Relic Hunter Sept/Oct 2010

7/29/2019 Relic Hunter Sept/Oct 2010

1/44Relic Hunter September - October, 2010

REL C HUNTERThe magazine for the Searcher and Detectorist

Volume 1

Issue 3September - October 2010

Minelab Introduces 2 NEW Detectors.See the specs on pages 18 & 19.

52,500 Roman coins ound buried in an oering pot.

Rare 33ct Emerald ound in North Carolina !

Search or the Vikings.

Great beach discoveries.

Plus, so much more inside ...



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New detectors and new discoveries are always an exciting eventGarrett and Minelab have introduced NEW detectors!

As always, we bring you the best in exciting content, fromstories and videos, about hunting in the feld to the equipmentwe rely so much upon.

Readership has grown so dramatically since the frst issue andnow hunters and history buffs are beginning to ask for the nextissue. Well, here it is. Enjoy.

Welcome to Relic Hunter Magazine!

Table of Contents of Main Articles:

52,000 Roman Coins in an pot

Stagecoach Road

Emeralds in North Carolina ound!

Not just a normal day

In search or the Vikings

Golden night down at the beach

Folded up Hammy

Metal Detectives University

In the News

Author Country

Various UK

George D. Lesche USA

Terry Ledord USA

Terry Barnhart USA

Je Brown Germany

Stuart Littlewood UK

Dave UK

Gary Brun Norway

Various Various

Jim Leonard

Editor & Publisher

Behind every great fnd is a great story

Share with the rest o the World !Send in your hunting story along with a ew photos.

Dont worry about your writing skills. Ill personally makesure that your story is placedEmail your story to:[email protected]

Cover photo by Minelab - NEW detectors



Dave Crisp, rom Devizes in Wiltshire, a relic hunter, hasound about 52,500 Roman coins in one o the largest suchdiscoveries ever in Britain.

Dave Crisp, a hospital che, came across the buried

treasure while searching or metal objects in a eld near

Frome, Somerset in southwestern England.The hoard, which is valued between 1 and 3 million

dollars, includes hundreds o coins bearing the image o

Marcus Aurelius Carausius, who seized power in Britain andnorthern France in the late third century and proclaimedhimsel emperor.

Dave Crisp, was using his metal detector, located the

coins in April in a eld in southwestern England, accordingto the Somerset County Council and the Portable Antiqui-

ties Scheme.

The coins were buried in a large jar about a oot (30

centimeters) deep and weighed about 160 kilograms (350

pounds) in all.

52,500 Coins In A Buried Roman PotOne o the largest such discoveries ever ound in Britain.



Because Mr. Crisp resisted the temptationo dig up the coins it has allowed archaeolo-gists rom Somerset County Council to careul-

y excavate the pot and its contents, ensuring

mportant evidence about the circumstanceso its burial was preserved, said Anna Booth,

o Somerset Council.

Somerset Coroner Tony Williams scheduledan inquest to ormally determine whether the

nd is subject to the Treasure Act, a ormaltep toward determining a price to be paid

by any institution which wishes to acquire thehoard.

The hoard is one o the largest ever oundn Britain, and will reveal more about the na-

ions history in the third century, said RogerBland, o the British Museum. The nd in-

cludes more than 760 coins rom the reign o

Carausius, between 286 - 293.

Crisp said a unny signal rom his metaldetector which prompted him to start dig-

ging.I put my hand in, pulled out a bit o clay

and there was a little radial, a little bronze Ro-man coin very, very small, about the size o

my ngernail.

He then recovered about 20 coins beorediscovering that they were in a pot, and real-

zed he needed some expert help.

Dave Crisp, said: At the time when I actu-ally ound the pot I didnt know what size it

was but when the archaeologists came andstarted to uncover it, I was gobsmacked, I

thought hell, this is massive.



But why?Why were there so many coins buried in one pot?

The hoard contains 766 coins bearing an im-age o the Roman general Marcus Aurelius

Carausius, who ruled Britain independently

rom AD 286 to AD 293 and was the rst Ro-man emperor to strike coins in Britain.

Somerset County Council archaeologistsexcavated the pot -- a type o container which

is normally used or storing ood -- it weighed

160kg (350 pounds).Later the hoard was transerred to the Brit

ish Museum in London where the coins arebeing cleaned and recorded.

An oering to the Gods?

Roman rule in Britain was nally stabilizedwhen the Emperor Diocletian ormed a coali-

ion with the Emperor Maximian, which lasted20 years. This deeated the separatist regime

which had been established in Britain by Car-ausius.

This nd presents us with an opportunity

o put Carausius on the map. School childrenacross the country have been studying Ro-

man Britain or decades, but are never taughtabout Carausius, our lost British emperor.



The coins date rom AD 253 to 293 and most

o them are made o debased silver or bronze

We think that whoever buried it didnt intendto come back to recover it. We can only guesswhy people buried treasure, some buried sav-

ings, others because they eared an invasion,

perhaps this was an oering to the Gods.

This discovery o th

Roman coins ollowslast years discovery

o a hoard o Anglo-Saxon coins in centralEngland. The so-called

Staordshire Hoardincluded more than

1,500 objects, mostlymade rom gold.

Coins ound in the container dated the layers,

rom the earliest on the bottom to the latest

ocated near the top, gave a clear indicationhat the may have been used as an oering

pot, beore the container was lled, sealed and

covered over. Coins were tossed in as an oer-

ng, much like giving coins in collection plate.

Click the screen below to watch the ull interview with Dave Crisp.

The Frome Hoard
http://www.mlotv.com/view/809/dave-crisp-mlotv-interview/



It was a heavy wooded area with talloak and pine trees a long the crested

pathway. Most o the dirt paths wereovergrown with holly trees and large vines

with large roots incasing the oors o the

orest. The narrow paths rolled and twisted upand down through the uneven ground. There

was a stream at the base o one o the hillswith a rotted log draped across its owing

current.This site was the area o an old stagecoach

oad that ran past the northeastern quadranto Bridgeton, New Jersey. There were

abandoned picnic areas and old trash rom

he early 1900s strung throughout the woods.We metal detected this spot in 1995 and 1996.

n 1995, my ather ound a cast-iron horseand buggy rom this spot. The wheels are cab

were still intact, with no visible rust. It was akids toy rom the turn o the century.

