RALLY REPORTS
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UK History-Finders  -  Somerset
27th May 2023

​We set off on our first bus trip of the year heading for a Rally being held in deepest Somerset by the UK-History Finders. At 6am on the dot we left Nantgarw with 37 weary detectorists on board all hoping to find something special. The route took us off the motorway at Bristol so we didn't have the usual stop at the Services but arrived early at the Rally site. After parking in the Castle Cary Rugby club car park we were booked in and issued with coloured wrist bands, that was when all organisation seemed to stop

 The start time was supposed to be 9 am but people were leaving for the fields before 8.30! We joined the exodus and walked for around two miles to find a field that had no long grass or cattle in it. We started at field 18, moved to 19 and seen about  60 cars parked in field 20.These were obviously campers for the whole weekend who'd experienced the long walk from the previous day so had driven round there. 

 The ground was hard for digging and not much was coming so some of us decided to go back to the bus and have something to eat. This time we took a shorter route back to the rugby club. On arrival we found the bus had gone with all our food, medication etc on board!! After making inquiries with the company we were told the driver had taken the wrong bus out and was to return to Cardiff Gate services to swap buses and all our equipment, he arrived back on site around 3.30 in the afternoon.
Luckily there was catering on site so we had to buy food and drink from them. 

 Some of our members did better than others so the finds were varied. The best find of the day and may be of the weekend was a Gold Posey ring found by Jeff Radcliffe, well done Jeff. He also had an un-identified Hammered coin, a Buckle and another small coin. Richard Williams uncovered a Cartwheel Penny and a Police whistle, Emlyn Phillips found a Heraldic Pendant, a thimble, a Charles II Halfpenny and a 1922 Shilling. Lee Calli had a George V penny dated 1929, a lead weight and some buttons, Robert Jenkins also had some buttons along with a thimble and a Cow Horn protector. Gary Osgar found Victoria Shilling, Andrew Crane unearthed an old Buckle. Huw Jones dug a Silver gilt button, Bob Ramsay got a Farthing and some buttons. Byron Matthews found a dress hook, Buffer discovered 2 x Halfpennies and an interesting button from the 54th foot company, Matthew Lacey found a George II Halfpenny, 2 x Spindle whorls, a Tudor button, a farm token and a buckle. Ashley Matthews found a Thimble and what could be a Roman minim.

 At the arranged time to leave at 4.45 pm we were missing one person, as much as we stalled the driver he was determined to leave as he did not want to go over his hours! So we had to leave the member behind much to our dismay, but we were able to pass his phone number onto other members of ours who were staying the weekend. Luckily he was put up for the night, had another days detecting and had a lift back to Nantgarw to get to his car. 

So not the best rally we've been to and not the best outcome either, we will think again about returning to this organisation for any future rallies they may hold. We can look forward to any other Rally and bus trip in the coming months.
 
Byron Matthew
Vice-Chair

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K C RALLIES - Droitwich
5th March 2023

Leaving Nantgarw at 6am prompt, we set off with 30 detectorists on board heading to the same farm we were on for our Xmas dig last year. Back then the ground was frozen solid to a depth of at least four inches, this time we were hoping for much easier digging!

Phil Tucker had managed to dig out a Gold hammered during that last visit so hopes were high for this time around. As usual we collected the monies for the dig and the bus before doing the raffle, which had loads of prizes as usual. After a break at Strensham Services we continued on and arrived with plenty of time to get ready for the start time. The organisers had free tea and coffee on tap and held a raffle before opening the fields. There were four fields available, three had been on the previous rally, the extra one was very big and quite hilly. The first two fields had soft stubble that was easy to dig.... the other two were pastures but equally easy to dig. Our finds were varied but plenty....
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Emlyn Phillips found a George I Penny, a decorated button, a piece of silver and a ferrule off the bottom of a walking stick along with some copper coins, Ken Evans unearthed a George II Halfpenny dated 1747.  
Phil Williams got a musket ball, Grant Williams got a George V Sixpence dated 1914, a Victoria penny and a Victoria halfpenny. Richard Williams dug a George V Sixpence of 1933, Alan Jones had a Quarter cut hammered coin of one of the Henrys and a George V halfpenny.  
Carl Jones found a George VI sixpence dated 1942, Paul Williams discovered a Charles I or II sixpence from the Aberystwyth mint.  
Vince Rees was another finder of a hammered coin his being James I dated 1603, he also had a George V Sixpence of 1928 and three copper coins.  
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Matthew Lacey found a Roman Fibula brooch, a William III Sixpence and a George V Shilling, Ronnie Davies unearthed a Roman silver Denarius and a Victoria Farthing. 
Buffer had George II Halfpenny, Byron Matthews found a small Medieval key and a Spindle Whorl. Kevin Fox had a Powder Flask that had been cut in half and a copper coin.  
Paul Minton had a George V Halfpenny dated 1937 and a gaming piece that is either Roman or Medieval. Tony Winter found two hammered coins, one is an Edward Penny and the other of dubious heritage.  
Robert Jenkins found a George III Penny, Scott Chubb unearthed a cut half Hammered coin and a George V Sixpence dated 1919. Kyle Morgan found a Victoria Penny of 1900. The usual shotties and buckles along with many unknown bits and pieces came up so a good day all round. ​

We arrived back at Nantgarw around 5.30pm for an earlier finish than expected. Looking forward to the next coach trip which is expected to be towards the end of May. 
Byron Matthews 
vice-chair. 





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Ross-on-Wye
26th February 2023

​We met up at a roadside cafe on the side of the A40 near Symonds Yat and proceeded in convoy through the countryside to the site of the dig. 

Unfortunately, we missed a turning enroute and landed near Ross-on-Wye, only a slight diversion.!! The farm was called Edge Hill Farm and was overlooked by an Iron Age hillfort called Chase Hill just across the way. It is said there were around 3000 living there back in the day. This was not a "working farm" but had Holiday Homes on it, probably converted barns.  

The first field was pasture and easy to dig, there was another smaller field next to it which was on a slope. After the lunch break, we went on to another field behind the farm buildings. On this field were four Alpacas and eight black sheep, all pets of the owners. We were warned that the Alpacas would spit so we kept clear of them!

Plenty of signals were happening and an assortment of finds came up. Kevin Webb found a small cannon and a pair of thimbles, Liz McGlasson had a Roman Brooch and a silver ring, Paul Williams also found a ring and a Charles II Farthing. 

Colin Davies unearthed a watch winder, a coin and some Buckles, Robert Jenkins got a Jews Harp and copper coins along with some Buckles, a thimble and a badge of the Amalgamated Engineering Union. Lesley Foxwell found a Penknife, a piece of silver, a farmer's token and some copper coins. 

 
A.J. discovered his very first Hammered coin...an Edward I His father, "senior Llewelyn", unearthed a gold ring. Well done both!  

Buffer had a Victorian Three pence; Bob Ramsey found a George V Shilling.  

A great day and a very good turnout of club members. The owner of the site did not want any payment from us for this dig, so we are donating the usual £200 to the West Midlands Air Ambulance charity and having the Thank you letter sent directly to him.  
Another great day out, thanks to our Land Finder Granville for getting this site for us. 
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Byron Matthews vice-chair. 







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KC Rallies Xmas Dig - Cutnall Green
18th December 2022
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We set off from Nantgarw for our last bus trip of the year to the Xmas rally being held by KC Rallies and Events near Droitwich with 26 detectorists and one non-detectorist on board, It was 6am so there were plenty of bleary faces on board.
After the monies were collected for both the rally and bus fare we held the raffle, there were lots of prizes available so plenty of tickets were sold.
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We stopped at Strensham services for our usual halfway break then we continued on to the Rally site. We arrived in plenty of time to get ready and as rain was expected we donned wet weather clothing in readiness.
There were mince pies and free coffee and tea available in the small barn and there was a raffle being held by the organisers, they decided to hold the draw before we set off for the field's. As they started the draw it started to snow and we were stood around getting wetter and colder so some shouts of encouragement to get the draw done quicker were directed at the organiser.
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​Eventually we left for the two huge fields that were available, they were in stubble and looked encouraging until you tried to dig a signal. The ground was frozen hard at least 4 inches deep. The snow had stopped and was replaced with light rain but it was still very cold. People were struggling to dig their signals, one person had a pick (Australian style digging in the hard ground). By mid-afternoon most of us had returned to the bus but about 7 or 8 hardier members stayed out, some had moved on to a new field which was said to be softer ground.

​As usual some people were luckier than others. The Star find of the day went to Phillip Tucker who found a Gold Edward IV Angel, what a great find. He also found a watch winder and a musket ball.


​Phil Doing his Gold dance .....

Vince Rees also had some nice finds including a Crotal bell, a bronze cross, an interesting key tag, half a medieval buckle and some copper coins.
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Emlyn Phillips unearthed a Roman Fibula brooch, a Vicky halfpence, a George halfpence and some buttons. Liz McGlasson dug a William III penny dated 1693, a Vicky penny and some buttons no mean feat as she was suffering the consequences of an office party the previous night!
Gareth Lawrence on his first dig with us found a bronze pot leg, Buffer had a George V penny, a broken roman coin and a lead token. Matthew Lacey discovered a George II halfpenny, a farmers token and some buttons. Dean Payne found a horse harness buckle and part of a cufflink, Kevin Fox unearthed a penny and a couple of buttons. Martin Mahoney had an aluminium Pigeon ring, Ronnie Davies found a Lizzie penny and a Georgian halfpenny. Ken Evans had a bronze button and a drawer hanger, well done to all the finders.
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Our next planned outing is the Annual Beach hunt at Barry Island on January 8th, so we look forward to seeing you there.

seasons Greetings to all our members.

Byron Matthews - Vice Chairman



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KC Rally - Midlands
10th September 2022

​The coach left Nantgarw on the dot of 6am carrying 26 expectant detectorists, and one non-detectorist, enroute to the KC Rally 2-day event being held near Dudley in the Midlands. All monies for the day and coach fare were collected and then the Raffle was conducted. There were lots of prizes, mostly detecting items and they were welcomed by the lucky winners. After a brief stop at the Services, we arrived on site with plenty of time to set up our gear for the 9 0'clock start. There were twelve fields available for the day, mostly stubble with two pastures to detect on too. At the briefing we were told that field number 2 was the Token Hunt field so most people headed there to try their luck. Two of our members found a token each and were rewarded with the money prizes allotted to each token...Well done both! 

​Signals were everywhere but, they were mostly 303 bullet cases. They gave such a good signal that they couldn't be ignored so we had quite an armoury between us at the end of the day.

As usual some members were luckier than others, three people found four hammered coins between them. The lucky people were Neil Hughes who found two, a Scottish Rose farthing and an unidentified hammy he also had a Pendant and a lead weight. Cledy unearthed another un-identified hammered coin and a Roman Minim. Emlyn Phillips was the third finder of a hammered coin, his being an Elizabeth I sixpence dated 1672 along with a Victorian Penny, a William penny, various other coins and two musket balls.
Michael Francis found a George 6th sixpence dated 1944 and a silver ferrule, probably off a walking stick. Alan Jones got a part Brooch and a pistol ball. Carl Jones had a William halfpenny and a large Token penny; Phil Tucker also had a penny Token along with three copper pennies. Karl Francis found himself a folded coin and a modern two pence piece.
Liz McGlasson unearthed a very nice Edward 7th Recruiters Cap Badge, a Viccy Farthing dated 1875 and a George II Penny. Russell Bratcher unearthed a very detailed button of the Nottinghamshire Police Force. Paul Minton found a Roman Minim and a Farthing. Byron Matthews also had a Roman Minim and a toasted Roman coin. Colin Davies dug 4 coins and a Buckle. Robert Jenkins got a Cartwheel Penny and nine other various copper coins.
Grant Williams found a Victorian Halfpenny dated 1863 and a George 3rd Penny. Geraint Williams did alright by finding the £50 Token! along with an Edward VII sixpence. a George III Penny, some Musket balls and a decorative Lead piece. A.J was the other Token finder, it was a free rally, so in the circumstances the organiser changed it for a £10 prize, well done both. 

