jelida

Is that the 1913 you were looking at from Ian? Lovely coin, I'm not surprised you went back for it. Jerry

I had a good pore over these at the Midland on Sunday, but couldn't quite persuade myself to take the plunge. The 1919 apparently was sourced from France, the 1926 was from the last LCA of course. Jerry

Brings back so many memories. So sad, the premature loss of a creative genius. I'll be dusting off the vinyl today as well. Jerry

Hi Prax, great to hear from you, and that is a lovely penny, I'm still after a decent one of those. I don't know if you come to any of the South Wales and Mon Numismatic Soc meetings, but I an giving a short presentation on the Victorian bronze pennies at the Feb meeting, might be quite local to you, nothing new or earth shattering, they are just desperate for speakers and I got volunteered. Will try to bore them with micro varieties. Jerry

Looks likely, George. Like the crotal bell. They are very scarce on our side of the Severn. I have I think two from my 30 years hunting. Jerry

The second coin is a 1580 sixpence of Eliz I, mm long cross. Jerry

Very nice, I've only ever found one of those.

Nice thimbles, I would place them both late C18 to early C19. The left hand one is quite unusual. Jerry

I vaguely remember something like this as a kid, a big loop of string was passed through the two holes, held by a finger at each end. It was spun, and by alternately stretching and slackening the cord, it could be made to spin first one way, then the other, emitting a whistling noise when rotating. I cant remember if mine was lead, but it did need to be fairly heavy material to provide momentum. Had my first hammies of the year today, a very worn Lizzie halfgroat and an early C17 copper farthing. Jerry

Another offering from Shelly; http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1874H-QUEEN-VICTORIA-PENNY-FREENAN-69-OBV-6-REV-I-R16-RARER-THEN-GOLD-EF-/301840907471?hash=item46471ebccf:g:RWoAAOSwa-dWi-3V not F69 sadly; in fact if you look at the other listings, many are self-slabbed with gross over-grading , several mis-identified and all over-priced. Not a good advertisment. Jerry

Good id George, probably quite a rare button ; there will be local collectors out there. Jerry

Totally disagree. If you disc out lead, not only will you miss seal matrices, lead tokens, Roman votives, cloth seals, pilgrim badges and ampullae and many other historic items, you will also lose depth on tiny hammered and celtic with most machines. And I always keep scrap lead, more than pays for the batteries. On ancient sites, dig everything but iron! Even scrap lead and shot are a good indicator of land usage. Jerry

Secondly, an Early Bronze Age miniature flat axe head , approx 2000 BC. These were previously described as 'votive' but now thought simply to be small axes for finer work. It is currently in the National Museum of Wales for recording and metal analysis (the earliest of these were pure copper). Jerry

I have no idea on that one, never seen anything comparable, though it is unlike the Bronze age anvils on the BM site. It's certainly taken a battering. Here are a couple of my finds in the last few weeks, hardly been out in this awful weather. Firstly a C14-15 harness pendant, much red enamel remaining. The Lion rampant was a fairly common motif used by several prominent families, I haven't yet pinned it down, but likely to have had SE Wales connections. Jerry

Sorry George, as I said above to make anything out of the photo is wishful thinking, it is probably clearer in the hand. But the coin you have identified it as is an incredibly rare coin of Roman Judea, not a coin likely to have made its way to Britain. You need to show it to an expert for an accurate opinion, and even then it may be too far gone.

Happy 2016 to all, may those wants be met and dreams be fulfilled, except of course for the penny boys, they're mine, all mine? (fiendish cackling)! Best wishes to everyone, Jerry

Those are of fine, delicate construction, with tiny loops/flanges to tie on a fine line, and are unarguably suitable for fishing, and also from the Eastern Mediterranean, quite unlike any Roman fish-hooks found in the UK. Despite the similar terminal wings, they rather emphasize the differences from yours, which looks more suited to a coarse string or chain. While not impossible, there are many more likely uses for this hook. Without an archaeological context for this find, sadly it cannot be securely identified or dated. However you seem to have started a thread with legs. Maybe I'll post a few of my finds too.....in the New Year. Have a good one! Jerry

Another interesting find, I wonder what it was used for. You quite commonly find similar hooks, without the terminal flanges or barb, used with chain on harness or farm implements, on any farm land. Roman fish hooks generally seem to be much smaller, more akin to our size 4, 6 or 8. The thing about smith made tools is that they are often non-standard, for a specific purpose; perhaps this was used for meat in a trap, or to hook a bale or net, or something similar. Coming back to the dentures, I think the id may be right, though they would have been so impractical that they could only have been worn briefly, presumably, at meal-time. But don't be afraid to question even Finds Liaison Officer id's, none of the lead 'denture' objects seem to reference a contextually indisputable archaeological find . Over time I have seen many supposed id's change in the light of further evidence. And FLO's themselves vary in experience. In the late '90's, when the scheme first started, I was asked to be on the interview panel for the Wales FLO at the NMW, along with Roger Bland from the BM and local museum staff. We interviewed six shortlisted candidates, all good on paper. I had prepared a tray of typical identifiable finds from Roman to Modern, some of which were distorted, rare or 'partefacts'. Only two of the candidates demonstrated any real practical ability in identifying, or even describing what they saw, and yet most were prepared to hazard a guess. That is often what you get with more obscure objects and less experienced FLO's. Not ours, of course. Usually. Jerry

Well I never, good link, you learn something new every day! Certainly the contours of the PAS one do suggest how it might have fitted the gum, though I wonder how practical they were- you'd have to be desperate! Jerry

I'm afraid I dont see the item as false teeth either, and cant find anything similar on the net. Look much too deep, poorly shaped, no clear articular or gum surface, and softness and weight would have been impractical. Denture making was always a skilled profession, most simply went without. Jerry

It is the right size and appearance for a Roman grot, and there may be a portrait but it is too far gone to be sure. You will have more luck with the coin in hand, rather than any photo I'm afraid. Do you have a local FLO? he might help. Jerry

Impossible to date accurately by style and function, though I agree the Lead Carbonate patina suggests a good age, could be anything from Roman to C18, and have performed one of many functions through loom weight, steelyard weight, trade weight, net weight and I'm sure there are dozens more possibilities . It is quite large, and the nearest in size that I have came from a Roman site. Jerry

Looks like the classic 'twisted sixpence', George, they are usually worn William III coins, and often quite abraded on the high-lights created by the 'S' shaped bends. I have found many over the years. I dont really believe the 'betrothal' idea of two sixpences twisted together, I suspect they were gaming pieces or had some other use. Jerry

Missed by me too, thats a good buy, well done. Jerry

The biggest issue I encounter at my local detecting club is persuading finders not to rub a coin immediately on recovery, the adherent soil acts as fine sandpaper and this is the usual cause of the 'Brillo pad' effect. I have convinced a few, largely through my find displays when I give a talk, but the instinct seems difficult to overcome. Jerry