AMDS Times issue 4 (Autumn)

Public Liability Insurance

A benefit of your membership of AMDS includes a £10,000,000 Public Liability Insurance Cover when metal detecting and in accordance with the Code of Practice for Responsible Metal Detecting in England and Wales as outlined on the PASatwww.finds.org.uk.

Remember to register and create your own unique accountonthe website at www.amds.org.uk. Also from therein, follow the link to join the AMDS privateFacebookgroup.

In this issue

P.3 Prize Crossword

P.4 Field Test CScope CS4Pi

P.11 Rise in Rural Crime

P.23 Midland Federation History

P.26 Western Region ARMD 2022

P.31 AMDS News Update

P.41 PAS Update

Contents – Bumper Issue

AMDSTimes s

Front cover picture: Dave Nicklin and Gloria Saunders

Prize crossword by John Wells

Field test C Scope 4MX and 4Pi (Part 2) by David Rees

Finding a Gold Georgian Skeletal Memento Mori Mourning Ring by David Nicklin

Treasure by Barry Freeman

Hinckley Search Society Weekender

The Rise in Rural Crime by David Rees

Guide to Metal Detecting Sand Scoops by Laura Wells

Metal Detecting can Improve Health by Syd Hallam

Detecting with the Cinque Ports Detecting Club by Paul Shrubb

The History of the Midland Federation ARMD by John Wells

The Western Region ARMD finds of the year 2022 Keeler

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All rights are reserved on the entire contents; and nothing may be used or reproduced in whole or in part without the expressed written permission of the publisher.

All contents © copyrighted 2023 AMDS Times Publishing.

This publication is provided with the understanding that information presented is from many sourcesforwhich therecan beno warranty or responsibility by the publisher as to accuracy, originality or completeness.

The forwarding of material is a guarantee that material is original and not an infringement on the rights of others. The author, in submitting material to AMDS Times Publishing, signifies by this act agreement with the above terms.

Readers should abide by the Code of Practise for Responsible Metal Detecting and never detect anywhere without the permission of the land owner. AMDS Times Publishing assumes no liability for information shared in editorialoradvertising content.

AMDS News Update

Detecting History and Protecting the community Wells

Metal Detecting fits the Definition of a sport by AMDS

Meeting Professor Michael Lewis in Coventry

Portable Antiquities Scheme update by ProfessorMichael Lewis

A Famous Face in Metal Detecting by John Wells

Throughout this publication there are hyperlinks to various pages, online web sites and Facebook groups that we have included to make this edition interactive. You will note that the cursor will change to a hand to signify a link. You can then click access this, and return using the navigation arrow on your computer or smart phone. You can return to the contents page anytime by clicking the contents link on a page you are reading

AMDS Times Publishing shall be rendered harmless from and against any claims or suits for liable, violation or right of privacy, plagiarism, copyright infringement, improper use of the mails or violation of UK criminal or civil law based on the subject matter of editorial and advertisement content.

AMDS Times Publishing reserves the right to refuse advertising deemed questionable or in bad taste and assumes no liability for omitting advertising for any reason.

All data in this publication, technical or otherwise, is based upon the personal experience of individuals using specific tools, equipment and components under particular conditions and circumstances, some of which may not be reported in the article or advertisement and which the Association for Metal Detecting Sport has not otherwise verified.

Members only prize Crossword created by JOHN WELLS the Chairman of the Midland Federation ARMD for the Autumn edition.

The GREEN SQUARES will give you an eight-letter anagram. Solve the coin related answer and then email this to Rachel Edwards at membership@amds.org.uk Correct answers will be entered into the FREE draw and the winner will receive 3 years AMDS membership. Simon Felton is the winner for our issue 3 who correctly submitted the answer PLANCHET.

Why not have a go?

CLUES DOWN

2 A small firework that burns with a hissing sound before exploding (5)

3 Male heads of the Board (8)

5 Colour of the Senior Service (9)

6 ……. Castle, German maximum-security prison for escape-prone Allied officers (7)

7 Patron saint of tanners, tailors, plasterers, and leather workers (11)

8 Second planet from the Sun (5)

9 Relating to bee-keeping (11)

14 Staffs resembling shepherd's crooks carried by bishops and abbot (8)

16 A large floating mass detached from a glacier and carried out to sea (7)

18 A creamy, yellow cow's milk cheese originating from the Netherlands (5)

21 Old female Norse name, meaning “eternal ruler” or “ever powerful” (5)

22 A small mountain lake (4)

CLUES ACROSS

1 Mentally prepare a person for a testing task or occasion (5)

4 A Marian shrine and place of pilgrimage in county Mayo, Ireland (5)

10 Dutch speaking island lying southwest of the Lesser Antilles (5)

11 To surround something completely (7)

12 -------- Gracchus, Second Roman emperor, reigned AD 14 until 37 (8)

13 Chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30 (4)

15 1968 British musical drama film based on Charles Dickens 1838 novel (6)

17 The largest country in South America (6)

19 An event that is thought to tell something about the future (4)

20 Jacques-Yves inventor of the AquaLung, open-circuit SCUBA (8)

23 Green Beryl gemstone having a hardness of 7.5–8 on the Mohs scale (7)

24 Nickname of the second wife of Argentine president Juan Perón. (5)

25 2023 Indian spy film by director Surender Reddy (5)

26 State in India, the world's largest tea-growing region by production (5)

Field test and comparison of the C Scope CS4MX and CS4Pi (Part 2) by David Rees

I reviewed the C Scope CS4MX (Figure 1) in a previous issue of the AMDS Times, and in issue 3 I started to make a field test comparison of that detector with their CS4PI ((Figure 2) which is an extremely powerful pulse induction metal detector that is designed for use where most other detectors struggle, on the beach.

magnetic field of the object makes it take longer for the reflected pulse to completely disappear. This process works something like an echo, i.e. If you shout out in a room with only a few hard surfaces, you probably hear only a very brief echo, or you may not hear one at all, but if you shout out in a room with a lot of hard surfaces, the echo will last longer.

In a PI metal detector, the magnetic fields from target objects add their "echo" to the reflected pulse, making it last a fraction longer than it would without them. A sampling circuit in the metal detector is set to monitor the length of the reflected pulse. By comparing it to the expected length, the circuit can determineif anothermagneticfield hascaused the reflected pulse to take longer to decay. If the decay of the reflected pulse takes more than a few microseconds longer than normal, there is probably a metal object interfering with it. The sampling circuit sends the tiny, weak signals that it monitors to a device call an integrator. The integrator reads the signals from the sampling circuit, amplifying them and changing it into a tone that the metal detector uses to indicate that a target object has been found.

PI-based detectors are not very good at discrimination because the reflected pulse length of various metals is not easily separated. However, they areuseful in many situations in which other non-PI based metal detectors would have difficulty, such as in areas that have highly conductive material in the soil or general environment. Also, PI-based systems can often detect metal much deeper in the ground than other systems.

The PI metal detector system may use a single coil as both transmitter and receiver, or they may have two or even three coils working together.

This type of metal detector sends powerful, short bursts (pulses) of current through a coil of wire. Each pulse generates a brief magnetic field. When the pulse ends, the magnetic field reverses polarity and collapses very suddenly, resulting in a sharp electrical spike. This spike lasts a few microseconds (millionths of a second) and causes another current to run through the coil. This current is called the reflected pulse and is extremely short, lasting only about 30 microseconds. Another pulse is then sent and the process repeats. A typical PI-based metal detector sends about 100 pulses per second, but the number can vary.

If the metal detector is over a metal object, the pulse creates an opposite magnetic field in the object. When the pulse's magnetic field collapses, causing the reflected pulse, the

The control panel of the CS4Pi (Figure 3) has just two controls, on/off sensitivity, and a frequency control. There is also a light that illuminates when a target is located. Both

‘switch-on-and-go’ principle makes the CS4Pi a joy to use for anyone even if they’ve never used a detector before

Fig 1

Fig 2

Fig. 5

Fig. 6

Fig. 7

These are the features of the CS4Pi: -

• Variable Frequency Motion Search System designed specifically for beach use.

• 1K-4.2K PPS Frequency Control.

• Audio Response with LED.

• Automatic Retune ‘Switch-on-and-go’ means less knob twiddling and more searching.

• All Metal Super Depth Mode optimised for beach.

• Belt mountable control box.

• Weight 1.45 kg including batteries

• Counterbalanced stem with Arm-rest has been designed for fingertip control and perfect balance.

• Lightweight Control Box ensures the detector is especially easy on the arm.

• Quick secure Adjustable Stem and locking mechanism enables the detector to be tailored to any user.

• Waterproof lightweight search head is fitted for deep probing and superb stability.

• Internal Loudspeaker.

• 6.3mm (1/4”) headphone socket.

• The operating frequency is 1.0 to 4.2 kHz

• Search head 20cm x 28 cm elliptical

• Typical battery life 30 hours (depending on batteries used, alkaline are recommended)

• Weight 1.45 kg (including batteries)

• Guarantee 2 years parts and labour, 5 years parts cover.

The CS4Pi is an extremely powerful machine and was designed for use where other detectors really struggle, on the beach. The operating frequency can be adjusted for maximum sensitivity on all ground types with minimal interference. It is lightweight and can be made even lighter with the belt-mountable control box.

The assembly of the CS4MX and the CS4Pi is straight forward. Accessory coils are available for the CS4MX and can be changed but the coil on the CS4Pi is hard-wired into the control box. It is just a simple step of inserting the lower rod into the top shaft and winding the cable to a snug fit ensuring that the coil can tilt fully backwards. You then tighten the knurled twist lock for a firm grip. Fit eight AA batteries into the battery holder, fit theholder into the control boxwith thecorrectpolarity, and tightenthefourlock screws to close.

Once fully assembled and held in the hand, both of these detectors have a balanced and quality feel to them.

Each detecor comes with a user manual. The manual for the CS4Pi has just seven pages and both manuals provide all the information a user need know to start detecting including quick start settings that work well.