Vince Rees found Victorian halfpenny, a George 5th Penny and a large Lead Token. Robert West dug a George I Penny and a musket ball. Ronnie Davis found six copper coins and part of a Horse Harness. Buffer unearthed a Silver Victorian sixpence, a George V penny, a Spindle Whorle and a Watch winder. Kenneth Evans found two Georgian half pennies, a very large Crotal Bell and a dog tag.   
We left the site at 4 pm after a hard day detecting and arrived back at Nantgarw 6.15 pm. suitably tired but happy and looking forward to the next bus trip. 
Byron Matthews. vice-chair. 




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Longtown Rally
6th March 2022

​We made our way to Longtown near the England/Wales border and Offa's Dyke, for the first proper Club Dig of the year.  
The turnout of members must be a record as 51 people attended!! The area was stunning, we had plenty of fields to detect on all with short grass and easy digging.  ​

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​Emlyn Phillips also had a sixpence, his was George VI dated 1937. Tina Pople was on the silver too finding a Victorian sixpence dated 1857. Mark Street found a silver Victorian brooch. Plenty of copper coins surfaced along with some spindle whorls and lots of us found "stair carpet" fixtures!  

Grant Williams was the lucky finder of a Roman coin. Adam Meacham had a nice day finding some silver, a George V three pence, a Bullhead sixpence of George III and an unrecognizable silver disc which turned out to be a Lizzie hammered when cleaned! Vince Rees also found a Lizzie hammered and what looks like a silver button. Kevin Davies unearthed a silver sixpence of George V dated 1910. 

​Another successful day for the club thanks to the efforts of our Land finder Granville Thomas who is doing a sterling job. We have another dig next weekend at Llanwern, let's hope it will be equally enjoyable. 
Byron Matthews. vice-chair. 


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Aberavon Beach Hunt
30th January 2022
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​Twenty plus members turned out for our second beach hunt of the year. 20 tokens had been planted by our Chairman the previous evening in the area marked " E " just in front of "Franco's".  After a group picture we were off hunting on the dry sand strip. The day started off very cold but we soon warmed up as the temperature rose.  

All twenty tokens were found along with some other items. Two people found rings, Liz McGlasson found a thumb ring and Geraint Williams recovered a silver ring marked 925 made in China, well done both.  

All morning there was a RNLI training session taking place with a helicopter and an inflatable boat working together simulating looking for something in the water and winching a person up from the dinghy.   

It was another enjoyable day by the seaside. 

Byron Matthews - Vice-chairman


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Barry Beach Hunt
2nd January 2022

​The first event of 2022 took place on 2nd January for our Annual Beach Hunt at Barry Island. There was a good turnout of members and the final count was thirty something. The weather was fine but breezy, so it blew away the cobwebs from the Festive Season. Our chairman had got there earlier to plant 20 tokens for us to find, these were worth £5 each! After a group photo we were off onto the sand. 

Tokens were coming up quickly, some diggers having more luck than others. Modern coinage was also being found! a £2 coin was the first signal for one lucky member, Pound coins and decimal coppers appeared too. A late report told us someone had found a Stainless-Steel ring, which we discovered was found by Alan Davies. We were accompanied on the beach by hundreds of dogs of all description and size, they were running about everywhere and being nosey to see what WE were digging too.

After about two hours most of us made our way off the beach and cashed in our Tokens, which were gold coloured George III gaming tokens, looking like the real thing! All twenty tokens were found so well done to the finders.
That was our first outing for this year and we look forward to many more in the coming months. HAPPY NEW YEAR to all R.A.R.E. members! 
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Byron Matthews vice-chair 




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KC Rally Xmas Dig
Kidderminster 5th December 2021
​Mistletoe & wine

We left Nantgarw with 26 members on board to the K.C. RALLIES event being held near Kidderminster on a coach described as a 53-seater refrigerator as the heaters weren't working! Arriving in plenty of time for the start, some of us bought raffle tickets ready for the draw taking place at lunch time. There was a brewery on site which was opening the bar at 12 midday so, some were arranging to be there if they would not be lucky with finds. There were five fields available and one was being used for a Token hunt with three tokens buried there valued £50, £20 and £10, so most people headed to that field hoping for some luck. That field was on orchard with lots of apples on the ground surrounding the trees, they will be used for Cider I was told.

​After the initial exodus to that field was over everyone made their way to the other fields and as usual the finds were varied. Shotties, coppers and bits of lead etc. came up for most of us, Mark Street found Georgian coppers, a Victorian coin, a Livery button and an Annular brooch. Lee Picton had three halfpennies, a buckle and a Musket ball. Carl Jones unearthed a George II penny and a George IV penny; Alan Jones was lucky in the token hunt field finding the token valued at £20! he also found a buckle and buttons. Phil Williams found a George V penny, a lead seal and an Apostle spoon. Steve Tucker had an Edward VII halfpenny dated 1902 and a George III penny.

​Buffer had a very good day finding a George V penny dated 1923, a Viccy penny, a Viccy halfpenny and a George V halfpenny. After the lunch break, in the field behind the barn he had a signal that blew his ears off!!  it turned out to be a cracking Half Crown of George V dated 1929. Ken Evans also had a George V penny circa 1913 along with 2 x old pound coins and a modern 20 pence. Byron Matthews unearthed a cap badge of the Royal Engineers and a George V Farthing. Phil Tucker had another George V coin, his was a 1921 Florin.

Emlyn Phillips got a Military button, a Victorian brooch, a Bag Seal and a Buckle. Ronnie Davies found a very nice Whistle and some copper coins. Paul Minton also had some coppers but was lucky in the Token hunt field finding the Token valued at £10. So, two of the three Tokens were found by our members. Well done both! Alun Davies found a Lead token and some coppers. Geraint Williams, along with some coppers, found a George IV penny and a cap badge of the Worcester Regiment. Gareth Davies found a 1915 George V sixpence and a modern 50 pence. 

This was our last outing for 2021, our next dig is the Annual Beach Hunt at Barry Island on Jan 2nd. Season's Greetings to everyone and we'll see you in 2022!! 

Byron Matthews. vice-chair. 

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Cross Ash
​28th November 2021
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 Sixteen members turned up for our last Club Dig of this year at Cross Ash farm on a cold November morning. After a quick briefing we were off onto the five fields available to us, one was stubble, another a part harvested Beet field and three pasture fields.  

The first silver coin was unearthed by Gary Osgar, a worn Victorian sixpence then a hammered Elizabeth, the first two pence was found by Buffer in the first field. Lots of copper coins came up along with the usual bits of lead and shotties etc. Colin Davies had a good day finding a very nice Boy Scout/Wolf Cub badge, he also had a Jaws Harp and a Barrel key and Alan Bufton found a large St. Christopher. Our land finder Granville was lucky enough to find a thimble, a buckle and an Eddy penny. David Paskin unearthed a Bull Head shilling of George III in very good condition.  ​

The weather held until the afternoon then the rain started, by which time people were leaving and the sky getting darker. It was a very enjoyable dig with most of us finding something of interest during the day.  ​

Thanks must go to our land finder Granville for doing a grand job finding us these places to detect. The next club outing is a bus trip to Stanford Bridge in Worcestershire on Dec 5th. Let’s hope it's a good day for everyone.
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Byron Matthews - vice-chair.


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Skenfrith 
24th October 2021

Another great turnout of 44 members supporting our club dig at Skenfrith. There were some early arrivals at the postcode, before the signs were put out which took them to Skenfrith Castle itself.  
As there was no phone signal, we were unable to contact anyone so after some of us had a wander over to the castle someone decided to try the "What 3 Words" we were given and lo and behold.... found the farm.  
There was plenty of room for parking on hard standings in the farmyard. At 10 o'clock we were off on the five fields made available to us. Most headed to the stubble field while some headed up into the ancient woods above the farm and others on to the pasture fields. 

Plenty of digging was going on and some nice finds came up. Most people found copper coins of various denominations and monarchs, shotgun ends galore! and buttons etc. David Paskin had a great day finding the only hammered coin of the day, a Charles I penny dated 1631, a George V sixpence, a Spidle Whorl and a couple of lead pistol balls. Liz McGlasson found a Victoria three pence and a gilded brooch. Alan Bufton unearthed a George V sixpence. Byron Matthews also got a George V sixpence dated 1921. Paul Williams found some copper coins of George II and George III. George Jenkins made the most bizarre find of the day, after finding a signal and turning over the clod... there was a dead rat!! maybe it had an earring!  (Wish I had a picture of it).

The weather was ok to start with but around 11 o'clock the rain started, at first it was ok but around 12.30 it began tipping down, nevertheless our hardy members stuck to their guns and continued detecting. Although we must mention the sad demise of Richard Szigetvari's showel which snapped in half, ah well.... still another successful outing for the club and thanks to our land finder Granville.

We look forward to the next one.
 
Byron Matthews vice- chair.



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Llanbedr, CrickHowell
10th October 2021
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We arrived at Llanbedr near Crickhowell for a club dig on land which was loaned to us by our member Michael Francis. We had a fantastic turn out 47 members! nice to see so many members supporting the event.

The weather was very kind to us giving us sun for most of the day and the views were tremendous. We also had some guests with us, potential members in the making.  Trying their hand at detecting for the first time were a grand daughter of David Paskin and her boyfriend, Rachel Williams and Mike Reddy along with Rachel's daughter Ceinwen, home on a short holiday from Brighton. We hope they enjoyed themselves and caught the bug! 

There were five fields to wander over and as usual some people were luckier than others, although everyone found lots of coins, buttons and bits of lead etc. two members were very lucky, both finding two hammered coins each. Lewis Eden had two Lizzies and a few copper coins. Scott Chubb was another very lucky finder, he also had two hammered coins, a silver sixpence and a very nice patterned spindle whorl. Well done both. Ken Evans found some copper coins and a heart shaped harness decoration. 

Ronnie Davies unearthed a lovely Victoria sixpence, Martin Mahoney found a cracking Charles II sixpence dated 1671. Emlyn Phillips nice day finding a Jaws Harp, a silver coin and the usual coppers. Brian Mitchell found a nice Policeman's whistle and Richard Williams found a nice cap badge, lead stylus and a few other pieces. Some very nice buckles and buttons were found by many of us.  

Thanks must go the Michael Francis for the loan of his permission ...it was greatly appreciated. 

​We are now looking forward to the next club dig in the near future. 
 Byron Matthews...vice-chair. 



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Cross Ash
26th September 2021

Our first club dig for quite a while started with some of us meeting in the lay-by on the Hereford road by 9am. Some  had already made their own way to the post-code for Cross Ash. 

​On the way to the site we passed Maindiff Court, the place where during World War 2 "Rudolf Hess" Hitler's deputy was held after he made an unsuccessful attempt at a peace mission by flying to Britain in a Messerspit aeroplane. He was held there but allowed to go into Abergavenny at will.

​On arrival we parked in the car-park of the village hall which had plenty of room for all our cars. In all 32 members turned up so it was very well supported. Lots of copper coins were coming up and quite a lot of modern coins near the gate. It was quite flat along the hedge either side of the gate so maybe there had been camping going on there as three toy cars were found too. Two of our members found hammered coins. Vince Rees had an Elizabeth I and Paul Williams found a very clipped Lizzy too, it had been clipped so much it was almost square. Lewis Eden also had a silver coin a William III milled coin. Martin Mahoney found a Crotal bell...his first,  and Colin Davies unearthed a large decorated buckle.  

​As we were making our way back to the cars around 4 o'clock Gareth Rees had some luck by finding two rings, one silver and the other gold  well done Gareth. The scenery was fantastic, great views in every direction . A huge thanks must go to our new Land Finder Granville for finding this site, we hope for more of the same in the future. 

​A very enjoyable day and we were lucky the rain held off until we were on our way home.
 
