Swale Search & Recovery
Metal Detecting Club
Finds of the Year
A 'find' is considered to be an item found by a club member whilst pursuing the hobby of metal detecting. The finds are divided into two categories Coins and Artefacts. Each month the club membership votes on the coin and artefact of the month and this culminates with a vote for Coin and Artefact of the year. Below are details of previous winners.
Steve Dean being presented with the trophy for Best Artefact of 2024
by club chairman David Villanueva
The Swale Search & Recovery Club Artefact Find of the year for 2024 is this Late Iron Age to Roman era Cosmetic or woad Mortar Pestle.
This small bronze implement is one part of a two-piece set which functioned like a mortar and pestle. The missing part, a curved channel or vestal had material placed into it and the pestle (shown) was rocked in the groove of the mortar probably to crush and grind coloured mineral grits into powdered pigments for eye-shadow and other facial colourings.
The sets, which have loops for carrying on a cord, were exclusive to Britain; only two of over 500 examples have been found elsewhere. They originated in the Late Iron Age, but most date to the Roman period. There is considerable variety in their size, and the degree of elaboration, and some have finely-modelled stylized animal head terminals.
Shown here with what would have been the other half of the pairing, found by club chairman Mr David Villanueva when they were brought together at a club meeting.
Winner Best Coin 2023
Ed Denovan being presented with the trophy for Best Coin of 2023
by club chairman David Villanueva
for his stunning Gold Stater
Celtic tribes brought the concept of gold coins to Western and Central Europe after obtaining it while serving as mercenaries in north Greece. Gold staters were minted in Gaul by Gallic chiefs modelled after the philippeioi of Philip II of Macedonia, which were brought back after serving in his armies, or those of his son Alexander the Great and his successors. Some of these staters in the form of the Gallo-Belgic series were imported to Britain on a large scale. These went on to influence a range of staters produced in Britain. British Gold staters generally weighed between 4.5 and 6.5 grams (0.14 – 0.21 oz).
Medieval rings, dating from circa 5th- 15th century AD, offer a fascinating glimpse of a bygone era. The jewellery worn in medieval Europe reflected a profoundly hierarchical and status-conscious society. Jewellery was used to signal social status, with men being as highly adorned as women. Royalty and the higher ranks of society wore gold, silver and precious gems. Lower ranks of society wore base metals, such as pewter and copper. Rings were not just decorative, they were worn for a practical purpose. Devotional rings and signet rings were worn to prove the identity of the wearer and used as seals for stamping documents to authenticate them. Curative rings were meant to cure diseases and hollow rings served as containers for holy relics or sometimes even poison.
Winner Best Artefact 2023
Winner Best Coin 2022
Glenn Church being presented with the trophy for Best Coin of 2022
by club chairman David Villanueva
for his fantastic Silver Roman Denarius
Rome overhauled its coinage shortly before 211 BC, and introduced the denarius alongside a short-lived denomination called the victoriatus. The denarius contained an average 4.5 grams, or 1⁄72 of a Roman pound, of silver, and was at first tariffed at ten asses, hence its name, which means 'tenner'. It formed the backbone of Roman currency throughout the Roman Republic and the early Empire
Winner Best Artefact 2022
2020 - 2021 Metal Detecting was affected
by the Covid 19 Lockdown
Winner Best Coin 2017
Trevor Lowdell being presented with the trophy for Best Coin of 2017
by club chairman David Villanueva
for his fantastic Silver Elizabeth 1st Shilling
These Hammered Shilling were crafted using an ancient technique, striking the coin multiple times with a hammer and die resulting in a slightly irregular shape and a unique texture.
Struck from Silver this coin is a reflection on the economic and political developments during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I
A historical coin of this age and precious metal purity has done well to survive over 400 years
The penannular ring (meaning a ring which is an incomplete circle) is one of a class of artefacts known as ‘ring money’ or ‘hair rings’. Over the years there has been much debate amongst archaeologists and scholars of the era, but the exact function of this type of ring is still not known. It is perhaps a form of proto-money used in exchanges or transactions, or a decorative adornment worn on the ear or nose, or even on clothing or in the hair as a sign of wealth.
No matter its function, it would have been a high-status symbol.
This type of chunky penannular ring have been found in the highest concentration in the south of England, which was thus likely a centre of manufacture, although they have been found in Northern England, Wales and Scotland.
The majority of such rings are composed of strips of gold or gold and alloy wrapped around a silver, base metal or copper alloy core
Winner Best Artefact 2022
Jaq le Breton being presented with the trophy for Best Artefact of 2017
by club chairman David Villanueva
for her Wonderful Penannular Ring