I took the CS4Pi to a beach in Somerset about 50 miles from my home, where the local council allows metal detecting on their beaches.

This is a large stretch of beach and because I haven’t visited this area for some years, and I have no idea how busy it is, or is not during holidays and weekends.

I did note there were a lot of individuals walking their dogs next to the raised area (Figure 5) below the sand dunes. I decided to start detecting there in dry sand.

slowly turned the knob (Figure 6) clockwise into the green area and stopped at about 11 o’clock.

(Figure 7) and although initially the sound was loud it quickly settled to just a faint tone. Reducing the left sensitivity very slightly enabled the detector to run silent.

Fig. 4

Fig. 5

Fig. 6

There were some marks in the sand, that were probably caused by children that had been digging. I made a start to search this small area, and walked a few steps when the tone increased suddenly, and I noted that the LED illuminated. My first signal of the day. I moved the head crossing the signal area, and noted that the LED illuminated in one area. I quickly dug this target that was close to the surface (Figure 8 and 9) and found a one penny piece dated 2009.

What I noted was that the detector was just ‘switch on and go’ and it is not making any distracting signals. The silent threshold remainsconstanteven in thesenowwetconditions. I decided to move further down the beach towards the tide linewhereI could see seaweed and shellsdeposited in aline. The sand here was very wet, and as I started to scan, I was also getting some interference, and so I reduced the left knob level by turning it slightly anti-clockwise, but remaining in the green arch, and I increased the frequency to 3.0 and these sounds stopped. I continued to search (Figure 11) along the tide line.

It started to rain and the sand became wet. I found no other signals in this small area except for a screw (Figure 10) that was about 5” deep. One less piece of rubbish on this beach.

over the target. At 10” depth I recovered two 3-inch nails (Figure 12) next to each other. More rubbish removed from this beach, and I’m glad I didn’t find these in my tyres.

Fig. 8

Fig. 7

Fig. 10

Fig. 11

Fig. 12

I continued along the tide line and the machine was stable with no interference, and I had another signal illuminating the LED. Digging down about 8” and I recovered a Geroge

CONCLUSION

I was impressed by the easy setup. It was simply a ‘switch on and go’ system. The detector is well balanced, and didn’t suffer from some of the issues associated with other machines when detecting on wet sand, such as giving off false signals. These false signals are down to the salt and mineralisation in the water.

I recovered some more rubbish, including a bottle top. All of thesesignalswereatdepthsin excessof8” and someofthese itemsweresmalland very corroded (Figure14)making them unidentifiable. Of course, I did identify the pull can ring, and bottle

There is anaccessory available from CScope that works well with these two detectors and other detectors without wireless capability. That is a Buetooth Wireless Headphone kit (Figure 16) comprising of Bluetooth LLaptX Headphones and Bluetooth LLaptX Transmitter. Thisissuppliedin a durablecarrycasewith charger leads, 3.5 to 6.3 mm adapter, velcro attachment pad and full instructions. It has just over ten hours run time, and can be re-charged in two hours.

I was about finish detecting when a beach ranger drove up to check what I was doing. After a brief chat with him he then drove off. I thought, one more scan before I leave and it was then I had another signal. This time at about 9” depth I saw silver and out came a George VI shilling (Figure 15) dated 1940.

The a distinctive cleverly designed controlbox which can quicklybedetached from thestem and can be belt or sling mounted. Each detector can be used safely in water without damage up to within a couple of inches of the control box.

Using a combination of the left on/off sensitivity and right frequency controls during my test, enabled the CS4Pi to be run silent, or with a steady faint tone if required when scanning.

One problem I find with beach detecting in wet sand is that the signals appear to be larger than the object actually is. I really do like the LED and how that illuminates when directly over a target and that helps pinpoint for digging.

If you enjoy beach detecting then this CScope CS4Pi Pulse Induction detector is one that you should consider to have with you as part of your detecting kit, and it is well priced and not expensive to purchase. Full details can be found at the link below: -

https://www.csmetaldetectors.com/products/beach-metaldetectors/cscope-CS4Pi

Fig. 13

Fig. 14

Fig. 15

Fig. 16

Finding a Gold Georgian Skeletal Memento Mori Mourning Ring by Dave Nicklin

Metal detecting is one of those hobbies that frustrates and delights, more often than not in unequal measure. 90%+ of items retrieved end up in the bin or a convenient hedgerow. Just occasionally something good appears and almost never something special appears. This story is about one of those almost never moments.

There was an inscription on the inside and I thought posy ring. Wrong again. After the obligatory dance and showing it to Tony it was clearly a Gold Georgian Skeletal Memento Mori Mourning Ring (Figure 2)

4MX and CS4Pi (Part 2) by David Rees

The inscription reads "Eliz.Tucker. ob (Latin for died) 28. Jan.1730. AElat (probably AEtat Latin for aged) 6. Then a symbol possibly meaning daughter or sister of A.T."

The farmer has been told and shown the ring and was delighted it had been found. I have tried to research the inscription on the internet but not knowing Eliz's birthday or place of death I have had no luck. As an aside whilst in the field we thought it read Tudor rather than Tucker. You can imagine some of the thoughts that passed through my mind that afternoon - royalty provenance etc.

This was a real bucket lister for me and is unlikely to be equaled or surpassed but I keep hoping. Out again at the weekend to discover the next almost never moment.

Swansea and with his detecting buddy Tony share their permissions and often go out together. It is good to have a bit of company and it helps to keep the fuel costs down. However, a couple of visits to Costa both before and after, kind of negates this benefit!!

One of our permissions in the Vale of Glamorgan, although done by both individuals and a couple of groups, has been very good to us, amassing over 100 hammered silver coins as well as a few Roman coins and brooches and Bronze Age items.

Oneof the smaller fields early last year gave up 6 hammered, 2 Roman coins and 2 brooches, over 3 or 4 visits between crops. A decent return for the time spent swinging. During last year potatoes were put in which meant the soil was ploughed deeper than normal. Hopes were high that once the tatties were collected and the field levelled many more goodies would appear.

As often happens high hopes were pretty quickly dashed. In 2 visits only one cut quarter was found by Tony plus a few more recent bits and bobs. We scoured the majority of the field and left the edges for a later visit as they were the last to be levelled. When the time came, we went around the edges and detected about 20 metres in. After around 2 hours I was doing my 4th half circuit when a sweet two-way signal was heard. Out came the soil and there winking at me was a gold ring. At first, I thought 9ct modern but when I picked it up and looked closer it was clearly something special.

It was recorded but not deemed treasure, and would have been nice to keep, it was sold by auction to enable half the final value be paid to the landowner.

The ring was entered into the Western Region ARMD find of the year artefact competition, and was voted first. The trophy was presented to me by Gloria Saunders my club chairwoman (see front cover).

Fig. 2

Fig. 1

I am the Chairman of the Yorkshire Region ARMD and I thought this may be helpful to anyone who finds, and reports, items of treasure.

Having been through the treasure process, I understand how it works. Although the definition of treasure has been revised this year, the finders award for reporting and submitting a find is unchanged.

In 1998 I unearthed a 9th century silver Anglo – Saxon strap end, which I duly reported. In the year 2000 it was declared treasure. The eventual award offered was £800, which I contested. A figure a £1250 then came back which was accepted, and shared between the landowner and myself.

Ultimately, it's the tax payer who foots the bill. The government has a mandate to claim items of treasure and, as such, should be prepared to give a fair valuation

based on current hammer prices. To anyone who is unhappy with a valuation I suggest they contest it.

Metal detectorists bring items of treasure into the light again. They are then claimed by the State, and eventually reside in a museum where they should be displayed.Howmanysuchitemsare sadly,plungedinto

Treasure by Barry Freeman 4MX and CS4Pi (Part 2) by David Rees

The Hinckley Search Society Weekender by Tom Haywood

Hinckley Search Society attended the Ashby Magna Vintage Rally over the weekend of the 17th and 18th June 2023. This is a large gathering of all types of vintage machinery including tractors, lorries, steam engines, static engines, tools, cars andmotor bikes, plus lots of other interesting displays.

We also put on a ‘have a go at detecting’ for children, where a silver and a copper coin were hidden in a soil pit. Once detected the children were allowed to keep their finds, and the joy on their faces when the coins were found was fantastic to see and made the immense effort overthe twodaysbyourmemberPaul Strike well

The society provided a display of coins and artefacts, from Roman through to Victorian, detected from around the local area, along with information about the club and about the hobby in general, including various bits of equipment we use.

Withlotsof local,and not solocalfarmersinattendance it wasa good opportunityto showcase detectingand put across the responsible aspects of detecting, including the benefits of having good insurance provided by the AMDS.

worth it.The parents who also hada go, having seen the excitement of their children, were just as excited when they found their coins too.

At the end of the weekend a contact for a new farm permission for the club was obtained, along with requests for Hinckley Search Society to give presentations on the club and the hobby to three different farmers/ countryside groups.Just asimportant was the opportunity to showcase our hobby and get across the responsibilities and legalities we have

Left to right: Tim Hayward, Alan Edwards, Paul Strike, Anita Malin

associated with detecting ‘done properly’, so all in all a brilliant weekend.

Despite a small amount of rain on the Saturday the weather was good and the rally was attended by thousands over the weekend, and as a bonus we managed to get all packed away before the mother of all stormshit the showgroundon Sundayevening. Special thanksfromHinckleySearchSocietygotothemembers who helped over the weekend, especially those who attended both days as it was an extremely demanding and tiring two days, with hardly any break with people visiting our display.

So thank you to Alan, Anita, Paul (both days), and Rodger, Dave, and Tim from the club for a sterling effort.

It is reported that a crime wave is sweeping Britain’s farming community that has seen a surge in livestock rustling, fly-tipping and thefts of machinery and equipment. In June more than 40 police forces met to address the issues.