In 1996, I walked a long the orest groveate-winter metal detecting with my Whites

Classic II. My ather was o a small distance

metal detecting on the other side o thetream. I walked a lot the narrow path,

ducking under sticker bushes. Iraveled up the long steep hill that

an about twelve eet up rom the

oad level. Once on top o the hill Itarted getting sharp hits with my

detector. I pulled my hand trowel out rom msheath and starting digging. The dirt was sot

and powdery here a long the trail. I passedmy hands through the sandish type soil and

ound a rusted brass cap shotgun shell. I

would end up nding many o these this day.There was a larger path heading deeper

into the woods. This path had side paths thatsprawled out toward to connes o the orest

They were too narrow to metal detect andsome had large logs across them making the

pathways impassable. I stuck to the mainpathway; I had many hits, but I ound a lot o

trash such as rusty cans, bottle caps, and pull-

tabs. At this point, I was getting rustratedwith this spot, and hal-heartingly giving up

with lazy swings with the Classic II.My ather called, Are you okay up there

son?I responded, Yes dad, I have ound nothin

but trash so ar. Did you nd anything?No, well continue you on; call me i you

need any help digging

Okay.I walked past a spot where there was a lon

oak log running vertically to thepathway. Eleven years ater this da

in 2007, a riend o ours would nd

a civil war coat intact with all itsbuttons, still attached. At this time

A Day in the Stagecoach Roads

By: George D. Lesche



did not know that the coat was laid gentlyunderneath the backside o the log just under

he leave piles. It would have to wait until2007 to be discovered.

I started to walk back toward the road. I

gave up on this spot with nothing but trasho be ound. I stood on the top o the hill still

winging the coil as I began my downwarddecent. I suddenly had a good hit toward

he top o the hill, but it was on the slope. Iwas hal-tempted not to dig this hit this time

because o so much trash, but I decided onemore and then Ill turn o my machine.

I dug with my hand trowel and passed the

oil over my coil. No signal came across theunit; I continued to dig deeper amongst the

hickening tree roots. The soil was tattered inbrown and orange colors, mixed with pieces

o loose cloth.

The cloth was black and contained manyholes. It could have been someones jacket

rom many years ago or a handkerchie, butthat was my assumption. I tossed some o the

soil o to the side and saw a large coin like

item appear on top o the dirt pile. I reachedor it and swiped it over the coil to make sure

was metal.The coin or token had a weight to it like a

hal dollar weight. It had a modest amounto gold plating on it. It read: 1925 CharlieChapin See me at the Gold Rush the backsays At Criterion Theater November it also

read Second -Third - Forth . What did this

mean, I thought to mysel.My ather walked up and said, What did

you nd there son?I handed him the token and said, I dont

know, says Charlie Chaplin on it.


10/440 Relic Hunter September - October, 2010

Dad looked at it ipping it to the back andhen to the ront again. Well, there used to

be an old movie theater rumored to be romback here. This coin here can at least date

t back to the earlier 1920s. He continued,

Those park areas could have been part o themovie theater or at least a rest stop or the

tagecoach road that ran through here.I nodded and took back the token rom my

ather.He said, That is a very valuable piece you

have there; put it in your pocket so you dontose it.

I put the token away and gathered up mygear. We started walking back to the truckince the temperature dropped to about

orty degrees. When the day trip was overwe only ound the single token, but it is such

a rare item that it would have made up theprice o several large cents. At the truck my

ather put the metal detectors away and said,Congratulations son, you are Mr. Lucky.

I nodded and said, I know, dad We bothumped in the truck and went on home.

Stagecoach Roads Continued



Editors Note:This nd intrigued me ater I

read the story rom George as to determine

the origin o this token. With some Google-

ing, looking up names o theaters and Charlie

Chaplin, I ound a ew movie posters rom

The Gold Rush.

The Gold Rush was a 1925 silent lm come-

dy written, produced, directed by, and starring

Charlie Chaplin in his Little Tramp role. The

lm also stared Georgia Hale, Mack Swain, Tom

Murray, Henry Bergman, and Malcolm Waite.

Chaplin declared several times that this

was the lm that he most wanted to be re-

membered or.

The Criterion Theatre is long gone, how-

ever there was reerence to one in New YorkCity and this token could have been used or

admittance or the 1925 movie debut.
http://www.predatortools.com/



A gem hunter pulls anemerald rom a NorthCarolina arm.

So large that its being compared with the

crown jewels o Russian empress Catherinehe Great was pulled rom a pit near corn rows

at a North Carolina arm.The nearly 65-carat emerald its nders are

marketing by the name Carolina Emperor waspulled rom a arm once so well known amongreasure hunters that the owners charged $3

a day to shovel or small samples o the greentones. Ater the gem was cut and re-cut,

he nished product was about one-th theweight o the original nd, making it slightlyarger than a U.S. quarter and about as heavy

as a AA battery.The emerald compares in size and quality

o one surrounded by diamonds in a broochonce owned by Catherine the Great, who wasempress in the 18th century, that Christiesauction house in New York sold in April or

$1.65 million, said C.R. Cap Beesley, a NewYork gemologist who examined the stone.While big, uncut crystals and even notable

gem-quality emeralds have come rom thecommunity 50 miles northwest o Charlottecalled Hiddenite, there has never been one sobig its worthy o an imperial treasury, Beesleyaid.

It is the largest cut emerald ever to beound in North America, Beesley said in aelephone interview rom Myanmar, an Asian

country rich in precious gems.The discovery is a rarity or emeralds ound

not in the rich veins o South America and Asiabut in North America, said Robert Simon, owneo Windsor Jewelers in Winston-Salem.

Most o the stones that have come out havnot been gem-quality that I would mount in

jewelry, said Simon, who was part owner o a7.85-carat, dime-sized emerald ound in the

same community in 1998 that has since beenset in jewelry and sold to a private owner.

Terry Ledord, 53, ound the roughly 2-inch-square chunk rimmed with spots o iron a yearago on a 200-acre arm owned by businesspartner Renn Adams, 90, and his siblings. Therural community o Hiddenite is named or apaler stone that resembles emerald.

It was so dark in color that holding it up to

the sun you couldnt even get the light to comethrough it, a quality that ensured an intensegreen hue once the stone was cut with acetsthat allowed light into the gems core, Ledordsaid.

The North Carolina stone was cut to imitatethe royal emerald, Ledord said. A museum andsome private collectors interested in buying themerald have been in contact, Ledord said.

Modeling an empresss emerald is likelyto have less inuence on the North Carolinastones sale price than its clarity, color and cut,said Douglas Hucker, CEO o the American Gem

Trade Association, a Dallas, Texas-based tradeassociation or dealers in colored gems.