Byron Matthews vice-chair


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K.C.RALLY LUDLOW
12th September 2021
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​We assembled at Nantgarw for a 6.30am departure without a coach in sight...it eventually arrived with minutes to spare, The usual collection of rally fees then the raffle took place and was done before we stopped at the services near Raglan. After a short stop we continued our way up to Ludlow. At a roundabout  on the A49 near Ludlow there was a sign for the rally and within a short distance we turned into the site. 
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​There was a huge field of Barley stubble and another available on a hill some distance away. Plenty of signals were happening but not many finds of significance were coming up. One lucky person found a gold quarter noble hammered coin, although it was bent it was a lovely find. Around mid-day the organiser decided, as not much was being found to open up another field, he said it was a mile away but it was more like three miles! Some of our members decided to go and try it out and managed to get lifts there and back.

The usual bits and pieces were coming up Lead, Copper coins, shotties etc. but some members did find something nice. Greg Powell found a bird-shaped brooch, Gareth Rees had a copper coin probably William. Kenneth Evans dug a Barrel Tap, a Loom weight and a button with a flower pattern on it. George Jenkins found a Lead Token and a pre-decimal penny. Alan Jones unearthed a 3 leafed clover badge, a brooch and a penny. Robert Jones got a Georgian Penny, Carl Jones found a hammered coin of unknown pedigree and part of a small spoon probably a Mustard spoon. Huw Jones found a William 3rd Penny and two copper coins. Lee Picton got a half of a silver cuff-link, Steve Picton found a Silver Sixpence dated 1881 and some copper coins. Mark Street unearthed two musket balls, a blank coin, a few pieces of lead and some buttons. Byron Matthews found a lead Pipe Tamper with a bird decoration on it and a wide copper/alloy ring, along with the usual lead etc. Lee Calli had a coin denomination unknown. 

Jeff Williams unearthed a Georgian Halfpenny and a Pigeon ring. Richard Szigetvari found a Silver Thimble, a Georgian Halfpenny and a Musket Ball. Emlyn Phillips found  a 1951 Sixpence and some buttons. Vince Rees unearthed a very nice Celtic Potin, a modern sixpence  and some Musket balls. Martin Mahoney found a Viccy Penny and some buttons. Alan Davies had some buttons and fragments of some Buckles. Kevin Fox found some Pistol balls, a Pound coin and some buttons. Nigel Williams had two lead Tokens, a tiny buckle and the usual buttons. Phil Tucker unearthed an Edward Hammered coin, a bar off an Albert chain possibly silver,  a thimble, a penny dated 1959 along with 2 musket balls and four buttons. Steve Tucker  found a Silver Token, a commemorative Token of the 1800s, a penny and musket balls. Ronnie Davies unearthed a Silver Bullhead Sixpence, Jeff Radcliffe found a Silver Thimble, a Copper Thimble and four Lead Tokens. Neil Hughes was another who dug an Celtic Potin, a Bronze Bead and some copper coins. Michael Francis found some Musket balls and buttons. 

Celtic Potin

Celtic Potin

We had some new members on their first outing with the club and hopefully they enjoyed the experience. The rally finished at 4pm so we left soon afterwards to get back to Nantgarw at a reasonable hour.
 
Byron Matthews vice-chair.




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RODNEY COOK RALLY
 Nr. Marlborough
Sept 4th 2021
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​The bus left Nantgarw at 6am prompt with 36 keen detectorists on board bound for England to attend the really BIG rally being held near Marlborough.
After collecting the outstanding rally fees we got on with the usual raffle, there were many useful prizes available and some liquid prizes too.
After a pit-stop at Lee Delamere services, we continued on our way to the rally site. Along the route we had to climb a very steep hill aptly called White Horse hill as it had a chalk horse engraved into it. 

On arrival we were greeted at the gate by a marshal with a plastic bag with all our bracelets for the day and our registration numbers in it, so that saved us having to register individually at the large marquee. After the briefing we made our way onto the various fields, 26 in all each heading for one that took our fancy.
Lots of finds were coming up from Saxon, Roman, Medieval and more modern. There were many trade stands around outside and inside the large marquee selling everything you could need for the hobby along with catering wagons to feed the hungry! As usual our members had varying degrees of luck, some more than others.

James Chainey found a thimble, Anthony Llewellyn unearthed a military button dated 1910. Peter Lang also had a military button with a Phoenix displayed on it, George Jenkins had a very nice Silver Saxon strap-end with a zoomorphic emblem at the tip. Byron Matthews had a very lucky day firstly digging a hammered Henry V Groat, (1413-22), then he found a Roman disc brooch and a roman bronze in very nice condition. Charlotte Dando found her very first hammered coin, a Farthing! well done Charlotte .Mal Jones also found a hammered coin of unknown pedigree, Martin Fox dug a small bronze decoration and some buttons. Howard Vaughan went onto the Token field and found six tokens, which gave him six free entries into the raffle, he also found some Roman nails. 

Byron Matthews

George Jenkins

Karl Francis had Florin dated 1920 and a thimble, Dai Griffiths found a musket ball and Phil Tucker found a very nice hammered coin which he later identified as a William the Lion (1165-1214) along with a George VI penny dated 1937. Alun Davies had a very small axe-head shaped item which could be off a brooch. Steve Tucker dug a mechanism that looks like a Flintlock trigger part, Robert Jenkins found a spectacle buckle and a farthing. Phil Tucker found a lovely scottish coin of William the Lion, Ronnie Davies found a very nice Roman brooch in the shape of a fly, he also had a hammered coin, an Edward along with an Austrian Schilling. Colin Davies had three Roman bronzes and Jeff Radcliffe found a small ring, a loom weight and a button.

Phil Tucker

Ronnie Davies

A few of our other members decided to make a weekend of it and made their own way, these are a few of their finds.

We left the site at 5pm and returned to Nantgarw before 7pm, tired but happy.
Byron Matthews vice-chair.





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​

KC Rally
Droitwich
20th June 2021

​This was our first bus-trip for a year and a half, the last was December 2019 to Cheddar!
 
So with 34 on board we left Nantgarw at 6am for the KC Rallys dig near Droitwich. There were some new faces on board for their trip with us to foreign fields. After collecting the rally money the usual raffle took place with the usual top class prizes for the lucky winners !!  We stopped at the Strensham services for a short break of 20 mins where one of our members gave crumbs to a cheeky sparrow who took the food from his hand! 

​We arrived at the rally site in plenty of time for the start. The fields were massive, approximately 50 acres of newly ploughed and flattened ground for the first and about 60 acres of previously detected land in the same condition as the next field. Although it had been raining most of the way up we were lucky as it stayed dry for the rest of the day. 

​The organisers had a raffle around midday so some of us made our way back to the bus for food and the raffle. A couple of our members won some of the prizes so well done to them. The ground was easy to dig and signals were coming up frequently, all the usual stuff was coming up, grotty copper coins, shotties etc but some very nice finds too. Lots of musket balls were found by many of us. I think the find of the day on the coach was by Robert Jenkins in the form of a hammered coin of Edward the Confessor (1042-1066) in fantastic condition, well done Rob! he also found a part Roman brooch and a bag seal. The other find of the day belonged to Granville Thomas who made his own way up by car, he was lucky to unearth a Saxon sceat, again in great condition. 

More finds on the coach included a small fibula found by Paul Minton, Mark Street had a silver brooch along with a musket ball and a couple of copper coins, Lee Picton also had some silver in the shape of a small decorated bar which could have held a medal, a part fibula, a bun head halfpenny and a lead bag seal. Ken Evans also had a small fibula, Lee Calli found 2 x George II farthings, a thimble and a musket ball. Jeff Radcliffe unearthed  an intaglio of a seal, a very nice star shaped brooch along with a Bullhead sixpence and a copper farthing. Darren Wheeler had a Victorian halfpenny and a musket ball. David Griffiths found a token a musket ball , a spindle whorl and two bronze artefacts, Huw Jones had a bronze token, Gareth Rees found a Georgian halfpenny and a musket ball. Steve Tucker had quite a haul with an Elizabeth I halfpenny, a Victorian threepence dated 1883, a Georgian farthing, five musket balls, a thimble and a farm token. Shareena Tucker found a musket ball. Byron Matthews had a child's silver ring with the name Sheila engraved on it, a George V penny dated 1928, a musket ball and a lead weight in the shape of a ball with a hole through it, possibly a poachers net weight and some buttons. Phil Tucker had a bronze barrel tap and a bag seal. Colin Davies had a nice  silver florin of George V and a bag seal. Kevin Fox also had a George V coin, his being a halfpenny, Martin Mahoney found a pimple button and a bag seal, Alun Davies also had a bag seal, Jason Annereau unearthed a crotal bell, and a very nice BSA badge, a musket ball and some Roman pieces in the shape of a fibula artefact and a Roman coin/token also a lead ball with a hole through it, another poachers  weight maybe. 

Most of our members, old and new found something to take home as a reminder of a great day out on a very well organised rally.
 
 We arrived back at Nantgarw happy and tired but look forward to the next outing.
 
Byron Matthews. vice-chairman




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​

Brecon Rally
​30th August 2020

We met in the car park of Morrison's in Brecon for our first club dig after the lockdown, it was good to see faces old and new and spirits were high in anticipation of a day out at last.
 
The money was collected and we were ready to leave at 9 o'clock prompt. The convoy set out on the 8 miles to Bronllys, with only a couple taking a wrong turn and joining back up on to the tail end, of what was a trouble free trip. We parked up on the same field as our previous time at this farm.
 
The radio mast was still there causing interference! We were told there was a ploughed field so most of us made our way there, it turned out to be very roughly ploughed and almost impossible to walk on let alone swing the detector at the same time. We carried on regardless but the field wasn't very fruitful, buttons, shotties, some copper coins and the usual bits came up. As it was heavy going on that field we moved into some of the other fields available to us. 
​

​The first find of note fell to Byron Matthews who unearthed a small Roman Fibula brooch, he also had a couple of grotty copper coins and buttons, Granville Thomas thought he had found gold but it turned out to be a French pre-decimal coin, a gold coloured 5 centimes coin dated 1984, unusual as decimal coinage was already in use in the 1970's, he also found a nice trade weight

​Mark Watson had a gilded heart shaped locket. Lizzie McGlasson dug an Irish penny of George IV dated 1822 in good condition along with a buckle and some buttons. Matthew Stoneman found a very nice small buckle with what looked like a lions face on it. 

Although not too much came up at least it was a very enjoyable day and the weather was fine. We had some new members with us on their very first dig and we hope they enjoyed the experience.
 
The farmer had buried a token in one of the fields before we arrived, the lucky finder would win a bottle of whisky That turned out to be our Chairman Paul Minton, jammy or what! Hopefully we will have another dig in the near future as our land finder Tony Winter is working behind the scenes getting more land lined up for us, keep up the good work Tony and THANK YOU.
 
Byron Matthews vice-chair. 



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Annual Beach Hunt
Sunday 12th January 2020
Barry Beach

​

​A brisk morning at Barry Island saw 22 members gathered near Marco's cafe ready for our Annual Beach Hunt. Our chairman had been down in the early hours to put twenty tokens in the sand. As the tide was high up the beach at the time he had thrown most into the sea within 30 metres of the wall. 

​At the stroke of 10 o'clock we started our search and painted tokens were being found quite quickly along with some modern coins and many bottle tops etc. Vince Rees was very lucky finding five tokens and some decimal coins, Huw found two tokens as did Michael Chandler, Granville Thomas uncovered three tokens, adding to the total. The last I heard was nineteen of the twenty tokens had been found, so a good days hunting.

Along with us detectorists the beach was covered in people having a fun time with families and a myriad of dogs of all description running around having a great time.
 
So the New Years cobwebs were blown away by the breeze.
 
Byron Matthews .vice-chair.