In the first four months of 2023 the cost of GPS theft exceeded £500,000, that is more than double compared to the same period in 2022.

Research has found that rural crime was not generally opportunistic and was carried out by fairly serious offenders that are hard to catch because they operate across regional and national borders, often moving stolen goods abroad.

There is a private member’s bill that originated in the House of Commons, Session2022-23going throughthe system titled the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023

The aim is tomake provision to prevent the theft andresale of equipment and tools used by tradespeople and agricultural and other businesses; and for connected purposes. More can be found using this link https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3192

In the county of Essex these crimes were down slightly by -9.5% but the costswere still £1,495,104andquickly

adding up figure published the total cost published for just ten counties in 2023 is a sum over eighteen million pounds (£18,000,000).

Some of the worst-affected counties by reported cost are: -

When out and about seeking permissions and pursuing metal detecting,youcanbe eyesandearson the ground, and help the farmers and landowners by reporting anything suspicious to the farmer/landowner. Also, you can use 101 that is the telephone number the public should use in situations that do not require an immediate police response. Mention that this is information that should be brought to the attention of the force’s rural crime unit. Note the report number. It is apparent that some police forces are ahead of others in tackling rural crime.

The 101 service is used to report any non-emergency crimes, and use 999 if you believe a crime is about to be, or is taking place.

The Rise in Rural Crime by David Rees

4MX and CS4Pi (Part 2) by David Rees

Guide to Metal Detecting Sand Scoops by Laura Wells

Now everyone enjoys going to the beach, me included, especially if I am going to go metal detecting. There are some, rules, guidelines, and etiquette around beach detecting which are good to follow. All beaches are owned by someone, either by the local authorities, the crown or privately owned. You will need to find out which of these applies as you wouldn’t want to get into any trouble. Some beaches require a permit, which you willbeabletoobtain,usuallyfromthelocalinformation office. Any restrictions to metal detecting on a beach may be because it is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) or that the beach has ordinance left over from WWII, is a protected nature reserve or belongs to the Crown. For more information on Crown Estates land click HERE

evenings with our dad. His incentive to us was that whateverloose change we foundwecouldspendon icecreams. After £30 on most evenings our mum put an abrupt halt to that! (Spoil sport!!)

4MX and CS4Pi (Part 2) by

I generally go out metal detecting just before sunrise when I usually have the foreshore to myself. It really is something to watch the sun come up whilst detecting and then having your breakfast on the beach. I like to metal detect when swimmers and sunbathers are still in bed, and I always wear headphones as then you don’t missa signal. With the growth ofsocial media,youmay have seen videos of gold rings and items of jewellery being found on beaches. When possible, the best practice isto try and find out wholost these initially.I’ll be honest, I have never found anything yet of great value on the beach and I have been beach detecting for several years. Generally, what you are going to find are lost coins, toys, sunglasses, and YES, bottle tops and litter, but I am an optimist so keep on swinging!

It is great to beach detect with children once the daytrippers and sunbathers have gone home. I have fond memories of family holidays in the 90’s, when my brothers and I would go to the beach after dinner in the

Metal detecting on dry sand is a really good way of getting used to your machine - you don’t have to dig very hard, and you can quickly get used to pinpointing with your machine. I found this particularly easy when I first purchased my Minelab Equinox 800, as it is easy to use on the sand and with its built-in pin pointer it’s a timesaving, doddle to use. Wet sand or signals in the sea-surf can be harder as the signals tend to sink or move around with the tides and wave movements.

David Rees

My Minelab Equinox 800 is fully waterproof and submersible toa depthof three metreswhichmeansyou can have a go further out into the sea or even under it!

These fall into three categories: Plastic, Mild steel and Stainless steel. What you buy entirely depends on what youare usingthem for, where youare goingto use them and what sort of budget you have, I will explain more further on.

It can seem confusing when you look online and see the different types being used and their ease of use. I generally take two away with me, one for wet sand and one for dry sand. This depends on how brave I am feeling on the day really. The sea can be very cold at 5am!

I am going to give you the honest review of the below andyoucanmake yourchoice.Beinga femaleandquite short mayaffect whichone to buy,soIhave enlisted the helpofmydadwho hasbeen beachdetectingfor aslong as I can remember.

Made from stainless steel with a tubular scoop – price £79.95

Pros – I found this easy to put together as it consists of just two parts, but remember to rinse it thoroughly with fresh water after use as the sand may have collected in where the two parts join. If you are a seasoned detectorist, then this is the scoop for you. Yes, the head is slightly smaller than the Emitter 200X but using my Minelab Equinox 800 and being confident with its pinpointing ability I don’t need a wider scoop. It is easy to use, simply by pushing your foot on the back of the scoop and angling into the wet sand. The depth varies by the amount of pressure applied but this will be limited by the volume of the scoop head. In my trial it went to a depth of around six inches which is good especially with the wet sand and weight factor to be considered.

Cons – With me being short, the length of the handle is quite long, it can get quite heavy after a while carrying it. I did buy the recommended handle so I could carry it betterand togivememoreliftingabilitywitha full sand scoop. This handle is available as an add-on from Crawfords and I fully recommend purchasing one.

EmiteR Sand Scoop 200X

Made from stainless steel with a bowl-shaped scoop£99.95

Pros – This scoop has a wide bowl shape which is pointed, this means you can dig a deeper, wider area. The holes are hexagonal, enabling you to shake the out sandquickertoretrieve finds. The achievable depthyou can get, again, is around six inches, which in my opinion is enough. As with most long handled scoops it is brilliant for both wet and dry sand.

If, like my dad you enjoy getting in the water then this is a must to have as the head is wider and you can dig out more sandin one full scoop, making find’s recovery quicker.

Cons – For me it was too bottom heavy, I am by no means weak but after a while it was cumbersome. Dad loved it.

Garrett Sand Scoop

Made from toughened plastic with holes on the underside, Shaped like a jug - £27.95

Pros – Because this scoop is made of plastic it is most suitable for loose non-compacted sand. Once an item has been detected and scooped up, a quick shake is all that is needed to recover the item. Alternatively, you can go over the Garrett scoop with the detector head to check if the signal is inside.

It is very light tocarry and fits easily into any carry bag,

Cons – Because the plastic is quite thick, it is difficult to use on wet sand and shingle. Here, you are only able to get a couple of inches depth

Black Ada

Made from mild steel, which is black powder-coated, just under half a metre in length - £21.99

Pros – It is small and compact, making it very light and comfortable to carry. The rubber handle makes it easy to hold and use and you can fit it easily inside your bag or pouch.

Cons – I found that this was difficult to use on wet sand as the holes are small and it is awkward to shake out the sand.

If your budget is tight or you just want to detect dry sand, the Garret scoop is a good starter.

If you are detectingwith children, it is funto use as you, and they, can check the contents before you start to shake it, so saves on a lot of digging.

I sincerely hope you have gained something from this article and if you have any questions about sand scoops or detecting in general, please reach out to the amazing team here at Crawfords Metal Detectors. They have nearly 30 years’ experience and are the official UK

Made from mild steel, which is black powder coated, just under a metre in length. - £29.99

Pros– Theextended handle meansyouarebendingless when digging. Very light to carry. The weight is distributed well throughout. I found this device was a perfect length for me as it was comfortable to use and ok for wet sand up to three inches in depth.

Cons – Unfortunately same as the previous, difficult to use on wet sand as the holes are small. With the Black Ada’s being made of mild steel, and powder coated, continuous use in wet sand, shingle and sea water may be a problem.

Summary

Having tried and tested all the scoops, my personal preference is the Emitter Sand Scoop S150 (Figure 1). It was just about the right size and was still good value for the price even though I bought an extra handle attachment for ease of lifting,

Even if you use this once every year it will last as the quality is great. Because you can use this on both dry and wet sand, the Emitter Sand Scoop S150 was my favourite.

These tests took place on Dorset beaches during the month of July 2023

Laura Wells is a Detectorist and AMDS Consultant

Fig. 1

Metal Detecting can Improve Health by Syd

My wife Beryl and I have been detecting for many years, and look after the Yorkshire Region ARMD.

Hallam

If you go onto (Crown Estates Foreshore Maps) CLICK HERE the beaches you can go on have a purple line identifying them. Remember it is only up to mean high tide mark and all above belongs to the local councils, so permission is required

We cannot go on the beaches that belong to and are owned by The Duchies, the English Heritage and the Church, and if you do you so without permission you will be breaking the law and bringing our hobby into disrepute.

When our son Steven was young, and just eleven years of age, we found out that he was sufferingwith Asthma. We decided to get him a metal detector and bought him a CScope metal detector and we used to take him in the park for the fresh air and exercise, and we have never looked back. It did help him, that gentle exercise and fresh air, and it is quite a surprise when we think back and realise that is now 50 years ago.

I’m not telling parents to go detecting in the park with their kids, and of course you have to obtain permission from the landowner, including local councils to metal detect anywhere, but if they suffer like our son, you can take them into the countryside for the fresh air with a detector to give them something to keep them interested. The fresh Air and exercise should make a lot of difference to their health.

July and August are the months of the year when most of us are away and often detecting on the beaches. It wasn’t always that way, some of the Councils did try to stop us with bylaws but we fought to retain our rights to enjoy the hobby.

The Crown is the owner of over 80% of the beaches in the UK, from Mean high tide to low tide. Mean high water mark means the line that water impresses on the land for sufficient periods to cause physical characteristics that distinguish the area below the line from above it.

Wemustrememberthatwecannotdetectaround groups of holidaymakerssat onthebeaches,andif youdo,they will make complaints and even report you to the councils.

If we upset the councils, they will bring in Bylaws to stop us detecting and upsetting holiday makers.

It is important to remember, that the Treasure Law still applies on the beaches, and also all lost gold and silver jewellery finds should be reported to the Police in that area.

It is often difficult to find owners of lost beach finds, so in the majority of instances items reported to the Police are returned to the finders.