A 65-carat cut emerald rom North Carolinais a big, big stone, he said. But once an emeralis cut, its subject to the same type o marketconditions that any emerald would be.

Emeralds are part o North Carolinas mineraclaim to ame, though other places in the U.S.

by Terry Ledo



also are rich in gems. Maine mines have yield-ed aquamarine and amethyst, Montana bearsapphires, Idaho is known or star garnets, and

Arkansas has diamonds.Its not ully known why small, subterra-

nean cavities containing emeralds ormed incentral North Carolina, said geologist MichaelWise o the Smithsonians National Museum

o Natural History, who has studied the under-ground world around Hiddenite or years.

Emeralds are produced where a superheat-ed uid carrying the element beryllium mi-grated through rocks that contain chromium,Wise said.

This doesnt happen requently, Wise said.The conditions have to be just right to make

an emerald. ... It happens to be the case at thisparticular place.

Adams said decades ago when his parentsowned the arm, they allowed anyone with ahovel to dig or emeralds on the property or

$3 a day. Virtually all o it was too ull o aws

o be cut into precious stones and was mostlyold to mineral collectors, Adams said.Ledord said they dont plan to quit ater

pocketing the prots rom their big nd, Led-ord said.

Well denitely keep on mining, he said.It would be good to know you dont have to

go and could do it or pleasure. You eel likeyouve got to nd something to survive butince we ound this emerald, once we get itold, there will be less stress.

North Carolina Emerald MiningEmerald mining, at the only two ee or dig

mines, that are open to the public today, to

dig or North Carolina emeralds, mostly con-sists o digging through soil, or in tailings pile

rom previous mining operations.Both o these may require screening and

washing your nds to locate the smaller emealds in the waste material.

To screen your emerald bearing mate-rial youll need a box screen with 1/8 mesh

screen in it. Simply place a shovel ull o mate

rial in your screen and shake out the dirt.Then take the material let in your screen

to a tub with water in it or another watersource. Now wash o your material to get

rid o any remaining dirt that may be on thestones and begin looking or the wonderul

green color o your emeralds.Once you nd an emerald staring up at yo

rom the waist material, youll know why som

men have spent a lietime searching or theseexquisite gemstones.

Emerald Mines Open to the PublicCurrently there are only two ee or dig

emerald mines open to the public that will al

low you to search or your own North Carolinemeralds:

Crabtree Emerald Mine Spruce Pine, NC

Emerald Hallow Mine Hiddenite, NC



My hunting partner Jaime Sites and I wentout Sunday aternoon or a little detecting. Ihave been in a silver slump now or quite awhile.

And today that all ended in a big way.We drove around the countryside looking or

an old arm house and started knocking doors,we spotted a nice looking property with a late

800s large brick home, so we stopped talkedo the owner and got permission and began to

hunt. The rst ew eet into the yard I got a 1926bualo nickel, that was a good sign, then the next

hree targets were wheat pennies. I knew therehad to be silver and I wanted it!

Well my partner Jaime signaled to me he just

dug a 1946 silver quarter and that got me excited,wanted silver bad!

I continued to nd several more wheats then Iwalked along the sidewalk and got a solid 07-47.

was thinking no way this could be a hal dollar,havent even got a silver dime here yet! I cut a

nice deep plug just in case, didnt want to scratcha silver hal dollar, removed a little dirt and I saw a

arge silver rim peeking at me rom the bottom ohe hole.

My heart was racing as I reached in and re-

moved the coin, it was a 1895 barber hal! I waspumped because this is my rst ever barber

hal and I also ended my silver slump, in a BIGway. I stood up and the very next signal about a

oot rom the barber hal I get another solid 07-47.........I am thinking this cant be happening.....another hal!? Could it be? I once again cut a large

plug knowing the possibility o a hal dollar wasvery real, and once again it was another silver

hal, this time it was a 1918-s Walker. I was oncloud nine......I did not eld clean either coin, so I

did not know the actual dates until I got home. Iwrapped them in a sot cloth and placed them in

my pouch. The thought o having a possible keydate hal was killing me!

I continued to detect some more and scored

2 Rosies in one hole, then a 1918D Merc dime,oo bad it wasnt 2 years older! One 1904 indian

penny, and nished up the day with a silver war

nickel. I Ended up with 11 wheats dating rom 190to 1941.

My partner ound the 1946 silver quarter, a

silver ring with a small turquoise stone, 3 tokens,several wheats and a toy cap gun. All in all it was a

super hunt or both o us.Turned into a 6 silver day! I wont orget this

hunt or awhile!

Not just another dayBy Terry Barnhart


http://www.fisherlab.com/



I was out searching today with a certied group o detectorists. Anarchaeologist had done some research and was hoping to nd someproo o an early middle-age/Viking settlement, near a village here in

Schleswig-Holstein. (see map to right)

Well, we didnt nd anything middle age/Viking, but we did haveome success.

It went something like this:We had divided the eld into sections and had been searching or

about two hours with absolutely no nds.I decided to have a break and went to the car to get a coee. I had

ust nished one section, and on the wayo the car I went the rst lane on the next

ection. The car was parked to the right ohe eld, and I was just about to veer o tohe car, still no good signals.

Then I thought I might as well nish theast 10 meters. PEEEP!

Two steps later a good signal.And out came this.

In Search for

the Vikingsby Je Brown

Looked denitely like parto a bronze sword.

Detectorists and archaeological authorities really can work well together.

So I searched around or 5 minutes, anducky day today, got the tip o the sword.



Schleswig-Holstein lies on the base o Jutland Peninsula between the North Sea and the Balt

Sea. Strictly speaking, Schleswig reers to the German Southern Schleswig, whereas Northern

Schleswig is in Denmark. The state o Schleswig-Holstein urther consists o Holstein as well as

Lauenburg, and the ormerly independent city o Lbeck. This makes it one o the ew nations

with a boundary where the name is used in two countries; usually it is two counties villages

that share the same name, as in Somerset.

Well being quite chued, I thought I deserved a coee now. I theres more to be ound it canwait 3.5 thousand years and ten minutes! Apart rom that, hal the group were now searchinghe area.

Just nished my coee, and one o the lads came.Ich habe noch einen Stck geundenI ound another piece

Hal an hour later we had a part o the grip:

These bits will be in the workshop on Monday to becleaned and conserved, dated, and decided i it iscomplete, or i we search or any still missing parts.

