Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.
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| Source of Image: Metal detectorists discover gold raven's head in the UK |
Now, a new discovery by metal detectorists in southwest England adds to that incredible, blinged-out history.
While this find isn’t nearly as massive as the aforementioned treasure hoards of legend, what detectorists Paul Gould and Chris Phillips discovered rivals the splendor of the gilded objects in museums around the UK. Toward the end of a long day of metal detecting on January 8, 2025, Gould and Phillips—as part of the local Ninth Region Metal Detecting Group—came across a gold band with inlaid garnets, which was later identified as an Anglo-Saxon ring. That alone would be the discovery of a lifetime, but the day wasn’t over,
While continuing his search nearby, Phillips came across a stunning golden raven head with an inlaid eye of garnet. The raven figures prominently in Norse mythology as a symbol of the god Odin (also Woden), the god of war and death who famously gives up an eye for wisdom. Odin’s ravens, named Huginn and Muninn, serve the god by bringing him information from Midgard (a.k.a. Earth).
In a video posted to Youtube, Phillips details the find, stating that the head is made of solid gold and weighs roughly two ounces. “It’s unbelievable,” Phillips says, choking back tears. “Sorry… I’m just a bit emotional.”
After the discovery, the group stopped detecting in the area, as the find proved that the site could be of national interest. They also contacted the landowner and the local finds liaison officer to report the discovery...
(CNN) — Sometimes, a great find is hiding right beneath one’s nose in the humblest of places: on paper.
Indecipherable documents can languish in storage for years. Case in point: a treasure trove of lost letters written by Mary, Queen of Scots, that got a closer look in 2023.
After retrieving the letters from a box of unmarked documents, three researchers were able to decode the letters to uncover more about the queen’s secrets.
Now, a separate new discovery adds weight to the old adage about not judging a book by its cover...
When library archivists at the University of Cambridge in England inspected the cover of a 16th century property record, they realized it was made of pages repurposed from a medieval manuscript.
Known as the “Suite Vulgate du Merlin,” the rare 13th century fragments describe how a shape-shifting Merlin aided King Arthur early in his reign...
While this find isn’t nearly as massive as the aforementioned treasure hoards of legend, what detectorists Paul Gould and Chris Phillips discovered rivals the splendor of the gilded objects in museums around the UK. Toward the end of a long day of metal detecting on January 8, 2025, Gould and Phillips—as part of the local Ninth Region Metal Detecting Group—came across a gold band with inlaid garnets, which was later identified as an Anglo-Saxon ring. That alone would be the discovery of a lifetime, but the day wasn’t over,
While continuing his search nearby, Phillips came across a stunning golden raven head with an inlaid eye of garnet. The raven figures prominently in Norse mythology as a symbol of the god Odin (also Woden), the god of war and death who famously gives up an eye for wisdom. Odin’s ravens, named Huginn and Muninn, serve the god by bringing him information from Midgard (a.k.a. Earth).
In a video posted to Youtube, Phillips details the find, stating that the head is made of solid gold and weighs roughly two ounces. “It’s unbelievable,” Phillips says, choking back tears. “Sorry… I’m just a bit emotional.”
After the discovery, the group stopped detecting in the area, as the find proved that the site could be of national interest. They also contacted the landowner and the local finds liaison officer to report the discovery...
Metal Detectorists Discovered a Golden Raven Head with a Godly Connection
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(CNN) — Sometimes, a great find is hiding right beneath one’s nose in the humblest of places: on paper.
Indecipherable documents can languish in storage for years. Case in point: a treasure trove of lost letters written by Mary, Queen of Scots, that got a closer look in 2023.
After retrieving the letters from a box of unmarked documents, three researchers were able to decode the letters to uncover more about the queen’s secrets.
Now, a separate new discovery adds weight to the old adage about not judging a book by its cover...
When library archivists at the University of Cambridge in England inspected the cover of a 16th century property record, they realized it was made of pages repurposed from a medieval manuscript.
Known as the “Suite Vulgate du Merlin,” the rare 13th century fragments describe how a shape-shifting Merlin aided King Arthur early in his reign...
Here is the link for more about that.
On the subject of finding treasures in books, here is an example, that while not valuable as a treasure, does provide one illustration of how older things can be found in books. Not too long ago I found this item in a book.
Spiegel was an American direct marketing retailer founded in 1865 by Joseph Spiegel. Spiegel published a catalog, like its competitors Sears, Aldens, and Montgomery Ward, which advertised various brands of apparel, accessories, and footwear, as well as housewares, toys, tools, firearms, and electronics...
Spiegel delivered its firs mail order catalog in 1905 and by 1925, the retailer had 10 million customers...
After encountering financial difficulty in the early 2000s, the company was purchased by Patriarch Partners and focused on women's style and fashion products. The catalog was eventually discontinued in favor of digital marketing. In 2019, the company website was removed without notice and the company ceased to operate (Wikipedia).
This coupon is for tableware You could build a complete set of tableware by purchasing a place setting or two at a time. This coupon appears to be for that. Maybe one or two place settings.
I believe the series number gives the date of 1957.
This coupon is in excellent condition due to being saved between the pages of a book, but probably not worth much.
I have found some pretty nice things including cash and the business card and autograph of a famous person between the pages of old books. Probably the best find like that was a religious relic - an encapsulated small piece of red cloth, but I regretfully don't remember now who it was associated with. It was an item that I sent to a good home shortly after discovering it in an old book. It was one of those finds that I didn't appreciate as much back when it was found as I would have if I found it today. Some finds are like that - you find them too soon.
Have you ever considered that there might be some finds that you aren't ready for. Maybe you don't quite know enough to appreciate them like you should. Maybe you damage them in the recovery or don't know how to properly clean or conserve them or maybe you don't yet know where they should go.
There are many stories, and I have some myself, of how items were damaged in recovery, or sold too cheaply, or stored improperly, or damaged in recovery or cleaning. All those examples are not big deals, but the outcome or impact might not be as good as it would have been if you were a little farther along in your life journey. Think about it. Are you ready to receive (RTR)?
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The surf will be pretty flat for the next week or so and Tuesday afternoon there will be a little negative low tide so there might be some good shallow water hunting opportunities.
Good hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net