If you would like to apply to join the Yorkshire Region Facebook group, please use this link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/627691334900821

4MX and CS4Pi (Part 2) by David Rees

Detecting with the Cinque Ports Detecting Club by Paul Shrubb

Can I join your club please, what detector should I buy, where can I use it and will you be able to help me find my wedding ring are just a few of the questions that I was asked over the years that I was Chairman for the Brentwood and District Metal Detecting Club in Essex. Even after I left the committee of this club when I relocated to Sandwich in East Kent these enquiries still rolled in and still do but less frequently now. It would appear that five years on, my name is still out there somewhere on the world wide web as being the point of contact for the club! I’m an honorary member now, I still feel very attached to the club and I consider its membership as being a second family to me.

4MX and CS4Pi (Part 2) by David Rees

I got when I started out in our hobby in 1983. This was my opportunity to give something back! One thing that I noted from the level of both membership and “I want to get started” enquiries was that the popularity of our hobbywasrapidlyincreasingandthese enquirieswould peak following the media publicity of a major find or after the latest episode in a series of BBC's Detectorists!

Since setting up my own gardening business seven years ago I have only managed the Christmas party (Figure 1) and summer social BBQ at Brentwood both of which are legendary! When work commitments allow, I’m hoping to be able to do the 160-mile round trip to attend the meetings more often otherwise my fellow members will think I’m all about the food and booze!!

Most of the enquiries I was still receiving were for club membership. The club’s membership and waiting list are full. The club now operates a friends and family scheme whereby current members can put forward the names of friends or family who wish to join. The enquiries though still had to be dealt with so I referred them back to the present committee to do the necessary, along with requests for the recovery for lost jewellery, farm machinery, keys etc which my friends there seem to be experts at! General enquiries such as how do I get started in the hobby of metal detecting and what detector should I buy; I dealt with myself and still do from time to time remembering all the help and advice

I mentioned this to my friend Tony Trice a fellow detectorist and shopkeeper here in Sandwich voicing my concerns that there are probably many prospective metal detectorists out there in East Kent who need help and would love to belong to a detecting club but can’t get into one because memberships are full owing to the popularity of our hobby. Tony suggested that perhaps we should start our own club locally to see how we could help. After some further thinking my partner Sarah and I set up a meeting at our cottage with Tony, Jez Anderson and my cousin Terry Dunlop to have an initial brainstorming session about what we were going to do to make this new club happen. We discussed what basics would be required to get up and running, including what each of our roles would be, the club rules, a constitution, a bank account, stationery, the setting up of a private member only Facebook Group, a public Facebook page, choosing a local charity to support, membership application forms plus supporting documentation, a meeting venue and of course a name for the club! Sandwich Seekers Club sounded a bit foodie so I came up with the name Cinque Ports Detecting Club. The Confederation of Cinque Ports is a series of historic towns between Kent and East Sussex. It was formed for military and trade purposes but it now functions for ceremonial purposes only. The ports lie at the eastern end of The English Channel where the crossing to the continent is narrowest. The word Cinque (pronounced sink inthis context) is Norman French and means five ports which were Hastings, New Romney, Hythe, Dover and Sandwich. We needed a logo for our club so I approached the Confederation of Cinque Ports for their permission to use their flag within our logo. They agreed to us altering it so it would be fitting for a metal detecting club but said we could only use what is known as their community flag. On receipt of their kind approval my son in law, Ross, helped us out and got to work on the artwork and produced a smashing logo (Figure 2) which we are very proud of.

After about a year of monthly meetings between ours and Tony’s place we felt almost ready for the launch

Fig. 1

which we were going to do on social media. It was December 2019 and we felt it best to leave it until after Christmas and go ahead in January. People are busy with other things over Christmas and the other deciding factor was that we hadn’t found a suitable meeting venue at that stage

One of my other hobbies is music. I’m classed as a musician by friends and family but I have no intention of giving up my day job just yet. One of the things I look forward to is our open mic nights which are held each month in a lovely little pub/restaurant in Sandwich. Our Christmas open mic was well attended and I got up and didmy bit after which Gavin the owner pulled me to one side for a quiet chat. oh no perhaps he is annoyed at me for having driven paying customers away with my rendition of White Christmas? He explained that he wanted to buy his partner Annette a detector for Christmas, could I help him? It’s always a pleasure to help anyone wanting to get started so we set a budget and I agreed to sort it all out for him. I mentioned that a new club was soon to be launched so I would put Annette’s name down for this. Gavin asked where our meetingswere tobe heldandIsaidwe hadn’t got a venue yet. Why don’t you have this place he replied, we are usually closed on Mondays but we would be happy to open up on a Monday once a month for you to hold your monthly meetings. Well, I thought I had found gold and wanted to do our gold dance especially as it had been years since I had found some, I needed to practice! A small but incredibly historic/characteristic meeting place, with a courtyard garden to spill out into for our summer socials, well stocked bar, central location with nearby car park and wonderful hospitable hosts. What more could we want? Christmas and New Year came and went. We the committee (Figure 3) were finalising things for the club

launch and at the same time Sarah and I were getting ready for a two-week holiday in Tenerife to celebrate my fiftieth birthday. Everything was slotting nicely into placeuntilonemorningIgotuptogotoworkanddidn’t feel well. This is a rare occurrence for me and not to be able to go to work added to my stress levels.

With the club launch on hold and our holiday in jeopardy I had to seek an emergency doctor’s appointment as we were due to fly out to Tenerife later that week. Fortunately, after an examination by my GP and some medication we were cleared to go but this delay meant that we would have to launch the new club literallyfromthehotel poolside.Thiswedid onthe 23rd January announcing ourselves within a few local Facebook groups, stating that as a new club we had no land to offer, that all members would be obligated to attend a minimum of six-monthly meetings a year to show commitment and that it would be a requirement for all accepted members to assist and contribute towards the running of the club. It would seem that despite having no land, people still wanted to be part of ourstory.Our phoneswere pingingleft, right andcentre perhaps to the annoyance of others at the poolside. Within three days we had issued fifty membership application forms with supporting documentation includingour club rules. So, withinthe first week of our holiday, we had formed a full membership of about thirty-five members which is the maximum our venue could support. We were happy with this level of membership as it would help keep things manageable.

On our return to reality, we visited our venue hosts Gavin and Annette to square things up for our first meeting on the 10th February, and to discuss room layout etc.

Before we knew it the big day had arrived and we ran through a checklist of what we needed to take to the

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meeting with us. We got to the venue early so I as chairman could get settled for my opening piece helped along by a couple of pints of German lager of course. Sarah and Terry were on door duty, signing everyone in, taking a one-pound meeting fee for club funds and issuing name labels to everyone so we could get to know each other. Jez, Tony and I were front of house making sure everyone received a warm welcome. Despite having previously been the chairman for the Brentwood club with a monthly meeting attendance of around one hundred I was becoming nervous about talking to our membership of thirty-five.

I started to get hot around the collar, probably not helped by being sat in front of the inglenook fireplace with its roaring log burner and by the afore mentioned lager I was drinking! I ran through the club’s objectives and aims which of course included promoting, protecting and encouraging the responsible use of metal detectors. Tony ran through the club rules to make sure everyone was clear on those and I concluded the meeting by inviting those present to come forward to pay their membership fee if they felt they still wanted to be part of the club or that if they weren’t sure then they were welcome to goaway and think about it.There followed the scraping of chair and table legs as thirty prospective members lined up in front of the committee table to pay their membership fee. We had a full house! The next month flew by and we would soon be facing our March meeting which was going to be mega busy as we were going to introduce a find of the month competition and raffle with some generously donated prizes (Figure 4) and other prizes bought from the club funds.

Junior member Daniel was delighted to win two prizes, a coin case and a much-needed finds pouch.

While all this was going on one of our members Tony Flashman, a professional photographer (true story) was racing around skilfully capturing the moment while I, Paul Shrubb the gardener raced around like a headless chicken! We ran through our club news announcing details ofthe wonderful guest speakers wehad arranged for the rest of the year and into 2021.

We then had a free mystery draw as all our name labels were put into a hat and drawn out in groups of ten. The look of bewilderment on everyone’s faces turned to excitement when I announced the acquisition of our veryfirstpermission.Aten-acrepasturefieldwhichhad been previously deeply cultivated. Because of its small size we limited the number of members who could dig there at any one time to ten and drawing names seemed to be the fairest way of doing this. The meeting was a huge success. There were some great submissions for the find of the month competition (Figure 5) with the winning coins, artefacts and eyes-only winners being voted for by each of the members.

with excitement and very much looking forward to the next meeting! Little did we know that something nasty would be lurking around the corner which would prevent our April meeting and all those to follow from taking place. This would scupper not only our meetings but the programme of guest speakers that we had booked and the first two digs that had been booked for our ten-acre permission. Shortly after our March meeting (and pre-lockdown) I took club member and meeting venue owner, Annette to one of my pasture permissions so she could get to grips with her new detector, a Nokta Simplex Plus.The conditions were far from ideal but it was great to get out for some fresh air and away from the constant news coverage and

Fig. 5

conversations about Covid-19. Pure escapism we thought. The majority of the field was soddened and unpleasant to detect. We moved to firmer ground as it would be easier to detect and we didn’t want to cause any unnecessary damage. There were plenty of targets but mostly junk with a few modern coins thrown in. We were coming near to the point of calling it a day when Annette got a really superb signal which I checked with my Minelab Equinox 800. It was a cracking signal and the adrenaline rush started to kick in. We carefully dug aplugandrescannedthehole.Thetargetwasintheplug so using my pinpointer I identified the target’s exact location before leaving the best bit for Annette. She carefully pulled away the soggy soil to reveal a bottle top. Disappointment turned to joy as she turned it over to reveal the words, Corona Extra!!! (Figure 6).

and two separate socially distanced rule of six searches took place. This is the point where it would have been nice to write how jubilant we all were when we found Helen’s pendant and reunited her with it but I’m afraid it wasn’t to be, despite our best attempts.