Was a good day, and shows again that hobby

detectorists and archaeological authorities can really work well together, even i we possiblyprove some o their theories can be wrong!

And laid together looks something like this:



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Yesterday, a non-d

wasted 3 hours 55

produced a ew s

worth detailing.

O course I enjoyed an ove

cise than staying at home

anticipation beore diggin

This is ater all, is what mo

an item to proudly show o

The start o my intended

and Pro coil saw three sign

walking to my avoured pr

nored as they said do not

third signal sang out loud olded penny.

It is clenched rmly on a st

olded and must have bee

thoughts as to when and

strip. Perhaps Ill nd out a

At this stage I intend to lea

son years ago when I care

As ar as cleaning was con

in warm water using a sot

photographs apart rom cr

sure the vertical axis ran tr

Folded U



ist would consider that I

es in a search which only

d bits and bobs that are not

o resh air, got more exer-

d numerous moments o

small piece o lead (say).

do in the quest or nding

ds.

r search with my E-Trac

he rst ve minutes (while

ve area). The rst two I ig-

to dig me. However, the

ar and turned out to be a

ilver which, in itsel, is also

intentionally. I havent any

was olded up with a silver

an update

s is having learnt my les-

aightened a love token

I merely washed the coin

brush. I did nothing to the

g the image and making

Hammyby Dave



GOLDEN NIGHTDOWN AT THE BEACH

As usual every weekend I arrange a clubdig or Sunday or our local club, DewsburyDistrict Metal Detecting Club, but at thisime o the year it is very hard nding

anywhere to get a dig or the day, as allhe local arms are ully cropped up so its

pasture or the beach or the day.For the last 3 weeks, me and 2 o my

detecting mates, also members o DDMDC,arrange a night out or beach detecting

on the east coast. At night, its quite on thebeach and you have the ull stretch o thebeach to yoursel or all night and parking isree ater 17.30PM.

This particular night, Thursday, July 8th, wearranged to meet at Pauls house at 18.00PM.When I arrived there, we all quickly got ourdetectors and sand scoops, pouches, andheadlamps together and loaded everything

n to Pauls car. This week as last week wehad gone in my car.Ater going to the local petrol station or

our sandwiches and drinks, we had a steadydrive to the beach. This usually takes us an

hr to 1hr and 30 mins depending on trafcon the A64.

We got to the beach about 20.00PMand we parked up on the side street. Toour surprise, no one was detecting on the

beach tonight. It was high tide but there wasaround 25 eet o beach to detect still.

So ater we had a quick brews and asandwich. We got our detectors and diggersout and got ready or a nights detecting. Iwas using the Minelab Excalibur 2 - Mark wasusing a Minelab E-trac - Paul was using isLaser Trident 2

We headed out on to the dry sand othe beach to start o while the tide startedgoing out....

We all split up and went our separateways. I searched a area o around 40 ootsquare nding plenty o loose change 4 x50p, 3 x 10p, 9 x 20p, 4 x 1, 13 x 5p, 14 x 2p,10 x 1p, (6 x old 1967 one pennies) and theusual pull tabs or bottle tops. Paul and Markhad about the same amount o success ater1hour o detecting on the dry sand.

Ater about 1 hour, I decided to detectdown the side o the beach wall, which was

around 700 meters long but only 2 oot tallup to the road level. Ater about 20 yardsI had ound a hand ull o change and hadound about 6 or 7 buried beer cans and 3tent pegs. I had let my discriminate at no 1so I didnt want to miss anything as while Idetected.

Excalibur 2 Settings Were:

Discriminate Mode = set to 1Threshold = Silent hum

Volume = HighSensitivity = 4

by Stuart Littlewood



Ater 100 yards I decided to boost upmy sensitivity rom 4 to 9 and immediatelytarted noticing the dierence in the

amount o coins I was getting. Plus thedepth was a lot deeper. I also startedgetting lots o small 5p at a depth o 1t.Then I got a very silent signal but it was a 2way signal so I decided to dig it anyway. I

dug in the sand down to a depth o around0.5t and I could see that it was a golding with 26 set stones set in the ring....

absolutely amazing seeing the ring in myhand.

This was rst ring I had ound with theExcalibur Paul, Mark and I stood togetherooking at the ring and sharing and looked

at each others nds o the night. Paul andMarks remarks were thats one nice ring,well done Stu.

We all set o detecting again with moreeagerness than beore. I had a big grim on

my ace hoping tomorrow would nevercome. Ater walking around about 20 yardsgot back to the nd spot o were the ring

came out. Paul runs up to me with a big grinon his ace,Ive just ound something that will match

your ring and it was stuck hal buried in theand, so I said, come on then, show me,

expecting it to be a iron screw or a rusty boltand he opened his hand and there was one

o the nicest 18ct gold belcher chain with aose gold latch at one end and a loop at the

The ring is set in9ct yellow gold stamped 375.

The ring has a0.50ct crisp, brighaquamarine stonein the centre.

The aquamarines surrounded by3 small, brightparkling diamondshat glistenontinuously with 4

diamonds cascadingdown the shoulderso the ring.



engraved silver ring that looked like a childsring.

Next we started searching in a line acrossthe beach towards the bottom o the southbeach on the at wet sand. The signals were

ew and ar betweenprobably only 2

signals or every 200yards. Ater a halhour, we all headedback towards wherewe had started. Aswe got hal way, Pausaid lets try that sot

sand again. We walked and detected the sosand. Our legs and arms were aching and I

got another signal, just out side thedeckchair stall. I said to Paul its a 5p by the

other end. We noticed the loop had a 1 mmgap. This was probably how it was lost sincehe chain was very heavy. We were all veryhocked o the nds o the night

At this time the tide had started going outand the wet sand wasdropping to a incline as

gullies started showingn the sand. I said to

Paul, shall we all trydown here on the wetand?

So we all decidedo search the wet sand

within 20 minutes lots o loose change andome more 1967 one pennies were ound.

We started heading across the beach, Markhouts out, got a ring! This was also a nice



looks o it, so I used my sand scoop and stuck itin the ground. I could here the jingle in the scoopand I could see the round edge o a small coin, halin the sand so I picked it up and my fnger wentthrough the center o it.

I couldnt believe it. We walked over to werethe streetlights shone on the sand so we could seewhat I had ound. It was a lovely aquamarine and

diamond gold cluster ring.At the end o the night we had ound about 35

total, in loose change and plenty o gold.

This will be night we will always remember.Well be back soon!

