The Potato Field - Day 3 - Hammered & 16th-17th C GOLD RING.......

[CRUSADER]

Thankfully we had the rain I was hoping for & although it was meant to rain all day it didn't.
We had a quick 30 minutes hunt on a nearby field & gave that one up as a bad option. We then returned to gridding the Potato Field. It was a slow start & we soon had to move as the weeds were too high. I moved us to an area I liked, on our 1st day scouting, & on that first run Cru'dad bangs out a hammered. Great we are back in the game. (Keeping a streak alive)
By lunchtime our good finds were a little light & we thought it was going to be a lesser day.....Until I decided to wander a little past the last flag turn-a-round point whilst waiting for Cru'dad to catch me up. (Normally I just finish his runs for him) As I was trying to work out if this end was worth doing I didn't do a straight line (Because we might be going back over it) & I just fumbled onto the GOLD RING.
(5 hour hunt)

2 Scrappies
17th C Token
18th C Navy Button
Medieval Horse Pendant
Spanish 8 Maravedis (Counter-marked 1630 on rev)
Hammered of Ed I Bury St Edmund's mint (Only my 3rd of this mint)
What I believe to be a late 16th - early 17th C 22ct Gold Seal Ring with some kind of early hallmark/makers mark. This must be very high status, as using the 3 Lions would require Royal Approval. It will be handed in as treasure very soon.

UPDATED
It's now been handed over to the FLO. They will email the British Museum to either treat as a Treasure case or 'if' less than 300 years old, it will go down the PAS route.

 

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[neodetectorist]

Great find.
Being stateside here in the US, and we are just babies when it comes to relics, what is this "handing items over as treasure"?
What makes a relic treasure?
Who do you hand this over to?
I just recently saw a video of an individual finding a 1600's silver coin with a hole drilled in it. They said because it had a hole in it, it had to be turned in as treasure otherwise they could keep it.
Do you get it back?
How do they manage detectorist?

Thanks, I do enjoy your posts. Just amazing!

 

[CRUSADER]

Great find.
Being stateside here in the US, and we are just babies when it comes to relics, what is this "handing items over as treasure"?
What makes a relic treasure?
Who do you hand this over to?
I just recently saw a video of an individual finding a 1600's silver coin with a hole drilled in it. They said because it had a hole in it, it had to be turned in as treasure otherwise they could keep it.
Do you get it back?
How do they manage detectorist?

Thanks, I do enjoy your posts. Just amazing!

(The short answer, doesn't cover everything) The Treasure Act defines Treasure as any object more than 300 years old with 10% Gold or Silver content. It excludes single silver & gold coins unless you get 2 or more in close proximity.
I have 14 days to declare it to the Coroner, or I may get fined or imprisoned (they act as the Legal rubber stamp). In practice its accepted that reporting it to the Finds Liaison Officer (FLO) who will inform the coroner is OK. The FLO send it to the British Museum who Authenticate it & do a report to the coroner. He then declares it as treasure & the process then looks to see if any Museum wish to buy it for market value. (Value done by the independent valuation committee). If they do, the land-owner & I get 50% each (As per our contract, this can vary depending on the agreement). If they don't want it they hand it back.

 

[RTR]

Hey CRUSADER
You have a lot more knowledge on hammered coins ,than I. Whats your opinion.Hunting a beach South of Virginia Beach Va. I found this ,about a foot down.The holder is Dime size.

 

[CRUSADER]

Hey CRUSADER View attachment 1594352
You have a lot more knowledge on hammered coins ,than I. Whats your opinion.Hunting a beach South of Virginia Beach Va. I found this ,about a foot down.The holder is Dime size.

Sorry its so corroded I can't see any details that might lead anywhere. I'm assuming it had some copper content because of the green patches.

 

[Aureus]

Amazing hunt Cru. That ring is an astounding find and I wonder who it belonged to. Hopefully you'll get the id,the hallmark might be helpful. I say banner on that ring.