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Nyland, Cheddar rally
Sunday 22nd December 2019
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​When we set off from Nantgarw at 7am, little did we know what lay ahead for the 26 travellers on board the coach. The monies were collected and the raffle done in plenty of time to report in for the start at 9 o'clock.
We came off the M5 at the correct junction but by following his sat-nav the driver took off onto a very narrow country road for a precarious five miles or so. Then we got onto an "A" road for quite some distance before turning off onto what can only be described as a "dirt track". It was just wide enough for the coach and was pitted with huge water filled pot-holes. There were headlights of three cars facing us about half a mile down the track and a VW Beetle marooned at an angle almost blocking the track. It turned out that the Beetles engine sump had been damaged and couldn't be moved. The waiting drivers informed our driver that this was a dead-end!
Because it was so narrow there was no turning place and reversing back up the track for half a mile seemed daunting. Alongside this track was a Military ammunition dump with double gates, unfortunately these were locked but there was plenty of room to turn the coach around in there. So a couple of burly men lifted the one gate off its hinges but couldn't get the other to move. The driver tried to drive in but there wasn't enough room for him to swing in as another post was in the way, with some more brute force the offending post was lifted out of the ground enabling the coach access to turn around. After the gates and posts were replaced you couldn't tell anyone had been there, so we made our way back along the switchback of the track to the main road.
In the meantime we had been able to contact the organiser for directions, it turned out the post-code was correct but as is the case in the countryside it covered a large area and we were close to the rally site, but on the wrong side of the big hill around which we eventually detected. 

As we reached the site the coach still had a slight brush with a narrow bridge on a bend! All this excitement and we hadn't got there yet!!
We had to park the bus further up the road and walk back to the reporting marquee as there was no room with cars parked everywhere. We paid the organisers, gave them a list of all our attendees and then at last got onto the fields. In all there were eleven fields available, so plenty of choice. The ground was very wet but digging was easy. 

​After about half an hour there was some frantic activity on field 9. It turned out that a hoard of Roman coins had been found, they cordoned the area off and sent for a FLO. But the rest of the huge field was still available to the rest of us. Plenty of Roman coins were being found and Roman brooches in varying condition. 

At lunchtime the raffle was held, we had been entered in to the free raffle for a Hamper and one of our own members "Mark Street"  was the lucky winner. In the main raffle Byron Matthews won a book identifying Roman coins, very apt for the site and a pair of gloves. The finds our members found were prolific to say the least, in all 66 Roman coins were found and 9 Roman brooches in various condition. Ronnie Davies had ten Roman coins and a part Roman brooch, Mikey Davies had a Roman brooch and two Roman coins, Michael Francis found five Roman coins, a Roman ring and three Roman brooches. Jason Annereau found silver in the shape of a sixpence of Edward VII dated 1906. Robert Jenkins unearthed two Roman coins, Colin Davies found a silver thimble and Jeanna Davies had a buckle and a pistol ball. Alan Jones found two Roman coins and a partefact, George Jenkins found five Roman coins, a George V penny and a Georgian Halfpenny. Ken Evans had two Roman coins and a harness buckle, Gary Osgar unearthed four Roman coins and Alan Bufton discovered three Edward pennies in the same hole! 

Mark Street found twelve Roman coins and two part Roman brooches, a Edward VII Halfpenny, along with the hamper of course! Byron Matthews had a part Roman brooch, a horn protector, a horse brass, a Georgian coin and two modern coins. Mark Watson found two Roman coins, a Roman brooch and a City of Bristol Farthing token dated 1652, Paul Minton had a Roman brooch a William III sixpence , a horn protector and a pot mend. Steve Tucker found a part Roman brooch and ring, a hammered coin of Mary, a Florin dated 1951 and a military button. Huw Jones had three Roman coins and buttons. 

Philip Tucker found three Roman coins, a trade weight with 13.6d on it, a Roman clothes hook (which later was identified as a Roman weighing scales) and a Roman spur. Vince Rees had three Roman coins. Martin Mahoney found two Roman coins, Kevin Fox had a Roman disc brooch, a silver sixpence of Edward VII dated 1906 and a Roman coin. So what an eventful day!! most of us found something nice and are looking forward to the return trip to this site which is planned for January.
 
Best Wishes for 2020 to all RARE members and families.
 
Byron Matthews vice-chair..

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Goytre Return Rally
​Sunday 10th November 2019

We met at McDonalds Pontypool at the designated time and after all monies were collected we made our way to Goytre.
The first site we visited was a different place to the last dig held in that area but was owned by the same person. There were plenty of fields but finds were a bit on the sparse side, although Tony Winter did find a Lizzie hammered dated 1595. Some pre-decimal coins were found along with the usual bits of lead, shotties etc.
At around mid-day most of us made our way to the original site in hope of finding more gold!! Alas it wasn't to be.
Byron found a horse harness decoration and a pigeon ring, which he later looked up and contacted the owner who was grateful for the sad news. This time Liz didn't find gold but did unearth silver in the shape of a William III, dated 1696. Martin Mahoney found a Vicky sixpence and a bag seal. Again the usual pre-decimals, lead, buckles etc came up.
It was an interesting day being able to detect at two sites on the same day and we look forward to the next Club Dig.
 
Byron Matthews vice-chair.

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Royal Wootton Bassett 23rd Charity Rally
Swindon
Saturday 19th October 2019

We arrived at Nantgarw to find our coach already there waiting for us! We set off on time with 32 eager people on board enroute to Royal Wooton Bassett for the 23rd metal detecting rally held by the Rotary Club. After a brief stop at the services, where there were six coaches parked up with Brexit Remainers from Devon and Cornwall who were off to Westminster to join the demonstration outside of parliament with their banners and flags.

​We arrived on site in plenty of time for the 10 o'clock start and were booked in and paid up en bloc. We were given a numbered ticket for the free raffle, which was drawn at lunchtime. After a briefing we spread out on the 13 fields available some which were stubble and pasture on the others. Underfoot the mud was heavy going, caking our wellies and spades, even the sloping pasture field was claggy!
 
Our members had varying degrees of luck, the luckiest was Mikey Davies who unearthed four hammered coins! a Lizzie dated 1574, a James I dated 1603 and two Charles I one being a shilling and the other a crown, he also found another silver in the shape of a George V sixpence dated 1920. Well done Mikey. 

​Another hammered finder was Buffer with an Edward dated 1308. Emlyn Phillips found a crotal bell, two Roman coins, a George II penny and two George V coppers. Mark Street had a 1936 penny of George V, a Wren farthing, a halfpenny of unknown pedigree and a Pratts brass cap off a petrol can.
 
Byron Matthews found a Medieval buckle, three bag seals, a lead weight off a poachers net, a rifle pull-through and a pigeons ring. Alan Jones had a large ball which could well be a cannon ball. Carl Jones found half a crotal bell. Ronnie Davies found a buckle, Rob Pole unearthed a marker off a measuring chain and a 1947 George VI sixpence.
 
Lesley Foxwell found a large key of the 17th century. Granville Thomas had an enamel badge and a musket ball. Mark Watson found two Roman coins. George Jenkins had a spindle whorl and some buttons. Martin Mahoney found a token, a thimble, half a Roman brooch and some bag seals. Steve Picton uncovered half of a woard grinder, a weight off a poachers net, a bag seal and some buttons. Paul Williams had part of a silver military badge and a  marble made of coloured stone. Liz McGlasson found two Nuremberg Jettons, two Roman coins, a Tudor Pimple button and a flattened lead ring. Ken Evans using his Simplex detector for the first time on a rally found a large horse shoe and a brass Terret ring. Keith Browning found a damaged finger ring and some copper coins of undeterminable age. 

All in all some nice finds and a nice day out for the Club. The rally finished at 4 o'clock so we were on our way home at 4.30 and arrived back at Nantgarw at around quarter to six. So we look forward to the next bus trip and the Xmas trip to a rally near Cheddar.
 
 Byron Matthews vice-chair.

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Rodney Cooke Charity Rally
​Bath
7th September 2019

We waited in hope that the bus would turn up for us this time....and it did! a 49 seater with plenty of room for the 31 members and one non-detectorist to spread out in comfort. 
We left Nantgarw at 7am, leaving us plenty of time to arrive for the 8 o'clock gate opening. We were booked in enbloc and set up our equipment ready for the briefing at 9am and the rally start at 9.30.
We were told at the briefing NOT to climb over any of the dry stone walls as the farmer had spent  thousands  getting them re-built, and they did look magnificent .There were in excess of 700 people attending the first day and they spread out in all directions at the start, lots of them heading for the field which had the Tokens in. 

There were 15 fields available in all and they looked fantastic, unfortunately they didn't yield many finds for us. The conditions were very hard going as the ground was rock hard and covered in "Green Waste ". Many finds were displayed in the cabinets in the marquee, whatever  fields they came out of we'll never know. The large marquee held tables and chairs to eat and drink at, trade stalls and food etc, whilst  outside there were more trade stalls, LP Promotions and Regtons as well as more food wagons and a beer bar.
 
It was very well organised with Marshals in every field. They raised £35,000 at the end of the two days which is going entirely between three worthy charities, the Royal United Hospital Bath for the Cancer unit, CLIC Sargent  which is for "cancer and  leukaemia in children" and Starlight, a charity providing days out for sick children and their families. We should feel happy that we have helped these charities

Although our finds were few and far between we did find some things, the best two finds were a Silver Vicki sixpence dated 1896 found by Steven King and a Beehive thimble which fell to Lee Calli, well done to both. Other finds were two Georgian Halfpennies by Carl Jones, Alan Jones found a buckle, a Jaws harp and a small coin. Robert Jones uncovered  two copper coins and a 10 cent Euro coin, Emlyn Phillips had two musket balls and some copper coins and part of a lead soldier. Mark Watson found two Roman grots, Vince Rees unearthed a 1913 medallion, two copper coins and some buttons, Tina Pople also had a Roman grot and two copper coins. Byron Matthews managed a small buckle and a pigeon ring, Simon Davies found a Decimal one pence, George Jenkins had what could be a Jetton bent like Love Token, an Edward VII penny and a lead mount. Mike Duffy found a  Decimal two pence. Ken Evans was another finder of  a Euro 10 cent coin and one of the buried Tokens. Tony Winter had a copper coin and some buttons. Michael Chandler  found a Victorian Penny  date unknown, Brian Mitchell uncovered a child's small ring possibly made of copper. Greg Powell had another Victorian penny dated 1897, a pound coin and a bunch of keys on a fairy keyring and finally Gareth Rees found a Halfpenny.

Before we left the organisers left a box of red Minelab goodie bags with various items in them, hats, tee shirts, gloves, pens and key rings for every participant.  A very nice gesture.
 
 
We can only look forward to our next bus trip and hope the land will be kinder to us.
 
Byron Matthews  (vice-chair)


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Newbridge rally
​26th May 2019

​We all met at McDonalds Newbridge at 9am and left at the planned departure time of 9.15, most of the 26 attendees were in the convoy but some had made their own way to the farm.
 
We parked in the yard and some in the "Camping field ". After being told which fields were available we set off full of hope for a good days detecting . Although there were many fields that looked full of promise, there were plenty of signals but finds were very hard to come by. Mark Street found the first, a 1862 Vicki halfpenny and Alan Picton found a George V farthing. Some grotty copper coins turned up along with the usual everyday finds we get on hill farms. 

Later on around 12.30 we were informed that the Tokens were buried in the Camping field so many made their way there looking for the six Tokens unfortunately only one was found by Pete Anning, Well done Pete!. Byron Matthews found a 50 pence whilst trying to get a token.
 
It was an enjoyable day and we were very lucky with the weather as we only had the odd light shower throughout the whole day. The views were amazing with Blackwood and Pontllanfraith to the West and the Ebbw Valley covered in forestry to the East. We were accompanied all day with the sound of gunfire, non-stop....... the Nelson rifle club were on the firing range behind a line of trees at the top of the furthest field.
 

Thanks must go to our Land Finder Tony Winter, keep up the good work Tony. We look forward to the next club dig in the Whitchurch area on July 7th.
 