Click below or more inormation DDMDC:
http://www.dewsburydistrictmdc.co.uk/http://www.dewsburydistrictmdc.co.uk/


http://www.tekneticst2.com/



coins and then we went home.

Now heres the twist:

About an hour ater I got home Mike gave mea call. He said Hey! That coin you ound nearly

cost you $100! Conused, I asked him what he

was talking about. He told me that he went to a

store ater he let the hunting site and realized he

had lost his Lesche digging tool. So he returned to

nd it. Well, he ound it but then noticed that MY

Predator shovel and Leschehand tool were stuck

upright in the dirt next to where I had parked!

I was so stoked about nding the halpencethat I had orgotten them when I let or home!

I thanked him prousely and we met up and

he returned them. He was very happy that my

orgetulness trumped his and that he said he

would make note o it to everyone at the next

metal detecting club meeting! And yes, I will

deserve it.

(Note: I almost used a more vulgar term

or orgetulness but this is, ater all, a amily

oriented e-magazine. But you all know what I

mean.)

The moral o the story is that research will

pay o but sometimes luck gets on your side.

Also, I like being lucky more than being good!

However, I do plan to paint the Predator shovel

a BRIGHT ORANGE to help in not being such a

D_ _ _ _ _ S.

Uh, I mean to help in not orgetting it again!

HAPPY HUNTING!

MY OLDEST COIN FIND TO DATE(with a twist)

by Pete Briggs, Yeasty

m blessed to be in an area where really old coins

can be ound. Ive done a lot o research and have

narrowed it down to where I think Id identied

ome likely areas to improve my chances.My research has led me to nd 4 colonial era

coins (a Connecticut Copper, 2 King George II

halpence, and a King George III halpence) and

an early (1805) Draped Bust Hal Cent.

However, the circumstances that led to the

nding o the King George I halpence are a little

dierent with a twist at the end. Weve been

having some very hot and humid weather around

here but nally, last Friday, the humidity haddropped somewhat so I decided to go out on a

hunt but it had to be in a SHADY AREA!

I decided to go over to a well pounded park

which had plenty o nice old trees and just search

n their shade. I was hoping to nd a silver rosie or

even a merc dime i I got lucky.

Ater swinging the E-Trac or about a hal hour

and nding 3 clad quarters and a clad dime, I

got a sweet 12 46 tone and, I thought, anotherquarter. Well, LO AND BEHOLD, a large copper

coin popped up!

At rst I thought it was a large cent or some

kind o token because its diameter and thickness

were dierent rom the other colonial coins Id

ound, but ater careully brushing o some o

he dirt I saw that the bust was acing to the

ight! I went to the car, got out the water bottle

and rinsed it o somewhat. Then I saw Miss

Britannia sitting there on her shield and holding

her trident. I was also able to easily read the date.

721! To say the least, I was dumbounded.

I would never have expected to nd a colonial

era coin in this area. I now have ound examples o

all 3 Georges who ruled during our colonial period!

Ater looking at it or about hal an hour I called

my detecting buddy Mike and told him about it.

He said hed be right over to look at it. O course,

he was suitably impressed! We hunted togetheror about another hour and ound only more clad



In The News:

Plumber unearths WWII prisoner owar camp or 10,000 German soldiers

in his back garden

Ashocked plumber has discovered a

prisoner o war camp that housed10,000 German soldiers during the

Second World War - in his back garden.David Murray, 39, was digging behind his

bungalow when he unearthed a dog tag that

clearly belonged to a German prisoner.He gained permission rom his landlord

o continue excavations and within an hour

The Daily Mail Reporter

he had located old bottles, buttons rom uni-orms and used ammunition.

A shocked plumber has discovered a pris-oner o war camp that housed 10,000 German

soldiers during the Second World War - in hisback garden.

David has now recovered more than 2,000

items rom the camp, including a live grenade

that had to be blown up by a RAF bomb dis-posal unit.



Sel-employed plumber David, o MuchHadham, Herts., said he was completely

hocked at the nd.He said: It was a huge shock when I ound

he tag, it was just poking out o the groundo it was just luck I saw it glint in the light.

Ive been storing all o the items in my

hed but its getting very ull up now so I amhoping to get a Nissan hut to display every-

hing in.The grenade was a complete shock too,

spotted it in the ground and didnt realisewhat it was, it didnt look like the ones you

ee in lms at all.I tried to deuse it a couple o times my-

el but I couldnt get the screws o the top.

ts a good job because the RAF said it wasvery unstable.

They werent very happy with me when I

told them Id been holding it next to my earand listening to see i it would go bang.

Its really incredible to think that 70 years10,000 prisoners o war were walking around

in my back garden.The Wynches Camp opened in 1939 and

rst housed Italian prisoners, but later took

Germans - some o whom did not leave unti1947.

Historians believe that the camp was alsoused or Allied training and accommodated

American and Indian Gurkha units as theygeared up or war.

The 40-acre camp, which held up to10,000 prisoners, was situated in Much Had-

ham, and Davids landlord owns 20 acres o

the land it stood on.Following the war, the camp was opened

leaving prisoners to work as armhands be-



ore they were released when it was torn

down in around 1950.Some prisoners are thought to have re-

mained in Much Hadham ater the closure,

with rumours that a number athered chil-dren and married local girls.

David, who lives with his brother, dad-o-hree Alec, 35, who is also a plumber, has so

ar excavated just one acre o the site.He believes it could take a years o dig-

ging and researching beore the camp is ullyexposed.

David spends all his ree time armed with

a metal detector and has discovered over sixpits lled with historic arteacts.

Round brass washers and coins rom allover the world, including German coins with

Nazi emblems, have been among the small-est items ound.

Bottles o alcohol, mineral water rom

Bishops Stortord, boot polish rom Philadel-phia and 1930s retro perume bottles have

also been discovered on the site.

David has also dug up live ammunition oLee-Eneld .303 calibre ries and .45 calibre

pistol rounds and is now painstakingly label-ling each item.

He is continuously patrolling the site towatch or night hawkers, who he ears will

steal the historic arteacts.He is working alongside local historian

Richard Maddams to research the camp and

the duo hope to write a book on their nd-ings.

They are appealing or anyone with inor-mation about Much Hadham in the Second

World War period to contact them on [email protected].

In The News:
http://www.wildman%27s-shop.com/http://www.wildman%27s-shop.com/



In The News:

Minelab USA is Downers Grove (Chicagoarea), Illinois newest business member!

