Gold!

I switched back to baiting the Anderson PMR-II with pure silver on the basis that it should cover almost the entire spectrum of desirable finds, including solid gold, while reducing the apparent sensitivity to gold plate. It worked! It wasn’t long before I was holding an Iron Age gold stater coin, which I had dug up after the Anderson had led my detector to it. One swallow (or is it one stater?) doesn’t make a summer, they say, so I ended my summer with a second gold stater found in exactly the same way.

The coins are Gallic War Uniface gold staters of the Ambiani tribe who were centred around Amiens in Northern France, dating c.60-30 BC. It is believed they were mainly brought to Britain by way of payment to mercenaries fighting Caesar’s armies in Gaul.

Metal Detecting on the Coast: The Ultimate Guide by Edward Fletcher

Coastal detecting is quite neglected in Britain but if you know how to work beaches and foreshores it can be more consistently rewarding than searching inland sites. And not just for modern coinage and gold and silver jewellery aplenty, for with a little application you can make the same range of finds from Bronze Age to modern that you can make on inland sites.

 

There are very few British books on coastal detecting but Ted Fletcher’s, Metal Detecting on the Coast: The Ultimate Guide, first published in 1997 and reprinted in 2003, has stood the test of time. The principles explained in the book are still true today, quite simply because coastal forces re-distribute lost finds in much the same way they have always done, the World over. I bought a copy of this book soon after it was published and applying what I learnt, I have found Iron Age gold coins, as well as Roman, Saxon, medieval and modern silver coins, all on beaches and foreshores. So if you can get to the coast, there is much to be found and what’s more getting access is much easier than on farmland, as formal permission is rarely needed.

 

Edward (Ted) Fletcher has been writing books for metal detectorists ever since the hobby began in Britain, in fact I think he started the hobby here - he certainly got me started in metal detecting. Ted really knows his stuff and happily passes his great knowledge on to us all.

 

The topics in this indispensible book include:

 

• Why do holiday beaches make such good detecting sites?
• What happens to coins and jewellery after their owners lose them in sand or surf?
• Eyes only plus two sample tools: A beachcomber’s way to make finds on the foreshore.
• Metal detectors and accessories for coastal sites.
• Britain’s 100 best beaches and how to locate their gullies and glory holes.
• A look at some continental coasts and their top resorts.
• How to detect history around the coast.
• Legal aspects.

 

I have seen such high prices being asked for Metal Detecting on the Coast: The Ultimate Guide that it is probably in short supply, however I have managed to secure a small stock of brand new books from the 2003 printing that I am able to pass on at the very reasonable price of just £8.97 each, plus shipping. So pop along to www.truetreasurebooks.net and invest now and improve your coastal detecting before they are all gone!