A metal detectorist who found a hoard of silver sixpence coins dating back to the 16th century said he is ‘over the moon’ after learning they are classed as treasure and will be kept in a museum.
John Ord Renshaw, 44, was out in County Durham when he discovered eight coins from the reign of Elizabeth I and three from the James I period. The post-medieval hammered coins, from the late 1500s and early 1600s, were buried in a field in the Wolsingham area.
John said: “They were all in the same area so I think they would have all belonged to the same person. Sometimes people used to bury them to keep them safe. They would have been worth a fair bit at the time. They are silver and were hammered.
“They would have a tube with a print on and they used to hit that with a big hammer on to a flat piece of silver. That is a how they turned them out.”
Three of the coins are made with different metals and are believed to be counterfeits made illegally by a currency forger over 400 years ago. Illegal coining, making coins by stamping metal, involved interfering with an image of the monarch was considered an attack on the Crown. Offenders were often sentenced to death.
John said: “Forgeries are rarer because it was considered treason so it was very dangerous people to carry them. They might be worth more than the originals when they are valued.”
John, a married father-of-three, who lives in Coundon, Bishop Auckland, discovered the hoard on February 11 last year. He said: “There was a big hill and as I went up it there was nothing but then I got to the top and there was an alert. I found it was a hammered James silver sixpence.
“I went and got the lads and told them what I found and I went back over. I ended up digging up 11 coins. They were all in a two or three metre square. It was my first ever hoard so it was exciting. We did the right thing and let the farmer know then took pictures and informed the coroner.”
Senior Assistant Coroner for County Durham Crispin Oliver ruled the coins will classed as treasure at a recent hearing in Crook. The hearing was told they will now be held by the Durham University’s Museum of Archaeology who will pay a finder’s fee to John and the landowner Philip Walker.
(Image: Newcastle Chronicle)
John, who works as a subcontractor for National Gas, said: “I am not really bothered about the money but I am over the moon because someday I can go to the museum and take my kids to show them what I found.”
John, who has been metal detecting for ten years, said he has dug up sorts of things such as a gold pocket watch and chain, a sovereign ring, toy cars, Roman coins and lots of copper coins. He took his detector on holiday to Devon and while combing the beach and found five rings and £80 in cash.
John, who goes metal detecting every weekend, said: “I like to be out in the fresh air and the views you see from the top of a hill down the dale are unreal. “You can be out in the middle of nowhere and find a toy car and wonder how it got there. I have got a little glass display cabinet with all of my finds in. It is like having a little museum in my house.
“Some of the stuff you find is mind-blowing.”
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View news Source: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/county-durham-metal-detector-sixpences-30943630