The world amous metal detectionechnologies company, known or itsexclusive premier level gold detecting

machines and coin, relic, and treasuredetectors, has moved its headquarters

o Downers Grove, Illinois. With recordales and a business plan or ocused

business growth, Minelab has chosen tomore centrally locate their Minelab USA

headquarters.The Chicago area is the perect centra

location to urther expand and support

its operations. Minelab USA Vice PresidenGary Schaer states, We are excited abou

the opportunity to better serve our Northand South American markets with a more

centrally located sales and service centerWhile we are maintaining a sales ofce

in Las Vegas our new Minelab Americasheadquarters eatures a Customer CareCenter and product distribution point.

We are now ofcially opened in DownersGrove, Illinois a western suburb o

Chicago. A state o the art demo room, aull service repair workshop and Minelab

trained and certied technicians willensure customers receive excellent

service and are delighted to be a part othe Minelab community.

Since its origins in 1985, Minelab

has been the world leader in providing the best metal detection technologies or customers,ncluding the land mine detection needs o humanitarian and military organizations. With

ofces in Australia, Ireland, and the United States, Minelabs employees seek to alwaysunderstand the diverse customer requirements and to apply its technologies to meet the

customers needs.Minelab have a worldwide vision to provide rst class products, services, and customer care

while increasing interest and knowledge in the eld o metal detection. Chicago, with its divers

Minelab Strikes Gold in Chicago!



population and work orce is the perectocation to continue this world-wide vision

o growth. Minelab will continue to operaten Las Vegas with a new sales ofce located

at 3752 Howard Hughes Drive, Suite 200 Las

Vegas, Nevada. The Las Vegas ofce is a crucialpart o Minelabs business, being located in

he middle o United States gold country! Itsales and marketing sta are there to help

he west coast business partners and supportChicagos customer service operations.

Minelab is also opening a new trainingand demo center in the Prescott Valley area

o Arizona. This center will be ocused onenhancing our resellers education programs

as well as delivering regular detection

outings to our end-Customers. The ofcialgrand opening or the new Minelab USA

headquarters in Downers Grove, Illinois washeld on August 12, 2010.

The Mel Fisher Maritime Museum in Key

West, Florida holds the richest single collectiono 17th-century maritime and shipwreckantiquities in the Western Hemisphere,

ncluding treasures and artiacts rom theAtocha and Santa Margarita.

It was reported that two thieves entered a

museum shortly ater closing at 5PM and stolea 74.85-ounce, 11-inch (28-centimeter) gold

bar which was inside a glass display case with

a small opening where visitors could stick a

One o the most iconic and best-knownobjects at the Mel Fisher Maritime

Museum was stolen.

hand inside and lit the bar to examine it.

Police and the FBI are working to identiythe suspects who took the gold bar which

had been on display or more than 20 years.Surveillance captures caught the aces o

these two men, believed to be the suspectswho walked o with the gold bar.

According to Alyson Crean, Key West Police

spokeswoman, one suspect is described as awhite male, about six eet tall with dark hair

and a medium build. The second suspect isabout ve eet, six inches tall.

Click screen or video play
http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/crime/2010/08/25/zarrella.stolen.gold.bar.cnnhttp://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/crime/2010/08/25/zarrella.stolen.gold.bar.cnn



The Gold bar has an estimated value

o $550,000 and the Museums insurancecompany is oering a $25 thousand reward.

Photo Credit: Miami Herald/Florida Keys News Bureau

Everybody who comes to the museum is

encouraged to lit the gold bar and to have arsthand experience with history, said Melissa

Kendrick, the museums executive director.

This is one o the most iconic and best-knowobjects in the museum.

The security systems worked because we

knew the bar was stolen within 10 minutes,and we have usable video and photos or law

enorcement, Kendrick said. The museum

made a decision to designate this as ahandling object, allowing people to touch the

artiact, and this was part o the risk involved

in granting public access.

The gold bar came rom a 1622

shipwreck that Fisher discovered.

In The News:

The Thie The Lookout

Anyone with inormation about thesemen should contact the Key West PoliceDepartment at (305) 809-1111.



Metal detectorist Jim Belk has won a nationalaward ater nding a rare Anglo Saxon coin on

armland in north Wiltshire.

Mr Belk, 76, o Esmead, Chippenham,won the most signicant coin award in

The Searcher Magazine competition in

ecognition o the 1,050-year-old coin he dugup on land near Cricklade.

The great-grandather o our, who was

awarded a glass trophy, said: I was delightedwhen I was told I had won, because I was up

against a gold coin and mine was just silver.But it is the new

normation that my coinbrought which made it

tand out.The coin, inscribed with

Edgar King o England

and a cross, is the earliestecorded coin to be minted

n Cricklade and revealedhat moneyer Sigewold

worked at the mint.It was not known that

Sigewold worked there untilound this, said Mr Belk.

The coin came out

o a eld which has beenploughed or centuries,

and most come out broken,bent or corroded, but this is

damn near perect.Mr Belk took up metal detecting as a hobby

about ten years ago when he retired, andwas soon hooked, collecting more than 1,000

tems.

Rare coin wins awardor detectorist

He said: I dont know what prompted meto take it up, but I ound it ascinating.

One o the rst areas o ground I was givewas Bowood Lord Lansdownes property

where I ound a Roman bronze brooch and aRoman coin, which turned out to be a orgery

It was still rom Roman times, but was bronze

with silver plating.There are only a ew

months during the yearwhen Mr Belk is able to tak

his metal detector out, andhe always asks permission

rom the landowner beoreembarking on a search.

He said: You can go outin the autumn just aterthe harvest, or during the

Spring when the crops havreached a certain height,

but it depends on whetherthe land is arable or pasture

Pasture elds are notploughed so once you have

covered it properly thereis no point in going back,

while arable elds can keep bringing up new

nds when they have been ploughed.What you nd depends on the site too,

some elds are ull o shot gun bullets andcans that the armer has thrown out o his

tractor, but you never know.

By Alana Lewis



In The News:

Its paying o or ather and son Bill and Brent Brisben.