 
Byron Matthews - vice-chair.




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Pencoed Rally
Sunday 24th March 2019

We met at Mcdonalds  and made our way in convoy to the farm, unfortunately the convoy split at a roundabout and over half made off to the wrong end of Pencoed. Eventually everyone arrived safely at the site and after a short briefing we were off onto the many fields available to us.
 
The weather was very spring-like and soon we were taking off  layers of clothes to keep cool!
 
The usual bits and pieces of buttons, lead, shotties etc were coming up but good finds were eluding us. The first decent find was a Roman sestertious dug by Byron Matthews (below left) along with a small brooch in the shape of a Maltese cross, a musket ball and the usual buttons etc. and later the only hammered discovered was by Matthew Stoneman, a James half groat along with a spindlewhorl (below right). 

​Lewis Eden had a very good day finding lots including a very ornate brooch, two silver threepences, a Victoria dated 1874 and a George V dated 1918. (the end of the great war), along with some buckles and copper coins. 

Tony Winter found a small padlock from a bracelet, a bun head Vicky halfpenny and a drawer handle. Vince Rees unearthed a pretty ring (below) adorned with two entwined hearts, some coppers and part of a lock escutcheon (right). Steve Picton found a coin which at first looked Roman because of the raised head but had what seemed to be a milled edge on it? 

Mark Street found a  halfpenny dated 1933, a very sought after date if it was a PENNY! hard luck Mark, he also had a .22 shell and some buttons. Alan Picton found quite a lot too including a complete large working horse bit (left), three coins, two buckles and buttons. Ian John uncovered a very nice ornate Medieval buckle (below) and a Canadian Nova Scotia coin. 

​It was great to be out digging with our members and we look forward to the next club dig.
 
Byron Matthews. vice-chair.








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Brecon Rally 
Sunday 17th February 2019

 It was a little chilly when 33 members and guests met at Brecon Morrison's car park ready for the club dig. We left on time at 9.30 and headed in convoy to Bronllys and turned up the mountain to the farm. The views were amazing with the river Wye to the east and a hill called " Lord Hereford's Knob " to the west, and the Brecon Beacons surrounding the area. 

There were five fields available, one being  ploughed. At the top of one field was a Mobile Phone tower, which interfered with some detectors, a wind generator in another field which created "noise" too.
 
It was tough going on the finds front with not much of interest coming up. The usual shotties, coppers, buckles and lead etc was found by most but only one hammered was found. Guest Michael Chandler was the lucky person to uncover an Edward Longcross Penny, Steve Picton found half of a silver cufflink.

​Vince Rees had a silver thimble, Lee Lacey discovered a very nice pipe tool, which comprised of a blade, a scraper and a tamper. Buffer found two forged Bullhead shillings.

We were lucky with the weather as only a couple of very light showers appeared early on but a sharp chilly wind persisted nearly all day. Everyone seemed to have enjoyed the day and we look forward to the next dig in March.
 
Many thanks to our land finder Tony Winter for his hard work in finding these sites for us.
Byron Matthews.



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​Annual Beach Hunt 
Barry Island 
Sunday 6th January 2019

Whitmore Beach was the venue for RARE's first event of 2019. About 20 members gathered at 10am to search for the £5 tokens Chairman Paul Minton had buried in the dry sand, earlier that morning.  

Unusually for Barry beach, there was no wind or rain, so plenty of dog walkers also shared the sand with us. The amount of different breeds could only have been equalled at Crufts! 

​

​During the hunt, an administrator for Barry Island Life approached us to find out what we were doing and take photographs to put on his Facebook page

An hour later, almost everyone had found one token each, although Byron had two and Vince three - well done lads!  A lot of modern coins were also found, along with Byron's George VI shilling and two beautiful silver rings for lucky Kevin Davies.  

Happy New Year to all RARE members and best wishes for fabulous finds throughout 2019! 


Liz McGlasson

Vice-Chairwoman. 
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Chepstow Rally
Sunday 25th November 2018
​

​34 members met on the Layby of the A466 (coping well with their McDonalds withdrawal) to travel in convoy to the farm in Chepstow.  The rally started at 10am, after Tony had given a quick briefing of the 170 acres of pasture available to us

​4 hammered silver coins were winkled out by Pete, Val, Keith and Buffer.  Keith also unearthed a Roman Fibula and a silver button, so had a very good day.  Emlyn was the lucky finder of another fibula, although unfortunately, it was not complete.  Some super silver milled coins came up:  Pete's 1816 Bullhead, Sharon's 1921 Florin, Vince's Edwardian shilling and Val's George VI shilling.
​

The farm had obviously been used for pheasant shooting so quite a lot of 'shotties' were coming up, but I don't think anyone had expected the 20mm Spitfire shells found on one of the top fields - Mark Street's when later cleaned up was dated to 1943.  
​

​It was lovely to catch up with Jeff Radcliffe, who made a surprise appearance whilst visiting his homeland.  Sadly he didn't find anything exciting to take back to New Zealand and he must have felt the biting wind more keenly than the rest of us, although it did stay dry thankfully.

Liz McGlasson
Vice-Chairwoman

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Mathern Rally
Sunday 4th November 2018

26 RARE members met at McDonalds in Newport, to travel in convoy to the rally being held in Mathern.  This was where the first mistake was made, as the Coldra Interchange has at least 4 sets of traffic lights which decided to turn red after the lead cars had sped off into the distance!  The rest of the cars/vans who weren't sure where they were going, subsequently took a wrong turn down a narrow country lane and had to reverse in convoy when they couldn't turn around.    
When all had eventually arrived at the farm, we were let loose to roam the 5 large fields available to us (only one out of bounds due to cattle grazing) 4 of which were ploughed and rolled, the other stubble.
It was easy digging but unfortunately the majority of the land had been contaminated with green waste.  Despite this, with perseverance, some fab finds came up.  Brian Oliver found a 1929 silver half crown, Pete Anning unearthed a silver love token and 1936 sixpence and I found a silver heart pendant.  Artefacts uncovered included, Paul Minton's ink well, Emlyn's 1600's shoe buckle and lovely little dice, Sharon's 17th century CB farthing token, and my Georgian trade weight.  Mark Street found a nice penknife for the modern tray. 

Saving the best until last......the star of the show was most definitely Keith Browning and his gold medieval ring!  What a way to pop your gold cherry!! I wasn't in the field when he found it, so sadly can't report on the quality of his gold dance!   

By 1.30pm the rain and green waste had caused most to call it a day.  Cheers Tony for finding the farm and organising the rally.
 
Liz McGlasson
Vice-Chairwoman
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South West M.D.C. Annual Rally   
Sunday 30th September 2018
or button rally as it has affectionately (?!) become known.

The coach that picked up 31 members of RARE at Nantgarw was smaller than usual but paid for by club funds, so we didn't mind cwtching up and having no toilet on board!  A raffle with varying array of prizes from Alcohol to the dubious nasal/ear hair trimmer that I won (thanks for that lads!) took place on the coach before the usual Service Station stop.  

We arrived in Allowenshay, Somerset an hour before the rally was due to start, so we leisurely booted up and were able to  purchase and consume the hot food & drink on offer.  During this time wrist bands and maps were also given out showing the 44 fields available to us - 23 of which had been detected the previous day, due to this rally being a 'weekender'.  A marshal lead most of us through the very pretty village of Allowenshay, with it's thatched roofed cottages, to a narrow lane which connected to the first undetected field. Unfortunately this field was rather overgrown, but with 300 acres of worked land and pasture on offer we seemed spoilt for choice.  In reality, the only 3 hammereds of the day were all found in one field and at home time many felt a little disappointed.

 Every member on the homeward journey had a pocket full of buttons (some of which were outstanding and are therefore mentioned below) but here are some of the other finds worth mentioning:
 
Ken - Silver diamond shaped button or could be cuff-link (shown in photograph)
Mark Street - Musket ball
Sharon - Watch winder, George II penny and musket ball
Phillip Jones - George II Penny, a farthing and thimble
Des - Buckle and Ship halfpenny
Lee - British coin weight for a Portuguese 1/4 Moidore 6 shillings & 9 pence, buckle and Pot leg
Byron - Shoe buckle and a musket ball
Ceri - Clothes fastener (and was very pleased winning his bottle of wine)
Alan Jones - Hem weight, thimble, musket ball and clothes fastener
Granville - William III half penny and George III Farthing
Nigel - George III half penny, Silver gilded livery button, farthing and thimble
Vince - George VI silver sixpence and a Farthing
Matthew Lacey - Silver William III love token, possible silver Tudor button, Silver gilded belt mount and pretty bronze mount.
Philip Tucker - Ornate silver gilded shoe buckle, William III penny and trigger guard.
Steve Tucker - Lead goat, Thimble, clothes clasp, musket ball and Farthing
Colin - George I farthing and musket ball
Buffer - Cartwheel penny and gold gilded button
Ronnie - Glass fob seal 
Gary Osgar - Cartwheel penny
Steven King - Silver William III love token
Paul Williams - Rose farthing, George III penny and 2 musket balls joined together!
Emlyn - Tudor Shoe buckle, 2 lead bag seals, military badge, horse brass and farthing
Mark Watson - Silver hammered Edward I half penny and Silver hammered Edward I penny.
Liz - Silver hammered Edward II penny, 1830 Guernsey Double, 2 thimbles, cuff-link and musket ball.

The weather stayed fine for us all day and the journey home was swift - although Schumacher was heavy on the brakes! 
 
Liz McGlasson
Vice-Chairwoman



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Abetridwr Rally
Sunday 9th September 2018

Sunday 9th September 2018 saw 32 intrepid Detectorists climb the steep mountain side of an Abertridwr Farm in search of treasure!  The usual meeting up at McDonalds (are they Sponsoring RARE?!) had taken place at 9.15am and the car convoy had gone without a hitch - quite an achievement considering the amount of roundabouts negotiated.

The views across the valley were wonderful and I was busy digging on a pathway when an excited screech from Tina on the other side of the stream caused me stop.  She had found a Lizzie hammered half groat and was beaming from ear to ear!  Signals were plentiful and lots of old copper coins were coming up.  Quite a few of us were lucky enough to find silver, Emlyn, Sharon, Paul Williams and myself had 6 between us in the form of Thrupenny bits and Sixpences.  Several brooches/badges were uncovered, Emlyn's bronze train cap badge, Mathew Lacey's enameled Coronation badge, my 2 Military Badges, Keith Browning had a Victorian Lady's brooch originally gold guilted, but the best brooch had to be Buffer's Silver horse shoe with whip.  Other nice artefacts I got to hear about or see were a nutcracker with pipe tamper, Mark Street's elaborate and unusual buckle, Tina's bronze ring with glass beads and I found a gold guilted watch winder and religious pendant.  

Drizzle had dampened clothing but not spirits occasionally throughout the day, by 4pm however, the rain was coming down properly and it was time to go home.  Thanks go to Tony Winter once again, for finding us all a fab farm to rally on.
 
Liz McGlasson
Vice Chairwoman




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ANTON ROTARY CLUB RALLY
1st September 2018

We set off from Nantgarw spot on the departure time of 6.30am enroute with 27 detectorists, for Hampshire to attend the 10th Anton Rotary Club's detecting rally. This year it was being held on a different farm to the previous events we have been on.
​After a brief stop at the Leigh Delemare services on the M4 we arrived before 9 o'clock, so plenty of time to get ready for the 10 o'clock start. We had a reserved parking spot in the car park of The Weyhill Fair public house and after getting maps and a briefing we were off onto the three fields allocated for the day. The fields were disked and digging was reasonable although the ground was "flinty".
As usual finds were varied, copper grotty coins, shotties etc were gathered by most of us, some good finds did fall to some of our party. Among them Carl Jones found the only hammered coin of the day along with part of a brooch.
Paul Minton found a roman Constantine in fabulous condition and a Cartwheel penny.
Sharon Washington had a very good day finding a Roman arrowhead, two Roman coins, a Pub token and what looks like a metal bottle plug. Alan Jones had a small Roman, six copper pennies and a part brooch. Matthew Stoneman found an ornate Tudor buckle and a Jetton.
Emlyn Phillips uncovered a 1928 florin of George 5th, a William penny and a leather mount .
Paul Williams found a large penny of Victoria dated 1853, a 1622 Charles farthing, along with a 1733 Halfpenny of George II, a Jetton and a Roman grot.
Mark Watson had a Charles II four pence coin dated 1678.
Tony Winter turned up a Vicky shilling, a George VI florin dated 1941, a silver Tudor button and a very nice snake buckle.
Mark Street found three Roman coins, a William and Mary coin, a copper coin and a musket ball. 

