection. Chicago, with its diverse
32 Relic Hunter September - October, 2010

population and work force is the perfect location to continue this world-wide vision of growth. Minelab will continue to operate in Las Vegas with a new sales office located at 3752 Howard Hughes Drive, Suite 200 Las Vegas, Nevada. The Las Vegas office is a crucial part of Minelabs business, being located in the middle of United States gold country! Its sales and marketing staff are there to help the west coast business partners and support Chicagos customer service operations.

Minelab is also opening a new training and demo center in the Prescott Valley area of Arizona. This center will be focused on enhancing our resellers education programs as well as delivering regular detection outings to our end-Customers. The official grand opening for the new Minelab USA headquarters in Downers Grove, Illinois was held on August 12, 2010.

One of the most iconic and best-known objects at the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum was stolen.
Click screen for video play

The Mel Fisher Maritime Museum in Key West, Florida holds the richest single collection of 17th-century maritime and shipwreck antiquities in the Western Hemisphere, including treasures and artifacts from the Atocha and Santa Margarita. It was reported that two thieves entered a museum shortly after closing at 5PM and stole a 74.85-ounce, 11-inch (28-centimeter) gold bar which was inside a glass display case with a small opening where visitors could stick a

hand inside and lift the bar to examine it. Police and the FBI are working to identify the suspects who took the gold bar which had been on display for more than 20 years. Surveillance captures caught the faces of these two men, believed to be the suspects who walked off with the gold bar. According to Alyson Crean, Key West Police spokeswoman, one suspect is described as a white male, about six feet tall with dark hair and a medium build. The second suspect is about five feet, six inches tall.
Relic Hunter September - October, 2010 33

In The News:
The gold bar came from a 1622 shipwreck that Fisher discovered.
Everybody who comes to the museum is encouraged to lift the gold bar and to have a firsthand experience with history, said Melissa Kendrick, the museums executive director. This is one of the most iconic and best-known objects in the museum. The security systems worked because we knew the bar was stolen within 10 minutes, and we have usable video and photos for law enforcement, Kendrick said. The museum made a decision to designate this as a handling object, allowing people to touch the artifact, and this was part of the risk involved in granting public access. Anyone with information about these men should contact the Key West Police Department at (305) 809-1111.

Photo Credit: Miami Herald/Florida Keys News Bureau

The Gold bar has an estimated value of $550,000 and the Museums insurance company is offering a $25 thousand reward.

The Thief
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The Lookout

Rare coin wins award for detectorist

By Alana Lewis

Metal detectorist Jim Belk has won a national award after finding a rare Anglo Saxon coin on farmland in north Wiltshire. Mr Belk, 76, of Esmead, Chippenham, won the most significant coin award in The Searcher Magazine competition in recognition of the 1,050-year-old coin he dug up on land near Cricklade. The great-grandfather of four, who was awarded a glass trophy, said: I was delighted when I was told I had won, because I was up against a gold coin and mine was just silver. But it is the new information that my coin brought which made it stand out. The coin, inscribed with Edgar King of England and a cross, is the earliest recorded coin to be minted in Cricklade and revealed that moneyer Sigewold worked at the mint. It was not known that Sigewold worked there until I found this, said Mr Belk. The coin came out of a field which has been ploughed for centuries, and most come out broken, bent or corroded, but this is damn near perfect. Mr Belk took up metal detecting as a hobby about ten years ago when he retired, and was soon hooked, collecting more than 1,000 items.

He said: I dont know what prompted me to take it up, but I found it fascinating. One of the first areas of ground I was given was Bowood Lord Lansdownes property where I found a Roman bronze brooch and a Roman coin, which turned out to be a forgery. It was still from Roman times, but was bronze with silver plating. There are only a few months during the year when Mr Belk is able to take his metal detector out, and he always asks permission from the landowner before embarking on a search. He said: You can go out in the autumn just after the harvest, or during the Spring when the crops have reached a certain height, but it depends on whether the land is arable or pasture. Pasture fields are not ploughed so once you have covered it properly there is no point in going back, while arable fields can keep bringing up new finds when they have been ploughed. What you find depends on the site too, some fields are full of shot gun bullets and cans that the farmer has thrown out of his tractor, but you never know.