The once-active real estate developers bought salvage rightsin June to 75 square miles o Atlantic Ocean o the coast oFlorida. They believe up to $900 million worth o gold, silver,

jewels and artiacts rom an 18th century eet o Spanish ship

is buried deep below the ocean oor there.In just a month o diving, theyve already ound $500,000

worth o loot including a 400-year-old cannon, 51 gold and 41

silver coins dated rom 1698.Bill Brisben ounded and built Sycamore Township-based

Brisben Cos. into a national developer and operator o apart-

ment communities. At one time, his company owned 20,000units in 20 states. He sold the company in 2002 and was ap-pointed by President George Bush a U.S. ambassador to UNI-

CEF until 2009.Although Brisben kept his home in Indian Hill, he spent

much o his time in Florida in recent years building up a collec

tion o recovered treasure.All his lie he had been ascinated with treasure and trea-

sure hunting, said his son, Brent. In February, Bill convinced

Brent o Montgomery to join him in Sebastian, Fla., the home oamed treasure hunter Mel Fishers Treasure Museum.

Fishers amily had oered up or sale its custodial rights tosearch or the remains o the 1715 Spanish Fleet, believed to b

Brisbens hunt sunken treasurerom 1715 Spanish Fleet

$900 M in gold, silver, jewels believed buriedo Florida coast

By Laura Baverman



trewn along the ocean oor between Melbourne andStewart, Fla.

It was too good to pass up, Brisben said. Luckily,

we were the ones they chose to sell it to.The story goes that 11 ships let Havana, Cuba that

year on their way back to

Spain. They carried thou-ands o coins, artiactsnd eight chests o jewels

hat King Philip V plannedo use as dowry in his

marriage to Queen Eliza-

beth (called the Queensewels).

But the ships got

aught in a hurricane, andll but one sank. The Queens Jewels have since pro-

vided the story lines behind movies The Deep and

Fools Gold.

The rst traces o the eet were ound in the early960s, said Carl Fismer, a 40-year treasure hunter who

uns the Spanish Main Treasure Co. in the Florida Keys.A Hamilton native, he worked onhe 1715 eet rom 1980 to 1992.

Fisher received custodial rightsn the early 1960s and had suc-ess nding coinage and artiacts

hrough 1990. But since then, ma-or nds have been ewer, Fismer

aid.There is still treasure there tobe had, he said. But how manyyears is it going to take to get it?

Particularly challenging also ishe controversy surrounding pri-

vate treasure hunting in the state

o Florida. Federal admiralty lawgoverns business that happenson the sea like marine commerce,

navigation, shipping and salvage,but it is handled in state courts.

Because sunken treasure has been lost or hun-

dreds o years, it had been exempt rom traditionalmaritime laws which required ndings be split be-ween the owner and hunter. Until 1975, sunken

reasure hadnt been governed by law at all. The U.S.Supreme Court eventually handled a case involvinghe Fisher amily, and ruled that hunters must partici-

pate in a process called divisions at the end o eachyear. They bring all o the ndings during the year to

he state, which lays claim to 20 percent. The rest isypically split between the investors and the contrac-

tors who ound the items.You have to have perseverance, Fismer said. Trea

sure hunting can be costly and provide ew returns,

especially ater the division process. Hopeully theyvgot people advising them.

The Brisbens are

prepared or their explorations to take some time.

Treasure is typically burie

under 6 to 12 eet o sandand is best ound in thesummer months when th

waters are warmer andcalmer. Divers hired by thBrisbens lower an elbow-

shaped tube over thepropeller o the boat and then re the engines. Whenthe water ushes through the tube, it comes out the

bottom and digs a hole in the sand down to the bed-

rock. Divers then swim with metal detectors to searchthe holes.

The Brisbens use a state-o-the-art computer-assisted design system, like oneused to design and construct a

building. Since 1983, the systemhas helped hunters track everyhole that has been explored and

what was ound in those holes.Friends back home expect

the Brisbens have taken the samhard look at the risk and rewardas they did in the real estateindustry.

My guess is that Bill negoti-ated and bought in really good,and he probably knows exactly

what his downside is, said PhilMontanus, a partner in Mt. Ad-ams-based real estate rm, Town

Properties. Hell personally getinvolved and work it hard. Thats

how hes been successul in real estate.

The July 11 ndings gave some reassurance thatthe rewards could be great.

Investors and appraisers already have called abou

laying claim to the Brisbens ndings. One coin, orexample, is valued at $20,000. Several productioncompanies are interested in a reality show about their

operations.Everybody is ascinated by this. Thats part o wha

drew us into it, the younger Brisben said. Its interest-ing, ascinating and a heck o a lot o un.



In The News:

t was summer 1974, and love was in the air.udith Goode and her steady beau they

had exchanged class rings just weeks earlierrolicked at the San Jacinto battleeld. Then,as the young man rocketed a risbee into theblue, Goodes Deer Park High School ringailed o his pinky and was lost amid the

grass.For two weeks the pair, metal detector

n hand, scoured the sacred tur that SamHouston trod in search o the $45.10 whitegold band with its emerald-green stone. Andor all their sweat and tears they got - nothing.

All that changed Wednesday when Goode,now Judith Goode Fesler, was reunited withhe long-lost ring, which archeologists ound

earlier this month while hunting or historicartiacts near the site o a soon-to-be-replacedewer line.

When park superintendent RussellKuykendall handed the still-shiny 1973 classing to Fesler, she burst into tears.

Oh my, she warbled, as her husband,Warren Fesler, and a small group o parkofcials broke into grins. I wish my daddy wasalive to see this.

36 years lost, now ound. Archeologist Roger Moore said thering was discovered not ar rom the parkheadquarters during a metal detector-aidedsearch or artiacts.

Many people think that the area has been

completely picked over, but there still arebattle artiacts close to the surace, he said.Along with beer can tabs and other

metal trash, Moore and his assistants haverecovered ragments o early 19th centuryrearms, relics o the 1836 clash between

Texan and Mexican troops.Volunteer Gary Wiggins ound the ring

about 4 inches below the surace. The onlyclue to its owners identity were the engravedinitials JG.

Tracking her downFesler, a Kerrville resident who drives a bu

or a Hill Country schooldistrict, was identiedthrough a list o 1973grads maintained byDeer Park Highs alumniassociation.

Im going to wearthis on a chain, she said,

adjusting the now-snugjewelry on her littlenger.

Ater the utile searchor the lost ring, Feslerresigned hersel tonever seeing it again.Sometime later, she and her sweetheartparted ways. She gave him back his own ring

Thirty years ago, Fesler bought hersel anew class ring, but, she admitted, it never

was the same.Unlike most o her classmates rings, which

bore a Deer Park High-maroon stone, Feslersoriginal ring was customized with a greenstone - both her birth stone and the color othe school at which she spent hal her highschool years.