​Robert Jones had a William III sixpence of the Bristol mint .
Ronnie Davies found two bronze Roman coins and a Crotal bell.
David Evans had a Victorian star shaped silver brooch.
Mike Duffy found a Victoria penny dated 1891.
Granville Thomas had a William penny, two buckles and a 50 pence piece.
Vince Rees found a military button, a pistol ball and some buttons.
Steve Tucker also had a buckle and some buttons.
Brian Oliver was another finder of a buckle and three copper coins. 

The remainder of us had the usual finds of grotty copper coins, shotties etc, but it was an enjoyable day finished off with a pint or two from the Weyhill Fair Pub whilst waiting for everyone to return to the bus. We now look forward to the next bus trip at the end of this month.
 
Byron Matthews.



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Pencoed Club Dig
1st July 2018

Red Kite watching over us detecting

At 9am on Sunday 1st July 2018, about 30 RARE members met in the McDonalds car park on Junction 35 of the M4 motorway.  After grabbing coffees and McMuffins, our convoy of cars made the short trip to the farm in Pencoed that Tony Winters had secured for the Rally.  We had roughly 30 acres available to us in the form of 11 fields and were greeted by the friendly farmer and his cows (a couple of beautiful Highland cows included) Tina needn't have worried as they were very shy and disappeared into an adjacent field quite quickly.

The weather was perfect for detecting, with the cloud cover keeping the temperature to a comfortable level - quite a relief after the 30+ degrees we've been experiencing lately.  Buffer was the first to find a hammy, an incomplete Lizzie (but a hammy is a hammy!) and Pete Anning found a Victorian Florin in the same field.  Nice Georgian shoe buckles were coming up as well as musket balls and copper coins.  Throughout the day the passing trains would toot a hello, but only if it was the company that Mark, Mike and Tony work for!  Word soon spread that Matthew Stoneman had found a Groat and Byron Matthews had two Lizzie hammys but the Star of the day had to be Colin Roberts who unearthed an extremely rare American 1795 flowing hair half dime.  Only 86000 were minted apparently and are highly sort after by collectors, so it's no wonder Colin looks very chuffed in this photo. 

By 2pm rain stopped play for most, but a few die hards carried on until the bitter end.  The consensus of all, was that it was an enjoyable day and thanks must go to Tony for finding the land and arranging the rally. 

Liz McGlasson
​(Vice Chairwoman)  


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​Hereford SSAFA Charity Rally 
24th March 2018

Snow thwarted RARE's plans to attend Wye Valley Marches charity detecting rally on 18th March.  Thankfully though, just under a week later, we got a second chance.  Spring had sprung, the sun was shining and we were all able to eagerly clamber on board the coach bound for Hereford.  The rally was in aid of SSAFA (the armed forces charity) and held on a farm in the village of Eardisley.
During the coach trip, the usual raffle took place, followed by the handing out of maps showing the 100 acres available to us, in the form of 16 arable and pasture fields.  Getting stuck behind a tank truck, delivering gas to a quaint cottage, in a narrow country lane, meant we arrived with only enough time to each quickly grab our free breakfast roll and hot drink before the start, so some of us missed the announcement about the token hunt in field 3.  
At lunch time, cheese burgers and an assortment of cakes were available and a raffle was drawn.  Here's a list of the treasure that was unearthed and the lucky lads who found it:
 
Paul Minton - 17th Century trade token and Medieval spindle whorl
Mark Street - Watch winder and possible Roman artefact in shape of a snake. 
Byron Matthews - 1875 Silver Victorian Threepence, Cartwheel penny and Thimble
Darren Thomas - George II Coin weight
George Jenkins - Pan Brass weight
Austin Lockett - Gothic Florin and token from hunt
Colin Roberts - Roman bronze coin
Steven King - 1910 Silver Edward VII sixpence and 1922 silver George V shilling
Brian Mitchell - 1307 Silver Edward II hammered coin
Alan Jones - Silver button, thrupenny bit and back of a watch
Keith Browning - Roman bronze coin, silver spoon and Cartwheel penny
Paul Williams - 1572 silver Elizabeth I hammered threepence and lead toy ship
Emlyn Phillips - Horn protector, George III pennies, 3 raffle prizes and a token from hunt
Nigel Williams - Roman brooch, copper thimble and George II coin
Matthew Lacey - Silver Victorian Shilling, Silver Hammered coin (to be identified) and 2 Thimbles
Vince Rees - Roman bronze coin and Georgian coppers
Buffer - Cartwheel penny and Victorian Farthings
Ronnie Davies - Silver Victorian Shilling and a very pretty silver watch winder
 
Some others who weren't lucky on the fields but made up for it at the raffle were:
Mark Watson - full day electric bike hire for 2 (he's willing to swap for bottle of rum or sherry!)
Karl Jones - Pack of 4 lagers
Angus Riddle  - Strong, shiny trowel.
I found a Common Wealth Silver hammered half groat and spookily was stood next to a direct descendant of Oliver Cromwell while waiting for the FLO to record it!  I also found a 1891 Silver Victorian ten cents from Hong Kong.   
 
4pm came around too soon and when all 25 boys were back on board (plus me) we headed for home.  Well, I'm not sure the driver was initially headed in the homeward direction - let's just say he took the scenic route that added another hour onto the journey!!

Liz McGlasson.  Vice-Chairwoman
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Annual Beach Hunt - Barry Beach
Sunday 7th January 2018

16 members braved the cold wind at Barry Island ready for the 10am start. The tide was still coming in so some of the 20 buried tokens were under water for some time.
The beach was very busy with hundreds of people and dogs running around everywhere during the time we were there. As the tide receded the first tokens under the water started to be recovered. The last total I heard before leaving was 18 had been found.
The first club event of 2018 helped blow away any remaining cobwebs from the festive season, so we look forward to the next one.
 
Byron Matthews. vice-chairman.

​Let's Go Digging Xmas Rally
17th December 2017

Leaving Nantgarw at 7am. with 22 detectorists and one non-digger , heading for Hallow near Worcester for the "Let's Go Digging" Xmas rally. It promised to be a good day with a free hog roast along with mince pies, mulled wine, mulled Baileys and tea and coffee to keep us warm.
There were eight huge fields available, mostly ploughed and some pasture. About 160 people attended the event so plenty of room to go wherever we pleased, The usual finds of copper coins, shotties etc were coming up with some of our members being luckier than the others.

Emlyn Phillips had a great day finding a Lizzie hammered dated 1580 along with two silver fourpences of Queen Victoria, both dated 1844. He also unearthed a George IV Farthing from 1825. Another member who had a good day was Ceri Jones, he found a beautiful silver Charles I hammered shilling and a nice spindle whorl along the usual bits and pieces . Darren Thomas was also on form finding two tokens, a love token and two Victoria silvers, a sixpence and a threepence.
 Granville Thomas had a small spectacle buckle, some buttons, a copper coin and a door knob! Carl Jones found two lead tokens. Nigel Williams found a George V silver sixpence dated 1909, a George II Farthing, a musket ball and some coppers. Buffer unearthed a Charles II silver milled coin, a Bread Token marked one shilling and sixpence and some coppers. Byron Matthews had a lead token, a spoon and some buttons. George Jenkins found a decorative piece of a silver brooch and some coppers.
Liz McGlasson also found a piece of silver which looks like it came off a gentleman's cane, she also found a Roman coin, a "His Penny", a harness mount plus some coppers. Vince Rees found a dress weight made of lead and some copper coins. Keith Browning had a buckle and the usual copper coins. 

The event finished at 4 o'clock and it was getting dark quickly as the coach left to travel home around 4.30pm and we arrived back at Nantgarw at around 6.15pm.
Season's greetings were exchanged and the last coach trip for 2017 was over. We can now look forward to 2018 and more coach trips over the border.
 
 ....Happy New Year to all our members ......  Byron Matthews vice-chairman 


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​MULCHELNEY RALLY
    September 30th 2017LY
September 30th 2017

LASER TRAVEL vs RARE BUS LIMBO COMPETITION

We left Nantgarw at the arranged time of 6am with 31 detectorists onboard, we were on our way to south Somerset.
After the usual stop at the motorway services and a diverted route through some very narrow country lanes, we arrived around 08.20am in plenty of time for the 9 o'clock start.
 
Sign on was done en-block and we were given maps and a label to hang on our detectors. The site was huge with eleven fields available in varying states of ploughed, disked or pasture, plenty of choice.
 The weather was undecided for a while, with a couple of short showers at first then it cleared up until late afternoon.
 
The usual copper coins, bits of lead etc came up along with some nice finds for the luckier ones.
Paul Minton found two hammered coins, both Eddies, and a very nice clothes fastener.
Darren Thomas had a good day finding two Roman coins, a coin weight, a 14th century buckle and a token dated 1664.
Phil Holt also had a hammered coin, another eddy, along with two Roman coins and a possible Saxon coin.
Mark Watson unearthed a Jetton and a Roman coin. Lee Calli found a Roman Minim and 1943 threepence.
Byron Matthews had a small buckle, a steelyard weight and some musket balls. Granville Thomas on his first outing with the club unearthed a thimble.
Alan Jones was another finder of a hammered coin, his being a short cross, he also found a steelyard weight.
Jeff Radcliffe found a Rose Farthing in lovely condition, along with a bronze ring and a button with a Tudor rose design, he also found two Roman coins and a harness mount, a very good day!
Liz McGlasson had a clog clasp and a thimble. Michael Francis found a sword chape. Ronnie Davies unearthed a hammered coin and Colin Davies found a dress fastener, a token, a bag-seal, a horn protector and some copper coins.
Carl Waite had a Tudor buckle and a token. Karl Francis found a Roman coin.
 
At around 4 o'clock most of us had made our way back to the coach, luckily, as it was starting to rain. Then the Driver told us the coach would not start as the battery was flat. He said he could not call anyone out so the firm was going to send a mechanic from their Tonypandy base, which would take him at least two hours to arrive. So some of our members pitched in to try and get the coach started. After much difficulty getting at the batteries and with the help of two cars and two sets of jump leads, the engine started. About an hour later we got away from the Rally site, arriving back in Nantgarw at 7.30pm.
 
A big thank you must go to the people who worked really hard to get the coach started...THANK YOU.
 
Hopefully the next trip will be less eventful.......Byron Matthews (vice-chairman) 
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​Anton Rotary Club
Andover 9th March 2017

We set off from Nantgarw with 22 detectorists on board for the rally near Andover. On our way we had a phone call from someone who had missed the departure time by a few minutes. The two unlucky people decided to make their own way there by car.
 
 After the usual short stop at the Membury services we arrived with plenty of time to spare before the rally start. Maps and instructions were handed out before everyone spread out on the five fields that were available.
 
The usual shotties, buttons, bits of lead etc turned up. The fields were covered in flints which covered the first four inches until softer earth appeared to make the digging easier. Some hammered coins and Roman were found along with many copper coins.
 