 

[GB1]

nice finds banner on the ring

 

[Vldetecting]

Voted banner! I only know one detectorist to find a gold ring from the 16th to 17th century in the northern countries so I expect that your find is also very rare especially with the high status marks. Amazing find!

 

[CRUSADER]

Voted banner! I only know one detectorist to find a gold ring from the 16th to 17th century in the northern countries so I expect that your find is also very rare especially with the high status marks. Amazing find!

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/t...rter-stater-field-day-5-16th-c-gold-ring.html

Its the 2nd 16th C gold ring I have found. However, if you combine Cru'dad & my 50+ years of detecting together, its the only 2 we (I) have found. So yes its pretty rare.

 

[CRUSADER]

Amazing hunt Cru. That ring is an astounding find and I wonder who it belonged to. Hopefully you'll get the id,the hallmark might be helpful. I say banner on that ring.

Best case scenario, they ID the hallmark & the Family Crest, this will point to 1 family owner. Someone of wealth & influence.

 

[RTR]

Sorry its so corroded I can't see any details that might lead anywhere. I'm assuming it had some copper content because of the green patches.

Thanks much.Were (dime size hammered coins) ever made ?

 

[CRUSADER]

Thanks much.Were (dime size hammered coins) ever made ?

In the later periods nearly every size you can imagine was produced, so yes. But they never had copper in them, unless they were fake.

 

[Westfront]

Congrats again! This field/area turns out to be a finds rich piece of soil...
Thinking how precious gold was at the turn from medieval to modern age, a ring with the three lions, made by a goldsmith who had a makers mark, is a unique piece of history of your country and deserves a place on top. I hope it's possible to track it down to the family and with IDing the makers mark the age and probably back to the ower.

 

[JamieD]

Wow, that's a stunner!

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Congratualtions on the awesome coins, relics and Gold ring seal.

 

[CRUSADER]

Congrats again! This field/area turns out to be a finds rich piece of soil...
Thinking how precious gold was at the turn from medieval to modern age, a ring with the three lions, made by a goldsmith who had a makers mark, is a unique piece of history of your country and deserves a place on top. I hope it's possible to track it down to the family and with IDing the makers mark the age and probably back to the ower.

One thing I noticed & I was impressed that the owners partner noticed was the high level of craftsmanship. If you look at most circa 1600 gold rings they are not as impressive as this one. I believe this to have been a master goldsmith of the highest standard. What goes against it a little its not a heavy or chunky ring, at only the qter of the weight of some.

 

[Underwonder]

All I want for Christmas is a day in a potato field [emoji4]! Nice finds and a nice long hunt! Congratulations CRUSADER!

 

[Westfront]

One thing I noticed & I was impressed that the owners partner noticed was the high level of craftsmanship. If you look at most circa 1600 gold rings they are not as impressive as this one. I believe this to have been a master goldsmith of the highest standard. What goes against it a little its not a heavy or chunky ring, at only the qter of the weight of some.

The way it is crafted and the fine detail had me date it a hundred years younger. But i'm far from an expert for seal rings. What you can clearly say it that the goldsmith left the more crudely medieval craftsmanship far behind. It's simply a stunning piece of art.

 

[CRUSADER]

The way it is crafted and the fine detail had me date it a hundred years younger. But i'm far from an expert for seal rings. What you can clearly say it that the goldsmith left the more crudely medieval craftsmanship far behind. It's simply a stunning piece of art.

Honestly, in the field I really struggled with it being Treasure or not. ie. was its early 18th C. I just couldn't decide. I'm guessing there is a chance the British Museum date it later than I think & its not really 1585-1650 like I researched.

 

[DigToChina]

Spectacular ring Cru.

What do you make of the crest being sideways when worn? Seems like it would make sense for something like a wax seal ring but wouldn't a standard signet ring have had that turned 90 degrees?