Its a sentimental thing, Fesler said. Iveknown what type o ring I wanted since I wasin the third grade.

by Alan Turner



A metal detecting enthusiast hunting in Stanord Din-gley on St Valentines Day, appropriately ound a gold

Roman ring.Steven Fenton rom Ealing was searching with his

metal detector in a eld with the permission o the

andowner on February 14, last year, when he oundhe ring.

Coroner Peter Bedord held a treasure trove in-

quest in Newbury on Wednesday to decide whether

he ring was old enough and precious enough to bedeclared treasure.

He heard Mr Fenton who was not at the inquest had ound the Roman nger ring our to six inchesunderground on cultivated land.

It was sent to the Brit-sh Museum or authen-ication where expert

Ralph Jackson dated it

between the 1st and4th century AD. He said

he ring contained morehan 89 per cent goldnd more than ve per

ent silver.Mr Bedord also dealt

with a second treasure

nquest in the Windsorrea.

David Conway romCrown Wood, Bracknell,

Treasure Trove Inquiriesby Linda Fort

was searching near a gravel extraction site on December 6, when his detector picked up a strong signal. Hhad ound a small gold ring in the area a week beor

and pestered the landowner to hunt again.He told the coroner: He turned me down at rst

but I kept on asking.When he searched again he ound a gold Bronze

Age torc o which the rst small ring he had oundwas part.

The torc a kind o necklace was authenticated by GillianVandell at the British Museum wh

dated it to between 1300 and 110BC more than 3,000 years old.

It was 83 per cent gold and 15

per cent silver.Mr Bedord explained under

the Treasure Act 1996 a coroner

had to establish the nd was morethat 300 years old and had morethan a 10 per cent gold or silver

content. Both nds ell easily intothat category and he declaredthem treasure.

The treasures have to be value

and oered to an appropriate museum rst and i the museum doe

not want to buy them, they can then be sold. Theownership is usually negotiated between the nderand landowner.



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n Corolla, North Carolina, Ray Midgett huntshe Corolla beaches on the Outer Banks oNorth Carolina almost every day.

Beachcombing, or metal detecting, or relichunting is in my blood, said Midgett, a retiredgovernment worker who hits the sand betweenOctober and April.

There are so many shipwrecks up here, its

ust beautiul.Midgett drives his pickup truck right onto

he beach using the access road near the Cur-ituck Beach Lighthouse. With a metal detector

and shovel in tow, hes uncovered everythingrom antique coins to wedding rings.

Yet his biggest discovery came in Decemberwhen he located the remains o a historic ship-wreck.

The wreckage, hidden under the sand orcenturies, became ully exposed ater a winter

o brutal Noreasters, making it the oldestshipwreck ound o the coast o North Caro-lina.

But historians had to act ast to recover thship, according to Meghan Agresto, site manager o the Currituck Beach Lighthouse.

This winter, it just got smacked. Aterawhile the ocean wasgoing to take it back,Agresto said. The actthat we got it o thebeach makes us excitedbecause we got to saveit.

Midgett and otherbeachcombers had dis-covered a number o relics near the shipwrecksbeach grave site, includ-

ing coins believed to berom the reign o LouisXIII in France and CharleI in England, lead baleseals used or identica-tion, and spoons datingto the mid-1600s.

Midgett said he eelsa personal connection to the discovery.

This shipwreck is a part o me, and someo the other hunters, too, that have beenhunting around it or years, Midgett said. Im

just so glad that they decided to save it.The rough currents and shallow sand bars

o North Carolinas Outer Banks have de-stroyed thousands o ships in what is some-times called the Graveyard o the Atlantic.

However, it is rare to nd the remains o a

shipwreck -- particularly a wooden vessel --intact.

In The News:

Hunting the beaches o North Carolina- Shipwreck Found. By Sarah Hoye



its a directional sign or where you need to gnext.

Beore the Corolla Beach discovery, theoldest shipwreck ound along the states coas

was Queen Annes Revenge, the presumedagship o Blackbeard the pirate said to haverun aground in 1718, according to the NorthCarolina Maritime Museums.

This shipwreck is a part o me ... Im just soglad that they decided to save it.

Beach wreck and some o its artiacts willbe moved to the Graveyard o the AtlanticMuseum on Hatteras Island, North Carolina.

Midgett and the other beachcombers areentitled to keep the coins and other artiactsound near the ship they discovered.

Its very exciting to nd something romthis time period, said Richard Lawrence,director o the North Carolina UnderwaterArchaeology Branch or the Department oCultural Resources.

And amazingly we ound it in this beachenvironment. It appears this wreck has beensitting here or 350 years almost undisturbeduntil this winter.

Lawrence said the discovery would neverhave happened without Midgett.

Ray Midgett was probably more respon-sible than anybody to get this wreck o thebeach, Lawrence said. He created enough oa stir to get various organizations involved.

Thankully, Ray and his colleagues col-

lected various artiacts that would have oth-erwise not survived.

Throughout winter, the Co-olla beach shipwreck wouldepeatedly get uncovered and

covered again. The waves wouldalso move it along the coastline,causing damage.

Im glad we got to it whenwe did. ... It may have covered

back up and survived anotherummer, Midgett said.

But next winter it wouldhave been the same thing overand it eventually would havegone to pieces.

Midgett, who used to work as a govern-ment auditor, wanted to make sure his dis-covery was salvaged, so he personally lobbied

North Carolina state Sen. Marc Basnight. Aternumerous phone calls and e-mails appeal-ng to Basnight, a beach lover himsel, he wasuccessul.

In April, volunteers rom the Wildlie Re-ources Commission, Underwater Archaeol-

ogy Branch, the Corolla Fire Department andarea residents helped ree the wreck rom theand and tow it near the lighthouse.

Archaeologists originally thought thewreck could be the HMS Swit, a British Navyhip rom the late 18th century that originallyan around in the southern Chesapeake Bay

o Virginias coast.The HMS Swit drited to the Outer Banks,

where it was looted once it hit shore, thendisabled by the looters so it wouldnt resur-ace.

Ater urther examination o the ships 12-on skeleton -- complete with wooden pegasteners -- archaeologists determined that it

was not the HMS Swit, but most likely a mer-chants ship dating to the mid- to late-1600s.

That makes it the oldest shipwreck oundalong the states coast.

History is the one thing we have that hasa reasonable amount o certainty attached tot, said Joseph Schwarzer, director o North

Carolina Maritime Museums. It tells us whereweve been, it tells us whats happening, and


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Documents

Relic Hunter Sept/Oct 2010