Buried treasure found at Membury

[Kev]

Metal detecting enthusiasts unearth cache of James 1 coins

Ian James(chairman on Yeovil metal detecting club) and Mark Burrough(the land owner) with the coins they are donating to Membury school.

Buried treasure is set to give youngsters at Membury some extra spending money.

Ancient coins found by metal detecting enthusiasts have been “donated” to the village primary school – and could net them around £2,000.

Some 200 ‘detectorists’ from various local clubs, along with local residents, were invited to go treasure hunting at Bewley Down recently, thanks to landowners, Mr and Mrs Mark Burrough.

It proved a very fruitful day, with a hoard of James 1 coins being found, along with jewellery from the Roman times. On Friday some of the ‘detectorists’ visited the local school to show the children their finds, and explain to them the historical interest they hold.

Money raised from the sale of the ancient coins will be given to the school’s PTFA.

[Villan (Neil)]

A nice idea and a worthy cause too

[cardiffian]

The value of the coins is unlikely to be anywhere near £2000. There are a number of inaccuracies in the report. The target to raise for the school was £2000 and this was mistakenly given as the value of the coins. The reporter later apologised to the finder. The reward from the find is still being shared between the landowner and finder as laid down in the Treasure Act. The actual target was smashed and the school was presented with a cheque for £3700.

The finder Jamie Day is relatively new to the hobby and had only joined the club the month before the rally.  Up until the rally he had previously only found one hammered coin. The hoard contained 13 coins which was made up of 6 James 1st/ James V1, 6 Elizabeth 1st and one Spanish coin. The two nicest coins were a James 1st shilling and James V1 thistle plaque. The coins were found in a pasture field on the route of a medieval track which ran adjacent to a hedgerow.

While Jamie was on 2 coins he was joined by a seasoned detectorist who asked where he had found the coins. He was pointed to the furthest end of the field. The other detectorist then made off with great haste leaving Jamie to carry on unhindered. Atta boy Jamie!! The find spot was also closed off with tape so he could detect the findspot by himself.

Jamie's find was entered in the Minelab Find of the Month competition which he duly won. His prize was a £250 voucher and a Minelab bag full of goodies. So you don't have to be an experienced detectorist to chance upon a hoard. It is also another example of the way in which the hobby can be of benefit to others. The school needed the money to stay open as an independant school.

Alan
YMDC Treasurer.