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In The News:

Brisbens hunt sunken treasure from 1715 Spanish Fleet

By Laura Baverman

$900 M in gold, silver, jewels believed buried off Florida coast

Its paying off for father and son Bill and Brent Brisben. The once-active real estate developers bought salvage rights in June to 75 square miles of Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida. They believe up to $900 million worth of gold, silver, jewels and artifacts from an 18th century fleet of Spanish ships is buried deep below the ocean floor there. In just a month of diving, theyve already found $500,000 worth of loot including a 400-year-old cannon, 51 gold and 41 silver coins dated from 1698. Bill Brisben founded and built Sycamore Township-based Brisben Cos. into a national developer and operator of apartment communities. At one time, his company owned 20,000 units in 20 states. He sold the company in 2002 and was appointed by President George Bush a U.S. ambassador to UNICEF until 2009. Although Brisben kept his home in Indian Hill, he spent much of his time in Florida in recent years building up a collection of recovered treasure. All his life he had been fascinated with treasure and treasure hunting, said his son, Brent. In February, Bill convinced Brent of Montgomery to join him in Sebastian, Fla., the home of famed treasure hunter Mel Fishers Treasure Museum. Fishers family had offered up for sale its custodial rights to search for the remains of the 1715 Spanish Fleet, believed to be
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strewn along the ocean floor between Melbourne and Stewart, Fla. It was too good to pass up, Brisben said. Luckily, we were the ones they chose to sell it to. The story goes that 11 ships left Havana, Cuba that year on their way back to Spain. They carried thousands of coins, artifacts and eight chests of jewels that King Philip V planned to use as dowry in his marriage to Queen Elizabeth (called the Queens Jewels). But the ships got caught in a hurricane, and all but one sank. The Queens Jewels have since provided the story lines behind movies The Deep and Fools Gold. The first traces of the fleet were found in the early 1960s, said Carl Fismer, a 40-year treasure hunter who runs the Spanish Main Treasure Co. in the Florida Keys. A Hamilton native, he worked on the 1715 fleet from 1980 to 1992. Fisher received custodial rights in the early 1960s and had success finding coinage and artifacts through 1990. But since then, major finds have been fewer, Fismer said. There is still treasure there to be had, he said. But how many years is it going to take to get it? Particularly challenging also is the controversy surrounding private treasure hunting in the state of Florida. Federal admiralty law governs business that happens on the sea like marine commerce, navigation, shipping and salvage, but it is handled in state courts. Because sunken treasure has been lost for hundreds of years, it had been exempt from traditional maritime laws which required findings be split between the owner and hunter. Until 1975, sunken treasure hadnt been governed by law at all. The U.S. Supreme Court eventually handled a case involving the Fisher family, and ruled that hunters must participate in a process called divisions at the end of each year. They bring all of the findings during the year to the state, which lays claim to 20 percent. The rest is typically split between the investors and the contrac-

tors who found the items. You have to have perseverance, Fismer said. Treasure hunting can be costly and provide few returns, especially after the division process. Hopefully theyve got people advising them. The Brisbens are prepared for their explorations to take some time. Treasure is typically buried under 6 to 12 feet of sand, and is best found in the summer months when the waters are warmer and calmer. Divers hired by the Brisbens lower an elbowshaped tube over the propeller of the boat and then fire the engines. When the water flushes through the tube, it comes out the bottom and digs a hole in the sand down to the bedrock. Divers then swim with metal detectors to search the holes. The Brisbens use a state-of-the-art computerassisted design system, like one used to design and construct a building. Since 1983, the system has helped hunters track every hole that has been explored and what was found in those holes. Friends back home expect the Brisbens have taken the same hard look at the risk and reward as they did in the real estate industry. My guess is that Bill negotiated and bought in really good, and he probably knows exactly what his downside is, said Phil Montanus, a partner in Mt. Adams-based real estate firm, Towne Properties. Hell personally get involved and work it hard. Thats how hes been successful in real estate. The July 11 findings gave some reassurance that the rewards could be great. Investors and appraisers already have called about laying claim to the Brisbens findings. One coin, for example, is valued at $20,000. Several production companies are interested in a reality show about their operations. Everybody is fascinated by this. Thats part of what drew us into it, the younger Brisben said. Its interesting, fascinating and a heck of a lot of fun.
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In The News:

