Massive Roman/Saxon Site - Day 10 - TREASURE!

[CRUSADER]

This year it's hard to think of a day that we put a foot wrong, & today this field surprised us again! The weather is still mild but the overnight rain kept the field very sticky & unworkable in some areas.
This time it was Cru'Dad & the Cortes time to strike back at my recent great finds...

10 Roman Coins
17th C Spur Buckle
14th C Buckle
2 Jettons
Small piece of 6th C Saxon Brooch

Dad got a Saxon/Viking Silver Ingot. These are extyremely rare in our area & although I had one a couple of years ago, it was only the 2nd provenanced example (in our county). This now being the 3rd!
This will end up in a Museum as it is the sort of Treasure find that will get snapped up.
Dad & I have a theory about this one. Although this is speculation, as it is out of context, this is what we think. We have found no other evidence of Viking activity (although you can't rule out a random loss). We are on a Saxon site which has produced a number of Sceats. This type of ingot has been record as early as the 5th C & also in Viking hoards of the 8th-11th C. The weight of this one is just over 10g which would make it 10 Sceats worth but only 6.5 Viking Pennies worth, so to us to seems logically that its a little known Early Saxon period Ingot.

So Dad & I are both in the Silver Ingot Club.

 

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[Argentium]

Amazing find ! As someone who has worked with silver- and made a lot of ingots, I wonder how these were cast ? Crucible poured into
a depression in stone or iron ? Also the intention of this ingot - formed in this elongated format is suggestive of being forged out
perhaps into a bracelet/torque ? Great find indeed ! (Happy Christmas !)

 

[CRUSADER]

Amazing find ! As someone who has worked with silver- and made a lot of ingots, I wonder how these were cast ? Crucible poured into
a depression in stone or iron ? Also the intention of this ingot - formed in this elongated format is suggestive of being forged out
perhaps into a bracelet/torque ? Great find indeed ! (Happy Christmas !)

I also wonder how these were casted. (maybe poured into a simple sand cast) Its one reason why we can discount them from the Roman period, as they would have cast them, far more uniform & from better moulds. In the 5th-6th C they are thought to have been made from melted down Roman silver coins. There shape did not seem to vary much over the 5th-11th C, in the Viking period they were formed like this so you could hack pieces off for smaller payments/trade.
If this were early Saxon, it would have been a HUGE amount of money, maybe buying you 2 cows.

 

[slowwevo]

I like silver ingots...alot

 

[Argentium]

Thanks for that ! I'm envisioning the silver Roman coins going into the crucible - I also cringe when I think of the early U.S. silver
coins that went into the crucible to be reformatted into table silver (1800- 1850's)

 

[robfinds]

Tell dad to keep it Cru. The museum would pay an absolute pittance for it. The ingot would look great mounted on a chain .

Robert.

 

[robfinds]

It would look good

 

[Cross Potent]

How I'd love to find stuff this old! Such fantastic finds you make.

 

[BuckleBoy]

This is one incredible find! Congrats to CruDad!!!

 

[watercolor]

VERY, VERY nice!
A big congrats to your Dad Oh, and your recoveries ain't too shabby either

 

[watercolor]

Cru, you need to get your Dad on TNet. . . I'd love to see you both on the Banner Page at the same time

 

[Westfront]

Congrats to Crudad! This site makes the year perfect for the team!

 

[Army of 1]

Another great day out with Dad , congrats on your awesome finds ..cheers Mick

 

[coinman123]

BANNER FOR CRU'DAD!!!!!!! Truly an amazing historical find, I would never dream of finding that no matter where I lived. Congrats to your dad on that spectacular find.

Coinman123,

 

[PullTabProphet]

Way cool finds.

As for casting those silver bars, it almost looks as if someone just drug their finger across clean sand, making a cut to pour the silver in.

 

[Bill D. (VA)]

Thanks for that ! I'm envisioning the silver Roman coins going into the crucible - I also cringe when I think of the early U.S. silver
coins that went into the crucible to be reformatted into table silver (1800- 1850's)

When the US first started producing the half disme in the early 1790s the opposite was true. In fact, George Washington donated about $100 worth of bullion from his household silverware for minting these coins. Then later, as you stated, the reverse happened. That might explain why 1700s silver is almost non-existent.

 

[Bill D. (VA)]

It doesn't get any better than that Cru. Very unique and historic find to say the least. I also like the jetton and spectacle buckle with the pointed ends. Never seen one like that before.

 

[cuzcosquirrel]

I do a lot of ingot casting too and it looks like it was poured into a stone channel to me.

One of the stories that was passed down to me was that a lot of the men in Scandinavia had a little silver ingot that they would work on and make into a piece of jewelry during the cold months. If a couple of other men reported that the piece was good, the guy would usually keep it around and it became a cultural artifact. If not, he could hide it out to himself, or reforge it later. The main source for this silver was from Islamic dirhams and English pennies. I'm sure a lot of these bars got sold away and traded around, and there was always scrap and odd bits getting melted down.

 

[pepperj]

What a monster find! Congrats to your Dad Cru a day to remember for sure, and if you didn't have spot along the banner this would be up there in a heart beat.

 

[Silver Searcher]

Nice find Cru Dad. I don't see why you should hand it in for Treasure, yes it's the law I know, but proving the context of the find is very difficult to do, as I don't see any other finds from that period...up to you though, like Rob said keep it, it won't be displayed at the museum unless it was part of a larger hack hoard, and the value would not be that great...great find though.

SS