It would be nice to think that one day a detectorist reading this who detects these two beaches finds this very striking looking pendant (Figure 7).

This was just like a scene from Detectorists. We looked at each other and burst into side splitting laughter, so much so that we had to leave the field immediately as we couldn’t continue after this. It must have been the day after this when I was introduced through Facebook toa lady called Helen who livedina nearbyvillage.She had been out with her son and lost a highly sentimental gold and emerald pendant.

There were three possible locations for the loss, a farm shop car park near Ash, Walmer Beachand the beachat St Margarets Bay. Sarah and I met Helen at the farm shop for a coffee after which we visited the other two locations together to piece together the day’s events leading to the loss.

After getting permission to search the car park from the farm shop owners, Jez and I met there and carried out a search which proved to be unfruitful. With two large areas of beach left to search I called upon the assistance of some of our other club members who kindly gave up their time to help with this. Tide tables were consulted

Should this happen please contact me via AMDS or the Searcher Magazine so that we can return it to Helen. Tony couldn’t make our attempted recovery missions for Helen’s pendant but was called upon to help a local lady called Vera whose late father had lost a gold ring in a flower bed about fifteen years ago. A couple of other detectorists had already searched for it unsuccessfully. The flower bed had since been turfed over to make the garden more manageable. The house was sold and Vera would soon be moving on so potentially the ring would be lost forever - so no pressure! After three hours of searching with his Minelab E-Trac Tony received a clear two-way signal from about six inches down and extracted Vera’s late father’s ring. As you can imagine Vera was very emotional

In September, Ali the mother of Isobel one of our junior members introduced us to a lady who owned sixty acres of pasture land near Canterbury. Tony and I fixed an appointment to go and see this lady with a view to securingpermissiontodetectherlandfortheclub.After getting a bit lost, we found her home and were greeted with a very warm and cheerful welcome. It was a working farm with many sheep, cows and horses. We thrashed out the finer details on how we would proceed with the organisation of digs and the landowner made it quite clearthat she was excited about our club detecting her farm and that she couldn’t wait for us to get started. So, without further ado we arranged our first dig which was to be a training session for Sue Gordon and our two

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junior members Daniel and Isobel who were accompanied by Isobel’s mother. The landowner mentioned that the friend of a girl who kept her horse on the farm had lost her car key fob in one of the paddocks while helping to feed the horse about a week previously. The replacement cost for this key fob would be about £160. We decided to make the search for this a priority and within half an hour Tony exclaimed “found it”! The muddy key fob was immediately given to the girl with the horse to returnto her friend. She was dumbstruck that it had been recovered in the first place let alone so quickly.

The training session continued with numerous interesting bits and pieces coming to light including military buttons, a miniature Royal Mail post-box, a harness decoration in the form of a Tudor Rose and a George V pre-decimal penny dating to 1911. Although there weren’t any finds of great age everyone had a reallywonderful tripto thisfarm whichissituatedinthe most beautiful setting.

Meanwhile a bit nearer to home we were in a position to start organising the digs we’d had to cancel previously on the ten acres of pasture. It was October 2020 and this time in order to comply with government guidelines we had to reduce members taking part from ten per dig to onlysix. We were all straining at the leash to search this permission as not only did we have to cancel the initial digs due to Covid but then had to postpone again even when restrictions were lifted as by then the land had been baked hard by the sun due to minimal rainfall. Digging would have been almost impossible and it would have been difficult to make a neat job of filling our holes. We booked six members onto a dig for each of our two permissions on the same day and at the same time. The weather was grim to say the least and a few of the members messaged me to see if the digs would still go ahead as the weather was that bad! Because of the previous disappointment of cancelled digs, it was decided that they should still go ahead as we didn’t know what was around the corner in respect of further restrictions and regulations. I went on the first ten acre dig with mother & daughter duo Heather and Hayley May, Graham Bull, Mark Pain and Richard Norman. One thing that became apparent when we stepped onto the field was that it had never been detected. There was a target or sometimes multiple targets for every sweep of our detectors and we were kept extremely busy for the six hours of our dig. This was a great distraction from the rain showers which were gradually turning the fieldintoa mudbath.Ahuge contrast to the evening when Tony and I had visited the permission in July to see how hard the ground was to

findwe couldn’t evenget a spade in!It wasworth going though as each of us found a worked flint (Figure 8) on the surface.

There was lots of deep iron to contend with but in amongst it were a multitude of coins, buckles, buttons, lead seals and other discoveries (Figure 9) dating from Roman times to the present day. A couple of finds of note included Richard’s near surface find of a Charles I shilling and Heather & Hayley’s lovely silver spoon (Figure.10) hallmarked Sheffield 1915. It is badly bent but should be quite easy to straighten!

Fig. 8

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Meanwhile, the other dig in progress on the sixty acres near Canterbury was just as busy and mucky. Down from six to four members, Pat Isaacs, Jason Crust, Kevin Powell and Melanie Blake had a competition to see who could find the most 303 bullet cases. Pat was a clear winner with Melanie winning the “who could get the muddiest” competition! The following dig at this permission by some othermembersofourclubrevealed further military memorabilia including a selection of tailfinsfrommortar bombs(Figure 11)and a reallynice Royal West Kent Regiment Cap Badge (Figure 12) found by Paul Everest. Perhaps this permission was

Back on the ten-acre permission the second dig was proving just as exciting as the first one with masses of targets and interesting finds for everyone including Noreen Linale’s medieval seal matrix (Figure 13) and Jason Crust’s stunning Saxon Sceat, (Figure 14) an early 8th Century example roughly dating to AD 700715 and possibly minted along The Belgian Coast. It is classed as a series D type 8.

(Fig.23) which included a medieval buckle, medieval jetton and a really nice example of a trade weight from the reign of William III. In the meantime, our junior member Isobel became the talk of her village. Whilst practicing with her new Quest X-10 detector in her parent’s back garden she uncovered an object which appeared suspect. Having familiarised herself with the PAS Code of Practice for Responsible Metal Detecting she called her mum out to inspect what she thought was an unexploded bomb! (Figure 15).

Ali didn’t like the look of Isobel’s find so called the police who didn’t like the look of it either and in turn called in The Royal Logistic Corps Bomb Disposal Team. They arrived at the scene very quickly (Figure 16) and confirmed that Isobel’s suspected bomb wasn’t actually a bomb after all but congratulated her for being diligent and behaving in a responsible manner.

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Things were extremely difficult for the club during the pandemic but we had plenty to look forward to when circumstances improved, to include going on digs whilst at the same time raising funds for our chosen charities. On the subject of which, we have since managed to raise £500 for our local Riding for the

Disabled Group, CobbesMeadow,andanother£500 for FarmingCommunityNetworkwhichwe were delighted tobe ableto present tothemat The East Kent Ploughing Match in 2022.

We have also been able to continue promoting our club and hobby at public events, host our monthly meetings and rebook the guest speakers that we had had to postpone. These include our honorary members David and Trish Barwell.

David (Figure 17) was the Chairman of another organisation for several years, and he promotes responsible metal detecting, which has many meanings but the main one “being responsible for our heritage”. His saying is” you will only take it from the ground once, now you are responsible for it.

Back issues of the AMDS Times can be found by using the following links: -

Issue 1

Issue 2

Issue 3

CLICK HERE

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The History of the Midland Federation ARMD by John Wells

John Wells (Figure 1) is the chairman of the Midland Federation and he recalls that in 1978/79 detecting was in its infancy in the Midlands and each club had its own set of rules and admissions policy.

still exists today and although only one club makes use of the facility, the other two clubs having folded, these sites are now available on a disk for every club. If other new Coventry based clubs were to be formed and adopt the criteria agreed to back then, they too would receive permission. We were also instrumental in successfully advising other clubs such as the Hinckley Search Societyin fightinga banimposed on them by their local borough council

This right to detect with permission was not shared universally in the Midlands and we were concerned enough that in 1981, 4 clubs in the Midlands region met to set up a regional organisation.

By March 1982 the number of clubs joining the Midlands organisation rose to 8 and by year end it was 24. The Midlands Federation of Metal Detecting clubs now has a large membership covering a geographical area from Norfolk in the East to Worcester in the West, and Mansfield in the North to Oxfordshire in the South. It comprised of 24 clubs and individual detectorists.

It was in 1981 that the Midlands region was approached by two other regions, the Southern region and the North-western region in order to set up a national organisation todefendthe hobby.It was atthis point the Midlands became a member of this newly formed organisation.

However, in 1978 two clubs in the Coventry area, The Arley Relic Hunting Club and the Coventry Heritage Preservation Society got together to fight a ban by Coventry City Council on land under their control.

They put it to the Council that not only was the ban illegal, as the Home Office had not authorised such an action, but that the Council had a duty to provide recreational facilities in order for detectorists to pursue their legitimate hobby.

These clubs instituted a petition that was presented to the Council which resulted in the Council not only liftingtheban but agreeingtothesetwoclubsbeingable to detect on specific Council land with permits. This allowed these properly organised clubs to detect, and to date the Coventry Heritage Detector Society is the sole remaining holder of this permission. That co-operation

From this point forward the Midlands was to play an important role in the development and structure of the what was to be called the NCMD

At this time there were reports of other detecting clubs andsocietiesexperiencingproblemsinotherpartsofthe country particularly in the South with the Surrey Archaeological Societyproposingan outright ban under the banner of the STOP (Stop Taking Our Past) campaign. This gave us common cause and we determined then to oppose this campaign. In doing so we here in the Midlands hosted the inaugural meeting of the NCMD in Coventry

The first full delegate’s conference took place on Sunday 23rd May 1982 at the Antelope Motor Cycle Club in Coventry. Nineteen clubs from three federations, includingsix clubs from the Midlands were represented at the Conference which was also attended

4MX and CS4Pi (Part 2) by David Rees

Fig. 1

by representatives from DIG, Treasure Hunting magazine, The Detector Journal and Whites Detectors.

