Any Metal Detectorists On The Forum.....?

This is something that I've asked on the few forums I'm involved with, but, as it's a big interest of mine, I like to know if there are any kindred spirits around!? Laugh!!!

I've been detecting for almost a year now and we've had some lovely finds over the period concerned, from all around the West Mids. and Staffs region.

A bit of a mixed-bag selection of our finds can be seen here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/48798223@N03/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26259576@N06/

All the best,

Nick

I watch them every morning on the beach, there are at least 20, never spoken to them, so don't know of any finds, apart from obviously money which is what most of them are probably looking for.

I have a Radio Shack toy stlye model which has never been used outside of the garden.
When I was a kid I built my own but again it never left the garden, I always planned to go and do it properly but never have.

A brief description of the home built one......
A coil of copper wire wound around a saucepan and put on a wooden X sandwiched between two pieces of hardboard, this was fixed to the end of a TV aerial, without the radiators, and bent some way down from the top for a handle. I built a simple beat oscillator into a plastic box and connected it to the coil. A small transistor radio was then strapped in place on top of the box and tuned into the oscillator. The coils magnetic field was affected by metals and the oscillator responded by varying in frequency, which in turn affected the beat tone on the radio.
VM

Never done this but they are useful people.The staffordshire hoard was found by a detector and I was watching a programme the other night and this guy had found a huge pot of old coins.

Can you imagine how it must be to find these things........so exciting.

Think I would get excited if I ffound a 20p coin lol

Posted by signman

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I watch them every morning on the beach, there are at least 20, never spoken to them, so don't know of any finds, apart from obviously money which is what most of them are probably looking for.

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Hmmmmm - I'm not at all impressed with the coin-skimmer detectorists, to be honest SignMan. There are generally two kinds of detectorist, it seem - those who're interested in the history of it all and those who've seen a way of making a bit of cash from a hobby..... I'm of the former, while my detecting partner definitely swings towards the latter!! (Though he'd deny it!! Laugh, laugh!!) I love finding lead musket balls (seriously, one of my favourite things to dig up!!) while he walks around chanting 'Gold..... take me to the gold.....' and, if we uncover a coin, the first words out of his mouth are: 'So - what do you think that's worth then!?' Laugh, laugh!!!!

When he found gold ring at the beginning of this year, I thought he was going to have a coronary, and / or kiss me....... he was that excited!!!! I've found all of our hammered-coins so far and, on digging up the last one, he wouldn't speak to me for about half an hour!! Laugh!!! When I asked him what was wrong, he said that - if he dug up a razor blade - he'd slit his wrists, he was that upset!!!!! Laugh, laugh!!!

Posted by Voltman

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I have a Radio Shack toy stlye model which has never been used outside of the garden.
When I was a kid I built my own but again it never left the garden, I always planned to go and do it properly but never have.
A brief description of the home built one......
A coil of copper wire wound around a saucepan and put on a wooden X sandwiched between two pieces of hardboard, this was fixed to the end of a TV aerial, without the radiators, and bent some way down from the top for a handle. I built a simple beat oscillator into a plastic box and connected it to the coil. A small transistor radio was then strapped in place on top of the box and tuned into the oscillator. The coils magnetic field was affected by metals and the oscillator responded by varying in frequency, which in turn affected the beat tone on the radio.
VM

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The obvious / big question here VoltMan is......... did you find anything with either model? Laugh!!!

Regards,

Nick

Posted by denise

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Never done this but they are useful people.The staffordshire hoard was found by a detector and I was watching a programme the other night and this guy had found a huge pot of old coins.

Can you imagine how it must be to find these things........so exciting.

Think I would get excited if I ffound a 20p coin lol

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I'm embarrassed to admit that, going back only a short while, a heck of a lot of detector finds were never being reported. The black market was rife with detector finds at one point, but the recent change in government attitude / policy with regards to the rewards from reporting finds has made the claiming of such things a lot more lucrative these days (thankfully).

It's the digging of the holes and scrabbling through the dirt to see what you might have uncovered....... there's really nothing like it!!!

