3 best recent finds in Lancashire, England.

Urien of Rheged · Feb 6, 2026

The most recent was this Bronze alloy Dragonesque brooch earlier this week. It's broken off on one end which is a shame and would have originally had coloured glass inlays as well as a pin. Still a fantastic find though, these brooches are particular to the. north of England and where worn by the native Brigantes tribe during the iron age. They went out of fashion though for a few hundred years but made a revival which academics believe was due to hostility to Roman rule, these brooches being symbols of defiance, rebel badges.

A few weeks prior hunting old ground i chanced by a 22 carat childs gold ring weighing in at 4 grams from 1900.

And just before Christmas I was lucky enough to come by a Scottish Groat from the reign of Robert II (1371 - 1390) struck at Edinburgh. (On the reverses Scottish hammereds can always be identified by the little stars where as the English coins had pellets.

All found with Minelab 700 on pasture.

Chilli · Feb 6, 2026

Fantastic finds. Well done. 👍👍

Urien of Rheged · Feb 6, 2026

Chilli said:
Fantastic finds. Well done. 👍👍

I was far more excited by the bronze brooch than the gold ring especially realising i couldn't even fit the damn thing in my little finger.
The Scottish Groat was an odd discovery as it was getting dark and came up as I was following the hedge next to the old lane. I dont usually wear gloves but it was cold and wet so in the dark on not able to feel that unmistakable hammered silver feel it went into my finds pouch along with the rest of the debris I'd collected. Being close to the hedge id presumed it was just a flattened bottle top. It was only when I got back to the car and peared in my bag I saw Bob there staring up at me. A really really nice surprise as that permission can be tiresome as it was a WWII live round training area and is littered with bullets and casings.

pepperj · Feb 6, 2026

3 really great looking recoveries. The Groat is in crisp condition. Now 22Kt sure does look sweet, certainly a keeper.
Interesting history regarding the brooch, very cool. Thanks for sharing the history of what they were worn for.
Can almost think of it getting broken as it was ripped off the person wearing it and it got thrown to the ground. Probably not the case at all, but it makes a person wonder though

Urien of Rheged · Feb 7, 2026

pepperj said:
3 really great looking recoveries. The Groat is in crisp condition. Now 22Kt sure does look sweet, certainly a keeper.
Interesting history regarding the brooch, very cool. Thanks for sharing the history of what they were worn for.
Can almost think of it getting broken as it was ripped off the person wearing it and it got thrown to the ground. Probably not the case at all, but it makes a person wonder though

It certainly makes you wonder. If only they came with biographies. Same with that Scottish coin. There where a few incursions by those wild northern folk as far south as Lancashire. Robert the Bruce burned down the original Salmesbury hall which isn't far from me and a farmer in a very rural area told me there where records which showed the locals being excempted from paying taxes for a year due to the area being ravaged by the Scots. The river ribble though which flows through my little town was infamous though to the superstitious Scots. Every Scottish army to cross south of it was crushed and this wasn't something they'd overlooked. During the second civil war in the late 1640's a Royalist Scots army marched south to aid Charles I and where completely destroyed by Cromwells forces on the banks of the Ribble. A 100 year later when the Jacobites marches south to restore Bonnie Prince Charlie to the throne the soldiers became uneasy as they reached Preston and the Ribble. To ease their minds the general had a contingent camp just south of the river to prove to his men their superstitions where unfounded nonsense. The rest of the army crossed the following day, marched south and where totally destroyed.

Nathan W · Feb 7, 2026

Great recoveries

Mackaydon · Feb 7, 2026

Is it possible the groat is actually a 1/2 groat versus a 1 groat?
I think of the 1 groat legend beginning "ROBERTVS GRA.....; whereas the 1/2 groat begins "ROBERTVS DEI......"
Your coin shows the DEI, not the GRA. And usually the 1/2 groat shows SCOTTORV though one, of several varients is SCOTTORVM, as in yours.
Don in SoCal (kin from Dornoch and Tongue)
PS: Have you ever looked for gold coins around Loch Haken, near Tongue? A Bonnie Price Charles related event.

The Beep Goes On · Feb 7, 2026

Man, that's some finds there. Congratz!!

Urien of Rheged · Feb 8, 2026

Mackaydon said:
Is it possible the groat is actually a 1/2 groat versus a 1 groat?
I think of the 1 groat legend beginning "ROBERTVS GRA.....; whereas the 1/2 groat begins "ROBERTVS DEI......"
Your coin shows the DEI, not the GRA. And usually the 1/2 groat shows SCOTTORV though one, of several varients is SCOTTORVM, as in yours.
Don in SoCal (kin from Dornoch and Tongue)
PS: Have you ever looked for gold coins around Loch Haken, near Tongue? A Bonnie Price Charles related event.

I'm by no means an expert on coins I initially thought this was a David II groat until a more expert eye informed me it was a Robert II Groat. I just popped it on the scales and it weighs just over four grams where as a half groat wouldn't weigh no more than two. So I'm pretty confident it's a full groat. Perhaps if I'd pictured it with scale it would have been clearer. Thanks for the interest though 👍

In regard to Loch Hakel, It's an 8 hour 30 minute journey. From my house to there by car. I've never ventured that far north. Keep meaning to but I'm always attracted south for breaks. I go to North Wales often and as a kid we always had family holidays in Devon or Cornwall. I'm also near to the Yorkshire dales and lake district of Cumbria which aren't quite as spectacular as the Highlands but are far easier to access and hours drive 2 at most.

Is there somekind of gold legend or does that area have form around that loch?

Mackaydon · Feb 8, 2026

You asked: "Is there somekind of gold legend or does that area have form around that loch?"
https://www.transceltic.com/blog/se...lie-s-gold-lost-ship-le-prince-charles-stuart
On old maps of the Lake Haken area is noted the words: "Gold coin found here."

Within walking distance near Tongue is the 15th-century battlefield of Drumnnacoub (circa 1429–1433). I'll bet few people know of this battle; even fewer have used a metal detector there. I've metal detected around Loch Haken but never in the water. In the middle of the loch is a structure that might be interesting to investigate, but you'll need a small raft to get there-or swim.
If you get to the area, stay at the Tongue Hotel. A side trip (within walking distance) is to the Varrich Castle (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Varrich)
Don in SoCal