It was at this meeting that the final communique listed these main points: -

1 A levy of £1 per member per club per annum be imposed

2 The Detector Information Group (D.I.G.) was now looking to the Council to shoulder the brunt of the fight against anti-detector legislation and council bans that it had fought up until then.

3 To encourage the growth of new federations

4 Giving Individuals the right of representation

On July 25 1982 the first full meeting of the National Council had very humble beginnings. This took place at the Arley Miners Welfare Club (Figure 2) in Warwickshire where the delegate’s only amenity was access to a water boiler for making tea and requiring attendeestobringtheirownlunches.Themeetinglasted for five hours.

includingthe Scottish region, theNorthWesternregion, the North Eastern region, the Midlands region, the Southern region, the Western region and the Anglian region.Allied to these isthe Central register comprising of Individual and Associate members.

Every region was autonomous, with each having four voting delegates representing them at national executive meetings held three times a year. From these delegates the executive then voted in officers to represent their views within the framework of a constitution legally drawn up by Norman Palmer QC This constitution was agreed and voted in unanimously by all attendees.

Promoting the hobby

The Midlands Region has always been at the forefront of protecting and promoting the hobby of Metal Detecting both locally and nationally

Charity rallies

For the past 41 years since the inception of the organised hobby here in the Midlands, under the Chairmanship of myself the Midlands region has raised over £90,000 for charities by holding annual detecting rallies with the help of generous farmers and landowners.

The Midlands region worked very closely with Rotary groups in Coventry and Lutterworth in raising money for their good causes. All monies raised goes to the nominated charities with no deductions for expenses and all volunteers were required to give of their time and efforts for no financial reward.

It was at this meeting that a proposal to form a federation for the representation of Individual detectorists was discussed and agreed upon

This was to be called The Federation of Independent Detectorists (FID) and was to be administered by Colin Hanson and David wood

A proposal from myself was that a defence fund be set up. All voted in favour. The funds of the Council amounted to only £45 at that time

The then Chairman, Dennis Buchanan, thanked the Midlands region for organising the venue. This representative organisation had a large and loyal membership was made up of eight regional bodies

These charity rallies enabled Midlands’ members to detect on land to which they would not normally have access to detect upon. It also allowed members from all over the country to meet up socially and renew old acquaintances.

Exhibitions and the public

Every year during National Heritage Open days, the Midlands region chairman organised an exhibition of metal detector finds in Coventry with the help of Midlands’ Clubs and Individual members in the superb mediaeval surroundings of St Mary’s Guildhall, next to the two famous Coventry Cathedrals.

Fig. 2

Each year an average footfall of nearly 2500 people came to this exhibition, which had until the world-wide pandemic had been the highlight of the Midlands year.

In my role as Chairman of the Midlands region I have given talks to schools, clubs and organisations such as U3A and lecture groups throughout the Midlands

The Midlands region also offered a free finds recovery service.

Encouraging the hobby Teaching in schools

Getting younger people involved in the hobby has always been a passion of mine, and to this end the region developed an audio-visual PowerPoint presentation on the theme of “The Romans in Britain” based on the national curriculum used in primary schools. These talks allowed school children to watch and listen to history and to touch real roman pottery, coins and artefacts. Following these talks the children would be taken out onto the school playing fields with detectors and allowed to “Search for treasure that had mysteriously turned up on the day.”

The feedback from teachers was always positive and hadmadethelearningexperienceallthemoreenjoyable for the pupils as it brought history to life.

If the truth be known, the team led by myself also derived great pleasure from these outings.

Today, the NCMD an organisation that I was once proud to represent as chairman for eighteen years, and its President for six years, now sees no more need for these regions and ousted them. Nevertheless, these regions’ clubs have mostly remained faithful and still support the work of their committees

These regions, the Midlands, Yorkshire, Southern and Western Regions, now contain a growing number of independent and associate detectorists who also enjoy the benefit of third-party liability insurance cover provided by the Association for Metal Detecting Sport (AMDS), to enable its members to continue to enjoy their hobby in safety and security.

can do so by using this link below: -

The BIG Detecting Show | Facebook

The show is presented LIVE each Thursday evening by Dave Sadler and Adrian Gayler at 8:00 p.m.

Another web site well worth following is the web site for the Archaeology and Detecting Magazine that can be found as below: -

https://archmdmag.com/

The Western Region ARMD finds of the year 2022 by Nick Keeler

Following the establishment of the Affiliated regions for Metal Detecting (ARMD) towards the end of 2021 what was originally the Western region of the NCMD joined up with ARMD in order to promote the hobby and bring together detecting clubs in the region.

The Western Region area is large and covers Gloucester, Avon and Somerset, South Wales, Wiltshire, Dorset, Devon and Cornwall. The region consists of clubs and individual metal detectorists.

We have had a number of regional meetings during the year and at one of them we decided to runa competition for the best finds made by members during 2022.

There were three categories namely “Best Coin”, “Best Artefact” and “Best Hoard”.

All the regional members were asked to submit entries for these categories and some excellent finds were submitted.

These are the items submitted in no particular order: -

COINS

Dubunni Silver Unit (Figure 14)

Henry VI Quarter Noble (Figure 15)

Antonininus Pius denier (Figure 11)

Silver Merovingian Denier (Figure 3)

Elizabeth I Quarter Angel (Figure 9)

Harold I Penny (Figure 1)

ARTEFACT

13th-14th C Gold and Diamond Ring (Figure 7)

Roman Mirror Handle (Figure 10)

Gold Georgian Mourning Ring (Figure 2)

Silver Devotional Cross (Figure 6)

Penannular Brooch (Figure 13)

HOARD

Nine Staters Artrebates/Dobunni (Figure 4)

Bronze Age Weapons (Figure 8)

Once the cutoff date for the entries had passed the Vice Chairman (Nick Keeler – Chairman of SHRADS) collated the finds and put together a website where they could be viewed

4MX and CS4Pi (Part 2) by David Rees

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Finders from left to right of Nine Staters (Figure 4) are Ann Lunn,Tony Player, John Earley and John Hinchcliffe. The other finder not present was Alan Schofield all members of the Stour Valley Club.

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The club representatives within the region were then asked to vote on each of the categories and the results were as follows: -

Coin - Harold I Penny (Figure 15) found by Keith Browning of the Cardiff Scan Club. Gwilym Williams of Cardiff Scan Club presented the trophy to the finder and club member Keith Browning (Figure 12).

Artefact - Georgian Gold Mourning Ring (Figure 2 found by Dave Nicklin of the Heritage MDC Swansea. The trophy was presented to him by Gloria Saunders the chairperson of the club (Front Cover). There is additional information on page 6.

Hoard - 9 Gold Artrebates / Dobunni Staters (Figure 4) found by members of the Stour Valley Search & Recovery Club

Each of the winning entries was then sent an inscribed trophy and these were presented at local club meetings and can be seen below.

Congratulations are given to all the winners and it is hoped to see some quality items when we run the competition in 2023.

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There has been considerable work going in in the background by the team led by John Wells and David Rees, who have been also working with David Barwell.

Twooftheinitiativesareshownbelow forthe firsttime, and will be better outlined in the Searcher Magazine. We will inform you when this is available. There are other things in progress, but these two initiatives are a Model Detecting Search Agreement that will be available in conjunction with the publishing of the SearcherMagazineand withinthe member’sarea of our web site.

The AMDS Guide to Responsible Metal Detecting for Visitors to Britain will now be used throughout Europe, American and Canada to help protect our heritage.

These documents have been reviewed by leading authorities and their comments have been included

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4MX and CS4Pi (Part 2) by David Rees

Detecting History and Protecting the Community by Laura Wells

In this issue we're getting to know Laura Wells, a consultant for AMDS and a fantastic detectorist from the Coventry area. Take a read and discover Laura's interesting involvement with the metal detecting community.

How long have you been detecting?

I started detecting when I was around 6 years of age. I am now 35, so it has been quite a few years. My dad would take me with him to club digs. This may have been partly so that my mum could have a few hours on a Sunday to watch the Brookside omnibus, but ultimately, I loved going out on a Sunday, amongst nature, playing with the worms. Back then, when my dad would find a signal, I would help him dig the hole and pinpoint the find for him.

Yes, metal detecting has been a male dominated hobby in the past, but I have always wanted, and I am absolutely thrilled to see so many women are now taking up the hobby. I want more women of all ages to embrace the hobby which has made me happy for so many years.

Time is precious and being outside in the fresh air, amongthe sceneryandthewildlifeinallweathersdoing what youlove todo, ismykindofheaven.(Don’t forget playing with the worms!)

Why do you love it?

Act 1996, and the introduction of the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS), I would go with him to museumsand be allowed behindthe scenesat important events and meetings. With my knowledge and understanding limited at this point it was always exciting to be allowed to hold the past in my hands and to see how the experts conserved our history, furthering my passion for the hobby!

As I grew older, I found other interests, but I came back to detecting when my dad became ill, and time with my pa became precious. My dad was heavily involved with holdingcharitymetaldetectingralliesatwhichIhelped. This led me to get further involved with planning the detecting events and I began to take more of an active role within the hobby. Being a young woman withinthe detecting community could have been daunting but I was readily accepted and looked after by the many detecting groups I became involved with.

Metal detecting allows you to directly touch the past. You uncover an artefact, or a coin and you are the first person to touch it after hundreds or even thousands of years! Metal detecting allows you to add to the rich tapestry of history in the UK. Being able to contribute to this has always been a passion of mine. My love for cartography, fossils, and history in general can be used in the research for sites and discovering new places to search.

I will continue to promote my hobby through social media, which has enabled people from all over the world to see what I have found, and hopefully sparking their interest in the hobby.