36 years lost, now found.

by Alan Turner

It was summer 1974, and love was in the air. Judith Goode and her steady beau they had exchanged class rings just weeks earlier - frolicked at the San Jacinto battlefield. Then, as the young man rocketed a frisbee into the blue, Goodes Deer Park High School ring sailed off his pinky and was lost amid the grass. For two weeks the pair, metal detector in hand, scoured the sacred turf that Sam Houston trod in search of the $45.10 white gold band with its emerald-green stone. And for all their sweat and tears they got - nothing.

All that changed Wednesday when Goode, now Judith Goode Fesler, was reunited with the long-lost ring, which archeologists found earlier this month while hunting for historic artifacts near the site of a soon-to-be-replaced sewer line. When park superintendent Russell Kuykendall handed the still-shiny 1973 class ring to Fesler, she burst into tears. Oh my, she warbled, as her husband, Warren Fesler, and a small group of park officials broke into grins. I wish my daddy was alive to see this.

Archeologist Roger Moore said the ring was discovered not far from the park headquarters during a metal detector-aided search for artifacts. Many people think that the area has been completely picked over, but there still are battle artifacts close to the surface, he said. Along with beer can tabs and other metal trash, Moore and his assistants have recovered fragments of early 19th century firearms, relics of the 1836 clash between Texan and Mexican troops. Volunteer Gary Wiggins found the ring about 4 inches below the surface. The only clue to its owners identity were the engraved initials JG. Tracking her down Fesler, a Kerrville resident who drives a bus for a Hill Country school district, was identified through a list of 1973 grads maintained by Deer Park Highs alumni association. Im going to wear this on a chain, she said, adjusting the now-snug jewelry on her little finger. After the futile search for the lost ring, Fesler resigned herself to never seeing it again. Sometime later, she and her sweetheart parted ways. She gave him back his own ring. Thirty years ago, Fesler bought herself a new class ring, but, she admitted, it never was the same. Unlike most of her classmates rings, which bore a Deer Park High-maroon stone, Feslers original ring was customized with a green stone - both her birth stone and the color of the school at which she spent half her high school years. Its a sentimental thing, Fesler said. Ive known what type of ring I wanted since I was in the third grade.

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Treasure Trove Inquiries

by Linda Fort A metal detecting enthusiast hunting in Stanford Dingley on St Valentines Day, appropriately found a gold Roman ring. Steven Fenton from Ealing was searching with his metal detector in a field with the permission of the landowner on February 14, last year, when he found the ring. Coroner Peter Bedford held a treasure trove inquest in Newbury on Wednesday to decide whether was searching near a gravel extraction site on December 6, when his detector picked up a strong signal. He had found a small gold ring in the area a week before and pestered the landowner to hunt again. He told the coroner: He turned me down at first but I kept on asking. When he searched again he found a gold Bronze Age torc of which the first small ring he had found was part. The torc a kind of necklace was authenticated by Gillian Vandell at the British Museum who dated it to between 1300 and 1100 BC more than 3,000 years old. It was 83 per cent gold and 15 per cent silver. Mr Bedford explained under the Treasure Act 1996 a coroner had to establish the find was more that 300 years old and had more than a 10 per cent gold or silver content. Both finds fell easily into that category and he declared them treasure. The treasures have to be valued and offered to an appropriate museum first and if the museum does not want to buy them, they can then be sold. The ownership is usually negotiated between the finder and landowner.

the ring was old enough and precious enough to be declared treasure. He heard Mr Fenton who was not at the inquest had found the Roman finger ring four to six inches underground on cultivated land. It was sent to the British Museum for authentication where expert Ralph Jackson dated it between the 1st and 4th century AD. He said the ring contained more than 89 per cent gold and more than five per cent silver. Mr Bedford also dealt with a second treasure inquest in the Windsor area. David Conway from Crown Wood, Bracknell,

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Relic Hunter September - October, 2010

( Sample Computer Screen )

Relic Hunter September - October, 2010

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In The News:

Hunting the beaches of North Carolina

- Shipwreck Found. By Sarah Hoye
In Corolla, North Carolina, Ray Midgett hunts the Corolla beaches on the Outer Banks of North Carolina almost every day. Beachcombing, or metal detecting, or relic hunting is in my blood, said Midgett, a retired government worker who hits the sand between October and April. of brutal Noreasters, making it the oldest shipwreck found off the coast of North Carolina. But historians had to act fast to recover the ship, according to Meghan Agresto, site manager of the Currituck Beach Lighthouse. This winter, it just got smacked. After awhile the ocean was going to take it back, Agresto said. The fact that we got it off the beach makes us excited because we got to save it. Midgett and other beachcombers had discovered a number of relics near the shipwrecks beach grave site, including coins believed to be from the reign of Louis XIII in France and Charles I in England, lead bale seals used for identification, and spoons dating to the mid-1600s. Midgett said he feels a personal connection to the discovery. This shipwreck is a part of me, and some of the other hunters, too, that have been hunting around it for years, Midgett said. Im just so glad that they decided to save it. The rough currents and shallow sand bars off North Carolinas Outer Banks have destroyed thousands of ships in what is sometimes called the Graveyard of the Atlantic. However, it is rare to find the remains of a shipwreck -- particularly a wooden vessel -intact.

There are so many shipwrecks up here, its just beautiful. Midgett drives his pickup truck right onto the beach using the access road near the Currituck Beach Lighthouse. With a metal detector and shovel in tow, hes uncovered everything from antique coins to wedding rings. Yet his biggest discovery came in December when he located the remains of a historic shipwreck. The wreckage, hidden under the sand for centuries, became fully exposed after a winter
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Throughout winter, the Corolla beach shipwreck would repeatedly get uncovered and covered again. The waves would also move it along the coastline, causing damage. Im glad we got to it when we did. ... It may have covered back up and survived another summer, Midgett said. But next winter it would have been the same thing over and it eventually would have gone to pieces. Midgett, who used to work as a government auditor, wanted to make sure his discovery was salvaged, so he personally lobbied North Carolina state Sen. Marc Basnight. After numerous phone calls and e-mails appealing to Basnight, a beach lover himself, he was successful. In April, volunteers from the Wildlife Resources Commission, Underwater Archaeology Branch, the Corolla Fire Department and area residents helped free the wreck from the sand and tow it near the lighthouse. Archaeologists originally thought the wreck could be the HMS Swift, a British Navy ship from the late 18th century that originally ran around in the southern Chesapeake Bay off Virginias coast. The HMS Swift drifted to the Outer Banks, where it was looted once it hit shore, then disabled by the looters so it wouldnt resurface. After further examination of the ships 12ton skeleton -- complete with wooden peg fasteners -- archaeologists determined that it was not the HMS Swift, but most likely a merchants ship dating to the mid- to late-1600s. That makes it the oldest shipwreck found along the states coast. History is the one thing we have that has a reasonable amount of certainty attached to it, said Joseph Schwarzer, director of North Carolina Maritime Museums. It tells us where weve been, it tells us whats happening, and

its a directional sign for where you need to go next. Before the Corolla Beach discovery, the oldest shipwreck found along the states coast was Queen Annes Revenge, the presumed flagship of Blackbeard the pirate said to have run aground in 1718, according to the North Carolina Maritime Museums. This shipwreck is a part of me ... Im just so glad that they decided to save it. Beach wreck and some of its artifacts will be moved to the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum on Hatteras Island, North Carolina. Midgett and the other beachcombers are entitled to keep the coins and other artifacts found near the ship they discovered. Its very exciting to find something from this time period, said Richard Lawrence, director of the North Carolina Underwater Archaeology Branch for the Department of Cultural Resources. And amazingly we found it in this beach environment. It appears this wreck has been sitting here for 350 years almost undisturbed until this winter. Lawrence said the discovery would never have happened without Midgett. Ray Midgett was probably more responsible than anybody to get this wreck off the beach, Lawrence said. He created enough of a stir to get various organizations involved. Thankfully, Ray and his colleagues collected various artifacts that would have otherwise not survived.
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