Paul Minton found a cut quarter, a roman coin, a William III sixpence, a fob seal and a watch winder. Mark Watson had a very nice Henry VII groat. George Jenkins unearthed a cut half hammered which he since discovered to be William the Conqueror, along with a thimble and a musket ball.
Colin Davies had the best day of us all by finding two hammered coins, a Henry and a Venetian Soldino.
 Nigel Williams had a Roman coin and a musket ball.
Matthew found two roman coins and a crotal bell.
Ian John unearthed a George III penny dated Lacey 1879 along with a musket ball.
Darren Thomas had two Roman coins and a couple of buckles.
Byron Matthews found a Victoria shilling dated 1844 and a part crotal bell.
Tony Winter unearthed two crotal bells, a small key and a cufflink.
Brian Mitchell had a George II penny dated 1744 and a Roman grot.
Emlyn Phillips found two Roman coins and a thimble. 

So all in all a pretty good rally for some of our members. This was our second bus trip at short notice but was well supported.
 
 We look forward to our next foray over the border!
 
Byron Matthews vice-chair.

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Wootton Bassett Rotary Club
Rally March 12th 2017

​With thirty one people on board we left Nantgarw on time, after stopping at the Leigh Delamere services we arrived on site with plenty of time to prepare.
 
It was raining so we donned our wet-weather clothing ready for the days detecting.
 
After signing us all in and getting tickets, which had numbers allocated for the free prize draw, and maps, the rally started. According to our maps there were two very large fields to detect on, getting to the fields we had a path between two lakes of slurry, which did smell strongly! The fields were disappointing to say the least, the first was long grass and wet. The next field was split into three sections, the first section was stubble but it was flooded and  like a quagmire, the second was undetectable as it was just "rough ploughed"  it was really difficult to even walk over let alone detect on! the third section was longish grass, so the fields were not much good. Lots of people left demanding their money back, but as we were all spread out we persevered.
 
As usual some of our members were luckier than others, after a count-up on the bus five hammered coins had been found, a Denarius, a large silver spoon and a small Roman brooch. Keith Browning found his very first hammered coin, it was an Elizabeth I sixpence dated 1575, It was in amazing condition and must have been lost very soon after being struck. Byron Matthews unearthed a Venitian Soldino, it was a "Galley Halfpenny ", he also had a bag seal and a heavy lead bullet.
Lee Calli was the third finder of a hammered, his being a Henry VIII Half Groat along with a button made by Andrews of Swindon a local find. Brian Mitchell had an Edward hammered and some copper coins . The fifth hammered was found by Darren Rimmer, his being a Lizzie penny, he also unearthed a 1921 sixpence and a badge in the shape of a lion. Darren Thomas was the finder of the Denarius, it was in great condition, unfortunately it was later found to be a forgery! but a great find just the same. He also had a silver fastener, probably used on leather, and a George III penny dated 1806.
The very large silver spoon was found by Karl Jones, it is about seven inches long and has very clear hallmarks on it, he also had a William penny and a St.Christopher.
Mark Street found a Tudor buckle, a silver button with a bird on it, a Paris miners token, an old padlock and some coppers. Emlyn Phillips had a George II penny.
Liz McGlasson found a silver livery button, Nigel Williams had George III penny dated 1799 and a Jetton. Matthew Lacey also had a George III penny. Buffer unearthed a silver sixpence dated 1914 and two Georgian coppers. Carl Williams found a Tudor buckle and two bag-seals. Tony Winter was the finder of the small Roman brooch and a Jetton.
So on the finds front we did very well but the rally conditions were very disappointing, we will think twice about supporting this rally in the future.
 
There is another bus trip in the pipe-line already.
 
Byron Matthews vice-chair.

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Annual Beach Hunt
Barry Island Sunday 8th January 2017

Around thirty members turned out for our annual beach at Barry Island on a cold and breezy morning.
 Twenty tokens, valued at £5 each, had been buried along with some “special” tokens in plastic bags; these were for bottles of beer, chocolates and biscuits.
 Within an hour of the 10 o’clock start the weather had changed considerably and the sun was shining brightly, leading to coats and scarves being discarded! News of finds were filtering through, a ring, then another.
 At the end of the day three rings were found in total and a very nice bracelet surfaced too. All of the £5 tokens were recovered and most of the “specials”. Lots of modern coins were also found along with some jewellery.
 It was an enjoyable start to detecting for 2017 and blew away the cobwebs and hangovers from the festive season.
 
We wish all our members a Happy New Year and look forward to the forthcoming rallies.
 
Byron Matthews.vice-chairman.

WEEKEND WANDERES XMAS DIG
DECEMBER 18th 2016

The day started at 6.30am when we left Nantgarw with 32 detectorists on board heading for the Weekend Wanderers Xmas dig near Thame in Oxfordshire. After collecting the rally fees and bus fare we held the usual raffle. There were a plethora of prizes ranging from Xmas toilet paper, booze, coin cases and even a Selfie stick!
After a brief stop at the services we arrived at our destination shortly after the start time, but that didn't deter us.
 
On arrival we were allocated raffle tickets for the free draw and maps of the seven fields available to detect on. The usual Weekend Wanderers Xmas fayre was available in the barn i.e. free coffee, tea, mince pies etc and after 12.30 the "mulled cider " was on tap too.
 
Some members had more luck than others but in all five hammered, four crotal bells and milled coins found their way to the surface among the usual finds of musket balls, mastitis tubes, lead etc.
Gwilym Williams found a hammered Henry VI, Paul Williams also had a Henry VI, his being a half groat from the Calais mint, he also found a silver pendant.
Phil Holt unearthed a half cut, short cross Henry. Sue Pattison had two hammered, one being a Charles I half-crown and the other being a Mary groat AD. 1630-1631. Nigel Williams found a crotal bell and Matthew Lacey also had a crotal bell along with a love token, a Vicky sixpence and some Vicky coppers.
Ron Ahearn also had a crotal bell and a cartwheel penny.
Byron Matthews found a large crotal bell, his first after almost thirteen years detecting, he also discovered a very nice silver milled shilling of Charles II dated 1668.
Ceri Jones had a William III shilling, Lee Calli found a lead token and a George VI penny.
Emlyn Phillips had a Vicky three pence and a horn protector.
Robert Jenkins found a horse brass and a decorative piece of a furniture mount.
Nathan Almond uncovered a cartwheel penny and three other copper coins.
 
So our last bus trip of 2016 came to an end with mixed fortunes for
our members, and home we went after a long days detecting.

We wish everyone a Merry Xmas and a Happy New year
and look forward to seeing you all in 2017.
 
Byron Matthews. vice-chairman 

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Club dig - Whitney on Wye  Nov 13th 2016
​

We met up at Storey Arms and proceeded in convoy to the farm, unfortunately the post code led some on a bit of a diversion through the countryside. 26 club members eventually made it to the farm. 

This was the farm we had been to last year and the fields proved to be as quiet as our previous visit, but finds were coming up.
Colin Davies found a hammered in the shape of a Lizzie half groat along with a cartwheel penny, Michael Francis had a spindle whorl, Matthew Lacey found a silver thimble, a token, a 1959 shilling, a George III penny and some coppers, a very good day for him.
Mark Street had a cartwheel penny, a military buckle and some coppers. Stephen King also had a buckle, a spectacle example possibly medieval. Alan Jones found a William sixpence and some coppers. Lee Calli had a ship halfpenny dated 1938 and a large tombac button. Late in the afternoon Jeff Radcliffe unearthed a gunpowder flask with wildlife and floral decoration, a very nice find at about 2 feet down

It was a very nice day and thanks must go to Norman Oxley for finding the site for the club.

Byron Matthews . vice- chairman


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Anton Rotary Club Rally. Oct.2nd 2016

​ 
The coach left Nantgarw at the unearthly hour of 6.45am for the journey to Hampshire, where the rally was being held near to Andover. On board were 34 eager detectorists, we picked up one more along the M4 and then collected outstanding fares and did the usual raffle.
 After a stop at the Leigh Delamere services we arrived on site in plenty of time for the start at 10am.
 
There were six huge fields available to detect on, so plenty of choice. Hot drinks and food were being served at the sign-on point by members of the Anton Rotary Club, who had organised the rally . Finds were varied as usual, our members found seven hammered coins, fifteen roman coins, along with an assortment of buckles, buttons, fragments of crotal bells, copper coins, musket balls etc.
 
Steve Rolls found a hammered of unknown pedigree, Alan Jones had a hammered and some copper coins, Emlyn Phillips also had a worn hammered coin, a watch winder, a Manchester United football badge and a nice buckle, he also found a thick copper coin that had been bent into the shape of a love token.
 Paul Minton was another finder of a hammered, his being an Edward, along with a Jaws harp, a Roman coin and part of a Roman brooch. Valentinas found a hammered Lizzie one penny, a George IV sixpence dated 1824 and a fragment of crotal bell.
Sharon Washington unearthed an Edward IV hammered coin, a love token and part of a bronze age axe.
Paul Williams was another finder of a hammered coin, his being a Lizzie sixpence dated 1567.
Roy Young found a spectacle buckle, a Georgian farthing and a button.
New member Lee Calli on his very first rally found some buttons. Darren Thomas unearthed  a 1931 Halfcrown, two sixpences dated 1920 and 1922, two small buckles and a watch winder.
Mark Street had a grotty Roman coin and a heart brooch.
Andrew Jones found a flower type brooch, two parts of crotal bell, a button with an anchor on, he also found a flint which had been carved in a crescent or the letter “C”.
Gwilym Williams found a very interesting snake buckle which had like a double twist on it.
Colin Roberts had a Roman coin.
Ronnie Davies found a circular brooch and a small sword which could be a toy or a brooch.
Rob Thomas had a haul of five Roman coins along with a buckle and a bronze mount.
Colin Davies found half a crotal bell, a bronze ring, a George VI farthing and a military button.
Tina Pople had brass threepence dated 1937, and a Georgian two pence coin.
Alan Bufton found a canon ball made from iron, about one and a half inches in diameter and a pair of buckles.
George Jenkins had a very thin copper coin, a buckle, a military button and some musket balls. Byron Matthews found two thimbles, one inside the other, the outer one having deteriated badly, a copper coin and a finial, which could be from a bedstead.
Michael Francis had three Roman coins, a Jetton and part of a crotal bell.
Liz McGlasson found a Roman coin, a broken buckle and a part of a crotal bell.
Jeff Radcliffe had two small Roman coins and a Georgian halfpenny. Paul Gough  found a love token, a Roman coin and a 1937 threepence coin.
 
The journey home took much longer than expected due to an unscheduled stop at the services and then a huge hold-up on the Severn crossing , a queue of over a mile to get to the tolls. Apparently this was due to the old Severn bridge being closed for repairs, so all traffic was using the one bridge that was open.
  
Byron Matthews vice-chair

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​ALTON SPIRES RALLY Aug 21st 2016

                           The White Horses and Stones Rally
22 members set out early from Nantgarw heading to Wiltshire for the Marlborough Round Table rally, organised by Leisure Promotions at Alton Spires.
 
After a stop at the services we drove en route through the village of Avebury, famous for its mystic stones. There were three circles of stones of various shapes and sizes and an avenue almost a mile long.
 
On the rolling hills of Wiltshire we saw a white horse cut out of the chalk. During the day we were to see another three horses, one on the hill above the detecting fields. The two ploughed fields were very "claggy" underfoot, making our boots about three times bigger and very heavy.
 
Our finds were varied as usual with some members being luckier than others. In all four hammered were found, three livery buttons from the same household, and three pieces of crotal bell came up. A hammered Lizzy halfpenny was found by George Jenkins, it was very small with good detail and he also found a nice military button. Liz Mcglasson was another finder of a hammered coin along with half a crotal bell and a thick bronze coin. Mark Street had a strapend, a livery button and a couple of copper coins. Chris Leach found a William III sixpence, dated 1696 and a bronze finial. Darren Thomas had a good day, finding an Eddy penny, a bronze pin, a spectacle buckle, a livery button and some copper coins. Alan Jones found a clock winder and some coppers. Ronnie Davies found half a crotal bell. Valentinas unearthed a hammered Lizzie twopence and a trade weight.  Andrew Jones found a George III Irish penny dated 178. Paul Gough found two halfpennies, a George I and a Charles II coin!
 