4MX and CS4Pi (Part 2) by David Rees

The Association for Metal Detecting and Sport (AMDS) isan organisation,whichwassetuptoprovide the metal detecting community with not only affordable insurance, but to use the knowledge, experience, and expertise of its members in providing a voice for the hobbyist at a grass roots level.

It was formed to provide the four regions, the Yorkshire, Midlands, Southern and the Western region with alternative insurance and higher-level representation. Each region has extensive knowledge within the hobby as they were the leading figures in another organisation for over forty years and always strived toward protecting the hobby of metal detecting. The AMDS immediately adopted the Portable Antiquities Code of Practice promoted by the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) long before any other body.

AMDS then applied to join the Portable Antiquities Advisory Group (PAAG). This Advisory Group is run by the British Museum and Amgueddfa Cymru – the Museum of Wales, to encourage the recording of archaeological objects found by members of the public in England and Wales. These bodies are now able to document finds that would have once been lost, and now can be shared with the world. The AMDS and the PASare now working together,toensure that the hobby is safe for the future. Having recently learned that the AMDS application to join the PAAG had been successful, myself and other volunteers and consultants look forward to playing a positive and active role moving forward. You can find out more at www.amds.org.uk

What do you do for them?

As being one of a small number of women within the AMDS, I am proud to be a female figurehead withinthe hobby for them. I promote good practice by holding charity rallies, by putting on exhibitions, teaching children about the hobby and its history, going to local digs where I can photograph and document finds for social media and aiding the finds liaison officers.

What do you like about working with them?

AMDS is by detectorists, for detectorists! The knowledge of the people in the organisation is unparalleled.With my father’sknowledge andwithhim being one of the founding members of the hobby, I am

learning not only about history, but how by working with other organisations, we will protect the hobby for future generations. We are currently working with the head of the PAS, the British Museum, local museums, archaeologists, farmers/landowner and the police to ensure this. Our AMDS members are encouraged to contribute as well by sharing their stories, anecdotes and pictures in our quarterly newsletter – The AMDS Times.

We have a growing percentage ofwomeninAMDSand we welcome more to join the organisation. We want women to join this hobby, and to feel inclusive and welcomed, just as I was all those years ago.

What’s your favourite find to date?

There are a few to be honest but I do love Roman coins and artefacts.

A Hadrian Denarius - The area where I found this was later discovered to be the site of a roman villa. A firefused roman hoard - this discovery went to the British Museum as it was multiple roman bronze coins melted together.Thecoinexpertat the Britishmuseum thanked me for allowing him to document this as he had never seen this type of hoard before. But sadly, it wasn’t classed as treasure and now sits proudly in my collection.

My jars of buttons, buckles and brooches grow larger by the week. I don’t throw anything away!

What’s your dream find?

I would like to find a bronze age axe head. Mainly because I have never found anything like this, yet! I do have a love of personal artefacts though, knowing that these sentimental objects were once owned and loved. You will be surprised at how much you can learn by finding these everyday objects, as well as also building a bigger picture for the archaeologists and aiding them with their ongoing researches.

I would love to have anything of mine displayed in a museum so that other people can enjoy it as well. (We all do though, don’t we?)

What does the future hold for you and metal detecting?

With the AMDS now being involved with the PAAG, thisenablesme to become furtherinvolvedinthe hobby with the aim of protecting it for future generations.

As a woman in metal detecting, I want to get the message across that this hobby is there for everyone to enjoy regardless of age or gender. The UK has so much history that is yet to be discovered, and with the help of AMDS and future female members, we will be uncover more of our history, one find, at a time.

You can find out more and follow Laura by using the links for Instagram and Facebook

Metal detecting fits the definition of a sport, and it is best represented by the Association for Metal Detecting Sport (AMDS)

The Oxford Dictionary defines sport as "An activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or a team competes against another or others for entertainment"

What are examples of physical exertion in relation to sport? “Walking, running, dancing, swimming, yoga, and gardening are a few examples of physical activity. During metal detecting there is certainly a considerable amount of walking, climbing over gates, and of course digging for a find using a spade. All can cause physical exertion.”

Have you ever thought about the physical exertion and benefits of that when involved in metal detecting?

Although not alwaystakinga briskwalk,detectoristsdo walk a considerable distance, for example during a sixhour outing. They are out breathing in the fresh air, and constantly scanning with a machine that can weigh 2.5 to 5 lbs. based on some popular models. That scanning, involves a left and right movement ofthe extendedarm, and then follows the bending and digging.

It considerable physical exertion, and over the years we have all heard individuals from the young to elderly state that they are tired when they have spent some hours metal detecting. Specifically, the forearms and biceps (Figure 4) can ache the following day.

Scanning works many upper body muscle groups including the chest and shoulders. This motion specifically is working the pectoral muscles, rotator cuff, and trapezius muscle groups (Figures 1, 2 and 3).

In addition, is the considerable mental exercise involved that can help to keep your brain sharp and active.

What is a skill?

“The ability to use one's knowledge effectively and readily in execution or performance, a learned power of doing something competently: a developed aptitude or ability.”

You must learn how to best use a metal detector, and how to carry it, along with other associated skills such as scanning, and the best practices when pinpointing, and digging a find from the ground plus making good the hole.

Fig. 1

Fig. 2

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Fig. 4

An additional skill that is developed is how to read a particular landscape, site, or field to determine the best places to search.

Competing against yourself means you define success.

“When you are competing with yourself, you decide what success means. This is more freeing than you might realise. You don't need to work for other people's expectations or judgments, you have a clear sense of what winning means for you.”

Many of the Facebook groups, clubs and individuals taking part in searching using a metal detector on a permitted site are competitive, and some of the competitions they partake in include the best coin or artefact of the day, or month, and of course there are often token hunts on commercially organised events.

There is no denying that metal detectorists have helped to change the history of the UK when you take into account some amazing finds like the Staffordshire Hoard, the Hoxne Hoard, the West Norfolk Merovingian Hoard, the Chew Valley Hoard, and the Grouville (Jersey) Hoard.

When enjoying metal detecting as a hobby, you are also taking part in an activity THAT IS A RECOGNISED SPORT, and by the way of its nature clearly fits intothe Oxford Dictionary definition of a sport.

Dr Gerhard Fisher

Fisher Research Labs was founded in 1931 by Dr. Gerhard R. Fisher, the world-renowned engineer and inventor who was the first to receive a patent for the metal detector.

4MX and CS4Pi (Part 2) by David

Dr. Fisher, a German immigrant who studied electronics at the University of Dresden, was a Research Engineer in Los Angeles in the late 1920s when he obtained the first patent ever issued for aircraft radio direction finders. His revolutionary work in aviation attracted the attention of Dr. Albert Einstein. After seeing a demonstration of Fisher’s equipment, Dr. Einstein predicted theworldwideuseofradio direction finders in the air, on land and at sea. This discovery led to his invention of a portable electronic prospecting instrument, based on the same principle, used to detect the presence of buried metal objects and ore deposits.

He and four employees produced the "Metallascope," a rugged, easy-to-use metal detector. By today’s standard of lightweight handheld detectors, it was an ungainly device with two large, flat wooden boxes containing simple copper coils, five vacuum tubes and a few sorted components. His machine was known as the Metallascope later to be known as the M-Scope

Demand for the metal detector spurs growth

In 1936 Fisher Dr. Fisher was granted a patent for his invention. The M-Scope became the accepted standard for all types of electronic metal detection. Geologists used it to locate ore, treasure hunters found treasure, utility companies pinpointed buried pipes, lumber mills detected metal inclusions in sawn logs and law enforcement uncovered abandoned and hidden weapons. In 1939, just prior to World War II, Fisher Research Labs was called upon to contribute its technical competence to the war effort, but the M-Scope business was never neglected.

With the increasing popularity of the M-Scope, and with Fisher’s patent rights expiring, numerous competitors began producing similar detecting equipment. There is no doubt that Dr Fisher was a pioneer in the hobby.

Meeting Professor Michael Lewis in Coventry 2023

We thought it might be nice to include some additional picturesof thatday, and to also provideinformation forthose that might wish to visit the area where the meeting took place. In the background John Wells and ProfMichael Lewis can be seen examining the newly installed Coventry Cross. The cross is based on the 1976 replica of the 16th century monument, and links the history of Coventry to King Henry VI, when it served as an important market town in the medieval era.

The cross has been rebuilt with several new features. It showcases stained glass windows which tell the history of the medieval cross in Coventry and King Henry VI.

It stands 60 feet tall and features 33 statues of animals, angels, saints and kings; and has the original crown from the 1976 cross placed at the top.

The monument also includes a new 3D-printed sculpture of King Henry VI

In the background can be seen Holy Trinity church which is only 80 yards from the famous statue of Lady Godiva who, every hour on the hour, is looked at by Peeping Tom as she strides out naked on her horse overlooking Broadgate.

A short walk from Broadgate are the ruins of St Michaels Cathedral when in 1940 it was destroyed by German aircraft

1. The air raid on Coventry on the night of 14 November 1940wasthesinglemostconcentrated attack on aBritish city in the Second World War.

2. Following the raid, Nazi propagandists coined a new word in German - coventrieren - to raze a city to the ground.

3. Codenamed 'Moonlight Sonata', the raid lasted for 11 hours and involved nearly 500 Luftwaffe bombers, gathered from airfields all over occupied Europe.

4. The aim was to knock out Coventry as a major centre for war production. It was said too, that Hitler ordered the raid as revenge on an RAF attack on Munich.

5. 14 November was a brilliant moonlit night, so bright that the traffic could move around on the road without light.

6. The Luftwaffe dropped 500 tons of high explosive, 30,000 incendiaries and 50 landmines. It was also trying out a new weapon, the exploding incendiary.

7. Coventry lost not only its great medieval church of St Michael's, the only English Cathedral to be destroyed in the Second World War, but its central library and market hall, hundreds of shops and public buildings and 16th century PalaceYard, whereJamesIIhad onceheld court.

