A pre-decimal bonanza
by Stick
I was spending the day out detecting with a relative, Eddie, who I hadn’t seen much of over the years. He was new to detecting and using a borrowed detector that I’d arranged for him. I wondered how the day was going to turn out because I had Eddie pegged as, well, not exactly a patient sort of fella and one who wouldn’t want to get his hands too dirty (he works in the IT industry). Nevertheless, I encouraged him to give it a go and tried to describe to him the great feeling you get when finding an old coin or relic and the thoughts that run through your head about who lost it, when and how. He was keen enough but after the first few sites I thought it was going to be a long day as we’d only spend half an hour at each spot before it was “there’s nothing here” and “where else can we go?” So, after several sites where I’d previously detected goodies were dismissed, I suggested to Eddie we try a spot of his choice. Being a local, he knew the area as well if not better than me, so he chose a location and you guessed it, after a short time detecting, it was declared another “nothing here” site.
WORTH A GO
We then retraced our steps and stopped at a site we’d passed on the way to Eddie’s spot, that smelled of possibilities. I was a little sceptical about it thinking others would have hammered the site over the years but we were in the area so I decided it was at least worth a go and Eddie agreed. It was an old high school that shut down in the 1970s but it had seen its share of students in the 50-odd years it had been operational. The grass out the front was now nothing more than weeds and prickles of almost every description and the ground was very hard, being mainly clay, which was understandable given the site’s proximity to the Murray River. After having a stroll around the buildings and a chat about this and that, we decided that out the front was the best place to begin our assault, so we geared up and set off in opposite directions to hopefully find some treasure. And what a surprise! I can honestly say I never thought a place like this, on a reasonably busy road, would have been left seemingly untouched or near enough to it given that metal detectors have been around for so many years. It was such an obvious site that everyone passing it must have thought it had been cleaned out years ago so they hadn’t bothered to give it a go. From the outset the coins started rolling in – a 3-inch-deep threepence here, a 5-inchdeep halfpenny there, another threepence this time two inches deep; mixed with a fair sprinkling of 1- and 2-cent coins, compass parts, scrap metal and so on. We were two very busy bunnies digging holes constantly.
The authors’ haul of pre-decimals from the old school site
There was so much ground to cover we knew we’d never get it done in a month of Sundays so we didn’t bother with gridding, which is generally a no-no when I go detecting. I like to be as thorough as possible even if I only cover a fraction of the ground. We just walked around wherever our feet took us and there were coins waiting. I’ve never been to a place like it, particularly for the pre-decimal coins which, while not being particularly valuable, were a thrill to find.
MOST SUCCESSFUL PRE-DECIMAL DAY
That day out with Eddie remains the most successful pre-decimal day I’ve ever experienced. In all, 49 old coins fell my way including 16 pennies and 14 sixpences, with a lesser amount going to Eddie but he still did exceptionally well for a newcomer with a machine totally foreign to him. I was elated for him. What a site to start metal detecting on. I only wish I’d been that lucky when I started out in the hobby. The oldest coin found on the day was an English halfpenny dated 1887. It was the only 1800s coin to come to light with the majority of finds being in the 1920 to 1960 range. The find of the day however was a superb florin dated 1910 which was a real bugger because it didn’t come to light under my coil. What can I say; beginner’s luck! At the end of the day the ratio of decimal to pre-decimal coins found was about 2:1 and most of the decimals were of the 1- and 2-cent variety. On average the finds ranged from 3cm to 15cm in depth, so basically any detector at all would have cleaned up. However, a few pennies were exceptionally deep. One I measured at just over 25cm down which proved quite an adventure to retrieve from the hard ground. As we were packing up to leave, the lady living in the house next door stopped by and told us there had been someone detecting on the site a while ago and they had found a nice signet ring. Evidently, she had been watching us all afternoon and wondered what we had been digging up given the fact others had been there before. She expressed amazement at the number of coins we’d retrieved.
BACK TO THE SITE
We’ve been back to the site a few times and have yet to come away empty-handed. The last time I was there I bumped into the groundsman who waters the weeds and prickles and he said he’d been over the site with a detector himself and only found nails and rubbish. Apparently, he had been looking for sprinkler outlets and said that if I could place a stick in any I located, he’d be grateful. I didn’t have the heart to tell him how much good stuff myself, Eddie, my brother-in-law; Darren, and his mate, Ricky, had pulled out of the site, let alone what other goodies the chap who found the signet ring had unearthed. My count alone now stands at 23 halfpennies, 35 pennies, 26 threepences, 27 sixpences, four shillings and two florins, totalling 117 pre-decimal coins. As well I have a large number of decimal coins, badges and other bits and pieces. It’s proved to be quite a patch and it isn’t cleaned out yet. I guess it goes to show that sometimes even the most obvious places still hold treasures, but you’ll never know until you get out and give them a go.