Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.
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| Enameled Roman Brooch Item. Source: See link below. |
This exotic brooch and others like it typically date to the late second century AD, and are most commonly found along the borders of the Roman Empire, in eastern Gaul, Switzerland and the Rhineland,’ said Jordan Barbour, who co-authored the report. ‘Their distribution pattern suggests that these brooches were particularly popular among members of the Roman military forces, so it’s likely that it came north of Hadrian’s Wall on the cloak of a Roman soldier tasked with garrisoning the Empire’s northernmost frontier.’
What makes this artefact all the more interesting is how it was used by the Iron Age inhabitants of this settlement. There was no evidence that it had been worn by a local Briton. Instead, they had buried it as a foundation deposit, a votive sacrifice of sorts, when constructing the timber palisade around their roundhouse.
‘It’s difficult to say exactly why the brooch was deposited within the palisade trench, but we know that ritualised foundation offerings are observed across many cultures, typically enacted to grant protection to a household, and this is certainly a possibility here,’ ...
Here is the link for more about that.
Interactions between the Britons and Romans beyond the Roman Frontier |
I made a mistake years ago that I never forgot. Metal detecting north of the beach access at Turtle Trail, I dug an enameled gold ring. I didn't pay a lot of attention to it at the time because I didn't realize how long enameling had been done. I thought it was a modern thing, as you can see from the above article, it is not. It goes back a long way. It was a quite a while before I learned that the gold enameled ring could actually be off a 1715 wreck.
Just as an example of 18th century gold enameling, look at this ring. Never make the mistake of thinking an item is modern just because it doesn't look old.
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Elongated pennies also known as: smashed pennies, crushed pennies, pressed pennies. Elongated pennies are pieces of exonumia meant to be used as souvenirs to commemorate people, places, or events.
The first elongated penny was introduced at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893. Below is a photo of one of the first elongated pennies from the Chicago World’s Fair...
Elongated pennies are not illegal to make or to own.
Although making elongated pennies is technically mutilation, as defined by the US Code Title 18, mutilation of US coinage is not illegal unless the intent is to use the mutilated coin for counterfeiting or for use of the base metal...
For more about smashed, pressed or elongated souvenir pennies, here is a link.
All About Elongated Pennies – History, Myths, Pictures – American Coin Stash
It looks like there are thousands of these machines around. I'm very surprised that I've never found a pressed penny. I'd like to see those that you've found.
Here is a link to an article about those who provide the machine not wanting the penny (cent, more correctly) to be discontinued.
No wonder! They get the raw materials at below cost, and then sell them for a good price. You know the story about how much it costs to produce a once cent coin.
Ane here is another link on pressed pennies.
18 Facts About Pressed Pennies That Are Worth Their Weight In Gold
The more a think about it, I might have found one or two and just didn't pay them any attention. I'm thinking I might have, but that is very faint. Don't know now.
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| Source: Surfguru.com. |
Looks like another bump in the surf next Tuesday.
Good hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net