8. The smell and heat of the burning city reached into the cockpits of the German bombers, 6,000 feet above.

9. Morethan 43,000 homes, justoverhalfthecity'shousing stock, were damaged or destroyed in the raid.

10. The fire at the city's huge Daimler works was one of the biggest of the war in Britain. Up to 150 high explosive bombs and 3,000 incendiaries turned 15 acres of factory buildings into a raging inferno.

11. At midday the next day in Coventry, it was as warm as spring and almost dark because of the effects of the firestorms.

12. King George VI is said to have wept as he stood in the ruins of the burned-out Cathedral, surveying the destruction.

13. The people of the city were traumatised. Hundreds wandered to the streets in a daze and little children were seen trying to burrow their way through solid brick walls to escape the terrifying noise.

14. Oneofthecity'sthreestatuesofPeeping Tomwasblown out of a niche in its high building and lay in the street, where shocked passers-by mistook it for another human corpse in the blackout.

15. One man recalled being pursueddown a street by akneehigh river of boiling butter from a nearby blazing dairy.

16. At one point during the night, an abandoned tram was blown clean over a house and into a garden. It landed with its windows still intact.

17. The official death toll from the night was 554, but the real figure could have been much higher with many people unaccounted for.

18. As help poured in the next day, demolition crews had to be prevented from pulling down the Cathedral tower. They didn't realise it had been leaning for at least 100 years.

19. On theday of the mass funerals, fighter patrols were sent up into the skies above the city. It was thought that the Germans might try to bomb the cemetery.

Above is the effigy of Bishop Huyshe Wolcott YeatmanBiggs, first Bishop of Coventry, in the ruins of Coventry Cathedral

Yet by 1947, Coventry had adopted its first German twin city, Kiel. Dresden followed in 1956. The ruined Cathedral now stands for international peace and reconciliation.

Directly opposite the ruinsof the old cathedral and facing the new cathedralwastheHerbertArtgallery andMuseum.Here Professor Lewis was shown around the Museum and was impressed with someof thedisplay cabinets, particularly one containing fragments of archery equipment from the Middle Ages.

We were later to discover that one of Michael’s pastimes is archery. The pictures above and below show the items on display at The Herbert Museum

The meeting with Professor Lewis took place in a private room next door to the ruins of Coventry Cathedral in St Mary’s Guildhall, considered to be one of the finest of its kind in England. In 1569 Elizabeth 1st ordered Mary, Queen of Scots to be moved from her imprisonment at Tutbury Castle in Staffordshire, to confinement in Coventry following a Catholic uprising in the north of England.

The letter from Elizabeth I to the people of Coventry is on display in the Guildhall. Mary seems to have been held at several locations in Coventry, including the city's largest inn, and at the Guildhall.

A small chamber in 'Caesar's Tower' is known as Mary, Queen of Scots room.

There were also signs of early graffiti as shown below cut into the softer stone in various places.

Before our meeting began, we were given a guided tour of the building which included a visit to the Great Hall where the Midland Federation of Metal Detecting clubs for many years were given permission to hold a finds exhibition weekend during Heritage Open days, usually held every September.

Here is where the Midlandsdetecting clubswould show their finds to the general public, identify coins and artefacts and give demonstrations on how metal detectors worked.

Every year 2000 plus people would visit this beautiful building and view the club’s exhibits from the past which was in keeping and sympathetic with the history of this magnificent building

This picture below shows some early recipes for BISKET and RED GINGER-BREAD.

We take no responsibility if you try these out, but if you do and they taste nice do let us know.

Our guide explained that some of these are witches marks.

The visit managedtoconclude some important business on behalf of the hobby.

Portable Antiquities Scheme update date by

Following news of ‘thefts at the British Museum’, I want to reassure members of the detecting community that this news relates to items in the British Museum collection and not material deposited at the Museum as part of the Treasure process. The Museum takes the security offindssubmitted aspartof the Treasure process very seriously and has a number of security and administrative measures in place to see they are looked after properly.

In due course, we would like to have a ‘Treasure Tracking function’ as part of the rebuild of the PAS database (currently ongoing) which will enable finders to follow their finds as they pass through the process. In the meantime, finders can contact their local Finds Liaison Officer (see contacts page on the PAS website – finds.org.uk) and/or the Treasure Team at the British Museum (treasure@britishmuseum.org) for an update on any find going through the process.

I appreciate that many detectorists enjoy going on rallies, and itiswellknown that some are better run than others. There have been recent cases where rally organisers have not sufficiently helped people follow the Code of Practice for Responsible Metal Detecting, especially in making it easy for them to record finds, report Treasure or deal with their obligations under export law.

In some cases, this might mean that finders will have their treasure reward abated or even face prosecution. My view is that rally organisers should take responsibility for ensuring their events are safe, lawful and follow best practice. This includes (but is not limited to) connecting with the local FLO and HER Officer before a rally is organised, funding the recording of finds at the rally and ensuring a trained archaeologist is in place to handle any in-situ (e.g., undisturbed hoards), directing finders to their local FLO if they have made an interesting or important discovery, and

Professor Michael Lewis

ensuring finds on rallies are excavated with care, and that all laws and guidance is followed.

For more information see our guidance for rally organisers on the PAS website.

Detectorists will be aware that the new changes to the Treasure Act 1996 became law on 30 July 2023.

The Act now covers metal items that provide an ‘exceptional’ insight into local or national archaeology, culture or history. Already a few items have been proposed by Finds Liaison Officers and we are discussing these with experts (and others) to see if they reasonably meet the definition. As finders know, the threshold is designed to be ‘high’ and coroners will need to be convinced that such finds are exceptionally significant to be declared Treasure. We are keen that the process is collaborative, especially with finders. I think it is good news that the law is making us think carefully about why finds are important and why certain items should be in museums for all to enjoy.

The PAS was proud to be part of the Council for British Archaeology (CBA) ‘Festival of Archaeology’ –the biggest UK celebration of archaeology. Across the festival fortnight (15-30 July) the PAS and its FLOs were involved with over 43 events across England and Wales. This included finds identification, finds handling, pop-up displays, talks, podcasts and many other activities for adults and children alike in Avon, Birmingham, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Cheshire, Cornwall, Cumbria, Derbyshire, Dorset, Co Durham, Essex, Hampshire, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, London, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, North Lincolnshire, Oxfordshire, Pembrokeshire, Powys, Shropshire, South Yorkshire, Sussex, West Yorkshire and Wiltshire.

Head of the PAS and Treasure at the British Museum

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Iknow many findersalso metFLOsatthese, wheretherewas a chance to record their finds and learn more about the PAS.

The PAS conference 2023 will be taking place in York on 5 October at the Yorkshire Museum.

Tickets are FREE and available to book online – it is essential to book as tickets are limited. The theme of the conference is ‘the contribution of detector finds to archaeology’. Speakers include Philippa Walton (University of Reading) on ‘rethinking research in Roman Britain’ and Duncan Wright (University of Newcastle) on ‘the archaeology of early medieval elite centres’. It looks to be a really good day and it would be lovely to see as many detectorists as possible at the conference

Getting ready for the Festival of Archaeology at Salisbury Museum (Figure 1)

Northern FLOs learning about the Ryedale Hoard (Figure 2) at the Yorkshire Museum (people coming to the PAS Conference will be able to see this).

PLEASE NOTE that on the 31st December each year, the web site private members area accounts willberemoved.

In order to gain access to the members area from 7th January the following year, please create a new account using your membership number, name, email address and a password. All members area applications are checked against the membership database information. It may take up to seven days for your account tobecomelive.

Why not get your AMDS merchandise for Christmas

Hoodie

Cap

Polo Shirt

T Shirt

Sew on badge

A Famous Face in Metal Detecting by John Wells

Can anyone recognise and name this gentleman sat with me?

After awarding him with his new trophy he soon became really talkative and amenable knowing that we both shared the same passion for the hobby, and our conversations lasted for over an hour.

Before I left the Bloxwich club that evening, I reminded Terry that the trophy awarded to him had to bereturned to be awarded anew the following year. The small solid silver replica trophy that had also been awarded to him; he could keep for ever. When I said that the large silver cup had to be returned in its velvet lined case and by registered post and insured, with a wink of his eye he surprised me by asking who was going to pay for the postage! What a character.

His fellow club members sitting nearby were not phased by his comments and told me that Terry had never changed despite now being a millionaire. Truly a lovely man who to this day still goes detecting with his club mates, hoping to find yet another Staffordshire Hoard.

Yes, his name is Terry Herbert and not only has been a long time member of the Bloxwich club here in the West Midlands and therefore a card-carrying member of the Midlands Federation, but he has the distinction of being the man who found the Staffordshire Hoard.

The Staffordshire Hoard is the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver metalwork yet found. ... It was discovered in 2009 in a field near the village of Hammerwich, near Lichfield, in Staffordshire, England. The location was in the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia at the time of the hoard's deposition. The hoard consisted of over 3,500 items, amounting to a total of 5.1 kg of gold, 1.4 kg of silver and some 3,500 pieces of garnet cloisonné jewellery.

Each year a competition took place where the best coin, artefact and hoard were voted on for awards, and trophies were presented to the winners. In 2009 in the hoard category there was only going to be one winner.

Terry could not make it to the annual awards ceremony so it was agreed that I as Chairman of another organisation at that time would present Terry with the silver cup at a meeting of his Bloxwich club on their next club night.

When I arrived at his club, I learned that Terry had no clue that I was going to be there that evening. All the rest of his club's members were in on the secret but Terry had no idea. When he arrived, he gave me the initial impression that here was a man who although he had been awarded in excess of £1.3 million did not look terribly happy How wrong I was!

I quickly learned that this poor chap had been hounded for weeks and months by TV crews and news reporters from all over the world, and that he feared yet another round of questioning was in prospect from me. What a character!

Terry is now a member of the AMDS along with all his fellow Bloxwich club members

Council and Birmingham City Council.