I was watching the new movie 'Centurion' a few night ago and said to the missus: 'You know, I get such a tingle from watching these things knowing that, even though this all took place around 2000 years ago, I've actually got a piece of brooch that was worn by one of these people!!'

'You blummin sad git!' she replied......

Regards,

Nick

Yes Nick, I found some very large pices of cast iron guttering and drain pipes. Not exactly treasure trove but good fun anyway.
VM

Posted by Voltman

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Yes Nick, I found some very large pices of cast iron guttering and drain pipes. Not exactly treasure trove but good fun anyway.
VM

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That's mainly the sort of thing that we find mostly...... either that or scrap lead, or drinks can rings!!! Laugh, laugh!!!

All the best,

Nick

Miserable morning detecting - rain lashing down on us - with very few finds to write home about (despite the presence of a Roman road in the field we were working in!?!?)

Only finds shown below....... and then, the Jews Harp was unearthed by my mate, but he was kind enough to give it to me, as I've never found one myself (and this was his third!)

All the best,

Nick

I assume the third item is a stirrup?, but what is the first item Nicholas?
VM

I also assume that they all would be made of a non ferrous metal such as bronze or brass. I would have thought that iron objects of that size would have rusted away. I don't suppose you would tell us anyway if you had found any gold. I certainly wouldn't.

Phil

Posted by Voltman

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I assume the third item is a stirrup?, but what is the first item Nicholas?
VM

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Apologies Voltman - but I almost always put a 20p coin in the pictures for size comparison purposes...... Recently, however, I've been getting a bit lazy at times and keep forgetting.

The third item - the stirrup - is actually a 2.5 cm long buckle! Laugh!! Interestingly, I was on a detector database site recently and some chap put an identical version of this up and mentioned that he'd found it within a couple of miles of where I'd found this one!! Incredible to think!! He's dated his example as falling between 1500 and 1650 in date. The flowery looking thing is really anyones guess, but it is also around 2.5 to 3 cm wide and is probably a mount of some kind, from a horse harness or some such.

Posted by phil

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I also assume that they all would be made of a non ferrous metal such as bronze or brass. I would have thought that iron objects of that size would have rusted away. I don't suppose you would tell us anyway if you had found any gold. I certainly wouldn't.
Phil

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Most of the stuff we find along these lines are copper, but a lot of stuff is made from brass, bronze and so on, as you mention. Iron - as well as scrap lead - is the detectorists worst enemy!! Laugh!! More common that anything else we find, it's the worst feeling in the world to dig and dig expectantly and find nothing but a lump of rusted crud or a blob of once molten lead at the bottom of the hole!! Laugh!!!

I would certainly tell you if I'd found gold..... in fact, I sing it from the rooftops!!! Laugh, laugh!!! Few and far between though........ My detecting partner found a gold ring (from the 1970's) on New Years Day, this year!! Laugh!!!

All the best,

Nick

Nicholas,
I know what the first item reminds me of, the drawer and door knobs on our sideboard when I was a kid.
They were pierced metal with a threaded shaft in the middle, they were perhaps a bit bigger than 30mm but looked just like your item.
VM

Posted by Voltman

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Nicholas,
I know what the first item reminds me of, the drawer and door knobs on our sideboard when I was a kid.
They were pierced metal with a threaded shaft in the middle, they were perhaps a bit bigger than 30mm but looked just like your item.
VM

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Aye - good call Voltman - this might very well be the case.....

This is the only drawback with metal detecting, to be honest - you're constantly pulling stuff from the ground which is evidently 'something'..... but you frequently can't put your finger on exactly what with any degree of certainty whatsoever!? (I frequently list these objects as 'Thingies' in my catalogues!!!) Laugh, laugh!!!!

All the best,

Nick

Nicholas,
I believe this could be the place for posting your pics of mystery objects.
There's nothing we like more in these parts than to try and work out what or where something is or was.
Just between you and I, some of our members can remember back to the times when many of these items got lost or buried.
VM