Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.
Treasure finds in England have hit a record high, with a lamp shaped like a human foot and an earwax scoop among the more unusual items unearthed.
Provisional government figures recorded by the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme show 1,446 discoveries in England in 2024 - up from 1,266 the previous year.
A treasure find can include multiple items, and eastern England has proved the jewel in the nation's crown, with 388 finds last year.
Many are uncovered by metal detectorists like Emma Youell, who estimates she has found thousands of artefacts and describes herself as a "massive history nerd"...
Here is the link to for the rest of that very good article.
The American penny passed away after a prolonged illness. It was 238 years old...
Beach said Wednesday that the final coins pressed will be auctioned off and that the actual last pennies put into circulation from the US Mint were struck in June.
The penny outlived its sibling, the half-penny, by 168 years. It’s survived by the nickel, dime, quarter, and rarely seen half-dollar and dollar coins.
Despite its demise, the penny will remain legal tender...
Here is the link to that article.
The last-ever penny was minted today in Philadelphia
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I didn't expect my How Coins Move on a Beach series to take so many posts, but understanding the details of how it all happens will you put your metal detector coil in the most promising spots.
I didn't plan to talk about this today, but I just ran across a good study and some very good illustrations that I think might help you.
In the previous post in this series I discussed a study conducted on the artifacts of the Queen Anne's Revenge wreck. The study looked at the process of scouring and the settlement of artifacts. In that study, the artifacts observed were all much bigger than coins, but the same basic processes apply.
The illustration I just found shows how scouring and settlement occurs. The object's profile is shaped something like that of a coin, It is a lot wider than high. The illustration is below.
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After the object settles below the surface level, as shown on the bottom line of the illustration, sand fills the hole and eventually covers the object.
Here is the link to the study in which I found the above illustration.
Scouring and settling is a better description than sinking although the end result appears to be very much like sinking. I've discussed my objections to describing coins as sinking in sand before.
It is important to remember that the results of this study only apply to similar situations. The same results would not be obtained in the wave crash zone, for example.
The currents in this case this study were strong enough to move sand but not the artifacts. The artifacts in this case were not movable.
Also if objects somewhere between size of the grains of sand and the cannon ball were considered, you might see some of those objects being move in other ways. For example, if you had a flat thin piece of copper sheathing, maybe not perfectly flat and had some decent currents, the item could be moved horizontally like the sand instead of simply settling. And if you were in the wave crash zone, the bottom would not be as flat and the current could act on objects in other ways.
Long ago I posted about a study of an object on a sandy slope with the currents running uphill. What happened is the scouring occurred, very much like in this study. When the sand on the downhill side of the object was moved away the object slipped down into the vacancy where it stopped. Then the scouring began and again, and the object slipped down another step. I called that stepping or something. I couldn't find that study right off but will post it again if I find it.