All in all a very enjoyable day.
 
Byron Matthews vice-chairman

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Anton Rotary Club Charity Rally
​20th March 2016

Tisbury rally Wiltshire. Sept 6th 2015

The coach left Nantgarw at 7 am prompt with 31 detectorists on board, stopping to pick up one more member at the outskirts of Newport. 
After collecting all the monies for the rally entry and bus-fare, the usual raffle was held. We had a plethora of prizes as usual, and a varied assortment they were! 
We stopped for a short break en route and arrived at the venue in plenty of time for the start. Due to the narrow lane, the coach had to park some distance away so we had to get our food etc; off and safely put near the entrance for later in the day. When we arrived we were met by one of the organisers with maps and a red label to tie onto our detectors. One of the conditions of attending was to show our NCMD cards, so these were collected on the way to save time. When I showed a large handful of cards to the organiser he took our word and didn't want to check them!
The morning fields were two huge ones and a smaller one which were covered in "light stubble" it was a massive area to cover,  then around 12.30pm another five fields were opened up to us. These were a little better as some of them had a small crop on them, making for easier swinging in all 190 acres were available. 
The usual finds were coming up, shot-gun ends, buttons, bits of lead etc, and as usual some of our members were luckier than others but most found something of interest. Colin Roberts found an hammered coin, an Edward III penny, Paul Minton also had an hammered of Edward III. Brian Mitchell found a Roman coin and a small buckle, Rod Holt uncovered a silver love token. Alan Jones found a very nice seal matrix bearing a "squirrel and nut" pattern. Byron Matthews found a strange lead object which could be a trade weight or a gaming token, also a medieval buckle plate and a large pimple button. Ceri Jones found a 14th century French jetton and a very nice dagger hilt made of silver. Mark Street had two buckles and a pot-leg. Darren Thomas had a very good day uncovering a very nice bee-hive thimble, five Roman coins, three buckles, a George IV farthing and an unusual lead artefact with letters and symbols on it. Paul Gough found three Georgian coppers, a George III gaming token and a pot-leg. Michael Francis found a half-groat of Charles II. Rob Thomas found a crotal bell, two Vicky half-pennies and a pimple button. Colin Davies had a musket ball, and a Vicky halfpenny along with a George III farthing. Ronnie Davies found a Lizzie threepence. Mark Watson had a Roman minum, some coppers and a pot-leg. Martin Goodman found a pot-leg and what might be half of a Roman coin. Liz Mcglasson found some musket balls. Gavin Wood found George III penny dated 1806.
So, along with the scorching hot sunshine, the catering and trade stands, we all had a very enjoyable day.

Byron Matthews  (vice-chairman)

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Whitney-on-Wye Rally 19th July 2015

 With the wind and rain blowing strongly in our faces,  22 members met at the Storey Arms Carpark for an 8.30am departure to Whitney-on-Wye but as we made our way the rain stopped and out came the sun and lovely blue skies.        We met Norman Oxley along the way and followed him to the farm by ten o’clock we were spread out on the nine fields allocated for this dig with some fantastic scenery surrounding us. 
       The Black Mountains were to the west and the Malvern Hills to the east and the splendid Herefordshire countryside in between. The finds were diverse to say the least,  a coin from Norway was found along with a coin from Belgium and an Irish modern, some Roman coins and a button from the Canadian army! The usual Georgian coins, buttons and shotgun ends were found but the find of the day must go to Paul Williams who found a Roman knee brooch which was in perfect condition, well done Paul. Two people each found a sword hanger, Mark Watson and Liz Mcglasson  and three hammered's between them. Mark had two  Lizzie threepence and one that we can't recognise. Liz found one with a hole in it which had probably been worn around the neck of the person who lost it. Byron Matthews found a Roman Dupondius in a mole-hill! he also had a bridle attachment of a hook on a ring which had a nice patina, a lovely bag-seal with a portcullis on, probably from Elizabeth the first’s reign. 
Paul Minton found the Norwegian coin, a " two ore" value dated 1887, he also had a barrel-tap key. Dennis Pople was the finder of the Belgian one franc and the Irish modern two pence coins, a Roman coin and what could be a silver hallmarked brooch  Gavin Wood found the Canadian army button. Alan Bufton had a florin dated 1942, a knife and a Georgian. Norman Oxley found two farthings and a sixpence. Paul Gough found a very nice bronze bee-hive thimble, a bull head sixpence and some Georgians. It was great to see Ian John back in action, he found a bag seal which he donated to the farmer, well done Ian. Austin Lockett had a very nice barrel tap key. 
Norman Gowan had a Cartwheel penny, a heart shaped pendant and a bullhead sixpence. Rob Thomas found a spectacle buckle, a cartwheel penny and some Georgians. Carl Meyrick had two silver sixpences, one dated 1921, a threepenny piece and a George IV coin. Colin Davies had a Florin dated 1948, a 1940 sixpence, a George V farthing and a bell. Some of our members had either left or were still on the fields when I was gathering the list of finds, so apologies for anything missed. 
It was a great day out  with great weather and lots of finds.
Many thanks must go to Norman and Ann Oxley for finding this farm for the club dig. Here’s to the next time.

Byron Matthews . vice-chairman

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March 22nd 2015 - 19th Royal Wooton Bassett Rotary Club Rally


Starting from Nantgarw at 7.00am, 32 detectorists settled down for the trip to the Swindon area for the 19th Royal Wooton Bassett Rotary Club rally.

This time we had a 49 seater coach so plenty of room to stretch our legs.

A sat-nav malfunction lead us seven miles off course but we still arrived with plenty of time to get ready for the 10am start.
We all had to check in and were given a ticket and a map of the site. The ticket had a unique number on it that was entered into a free draw for various prizes. There was also a main raffle for which tickets had to be purchased. In the barn where registration took place were catering and trade stalls.
On offer was free tea or coffee, also on sale were hot breakfasts, bacon butties etc, plenty to feed you up for the day.
Seven fields were available to detect on so it looked like a great site, unfortunately the fields had the dreaded “Green waste" scattered all over, so good targets were hard to find. The rally started with a air-horn at 10am and finished at 3.30pm .
We left the site around 4.15pm as most had made their way back to the coach earlier.

As usual shot gun ends, grotty copper coins and bits of lead etc came up, but some of us were luckier than others. Three halfcrowns were found, Matthew Stoneman found the oldest, a Charles I circa 1600’s, Nigel Williams had a Queen Victoria Jubilee halfcrown in fabulous condition dated 1887 along with a George V shilling. The third halfcrown fell to Neil Francis who had an Elizabeth II dated 1963 and a 1970 shilling. Rob Thomas found a very interesting threepence token issued by a London company. Rod Holt had a bull-head six-pence of George III. Steven King found a very nice complete 1700’s buckle, Alan Jones had a William III shilling along with 2 x copper pennies and 2 x halfpennies. Carl Jones found 4 x copper coins of dubious vintage. Paul Williams had a medieval buckle and a silver gilded button, his best result of the day was winning the first prize of a huge hamper in the main raffle draw, well done Paul! Ronnie Davies had a Georgian penny and a button. Byron Matthews found a three-penny bit of Elizabeth II, a farthing and a red toy lorry manufactured by Lesney (pre Dinky). Paul Minton found a very interesting  

decorated lead object about two inches in diameter. Colin Roberts had Georgian coins, Mark Street found a George II halfpenny and Darren Thomas a Girl Guides badge. Nathan Almond a George V penny and a ship halfpenny, Paul Gough also had a ship halfpenny and a lead toy dog with three legs!

It was an enjoyable day, the weather was kind and despite the green waste we had a great day out.

Now we are looking forward to the next trip over the bridge.

 

Byron Matthews  (Vice-Chairman)

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March 8th 2015 – Club Rally Penllyn Moor
  
Well over thirty members turned out for the dig on the “Once a year fields" on a day when the weather was not very good, but this didn't dampen the spirits of those present.

Twenty tokens worth £5 each, were spread over a very muddy field and all were eventually found by some lucky people.

The mud on our boots made them three times their size and they weighed a ton!

Not many natural finds came up but three members were lucky, a socketed axe-head, a roman brooch and a gold ring were found by three lucky people. Well done to them.

It was an enjoyable day, even in the miserable weather. We now look forward to the club BBQ sometime in the summer.


Byron Matthews (Vice-Chairman) 

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Annual Beach hunt – Barry 4th January 2015

Around 15 members braved a bracing Barry beach for our annual beach hunt, 20 tokens worth £5 each had been buried over a large area both on dry and wet sand.

A ring had also been buried as a special token and the finder was awarded a special prize (Handmade sock teddy), that finder was Rob Thomas.

Most of the attendees managed to find a token and as all of the tokens were found it was lucrative for some members who found more than one!

The beach was very busy with dog walkers, children and even a pair of horses galloping in the surf.

Most of the New Year’s cobwebs were blown away and the club's first event of the year went off successfully. 

 Byron Matthews (vice-chairman)

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The Weekend Wanderers Xmas Special Dig 
 21st December 2014

We set off on time from Nantgarw for the long trip to Buckinghamshire with 22 club members on board . 
The first surprise of the day was to be greeted by a lady bus driver, a first for us i think , she did a splendid job getting us there and back. 
We arrived at the rally site at approx 9:20, so in good time for the start . We were given tickets for the free raffle to be held at lunchtime , and a map of the 22 fields available for us to wander over .
 As we were going back for a snack and to check the raffle we noticed a gathering at a cordoned off area in a field near to the farm  This turned out to be our second surprise of the day, a hoard of Saxon coin's had been found! Naturally we went for a look after having something to eat, apparently this was the finders first signal of the day, the FLO was there directing things and measuring and bagging the coins. When operations were concluded and a sort out and count of the finds were done it turned out that 5251 and 1 cut half coins were found in all . This could possibly be the biggest hoard of Saxon coins found to date in Britain . The coins were of Aethelred 2nd (the unready) (978-1016 Ad) and Cnut ( 1016-1035 Ad). 
Various figures were being bandied about how much this hoard is worth, a million pounds or more! We'll wait for the official offer from the British Museum where the coins are at the moment to know what they are really worth. 


As the day was coming to an end we heard about another hoard being found,  our third surprise. This turned out to be by our very own Chairman Paul. He had uncovered what looked like a vessel which could have something in it , it did have pottery and bone. Unfortunately this turned out to be a copper pot of Roman or Saxon origin, with no coins in it sadly. Our members didn't find any hoards but they did find plenty of items. Besides the copper vessel Paul Minton also a Georgian penny, 2 x halfpennies and a pot leg, Byron Matthews found a Hammered Lizzie dated 1571 , a Cartwheel penny and a couple of copper coins, Brian Mitchell had three musket balls, Paul Gough had two copper coins , Matthew Stoneman found a silver shilling of George 5th. George Jenkins found a Georgian penny and a very large bullet, Rod Holt had a cut half hammered of Henry and a horse nose brass, Gwillym Williams found a Roman loom weight, Austin Lockett was one of three finders of crotal bells, he had a very nice fish scale patterned one along with two copper coins, Steven King found what could be a large ring or a child's bracelet, Nathan Almond found two coppers, Ceri Jones four pennies of George 5th all in the same hole! Carl Jones also found four coppers of George 2nd in the same hole! What a coincidence. Rob Thomas was another finder of a crotal bell and a Roman coin, and a brace of copper coins of George 1st and George 2nd. Ronnie Davies was the third finder of a crotal bell along with a Georgian copper coin. This was a very eventful trip and most of us found something of interest. 
So we look forward to more bus trips in 2015. 


Happy New Year ..........Byron Matthews . vice-chairnam.   
  http://www.weekendwanderersdetecting.com/INTRODUCTION/Calendar_of_Events/SAXON_HOARD_/saxon_hoard_.html     

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Trinley, Andover 7th September 2014

We left Nantgarw at 7 o'clock with 18 bleary-eyed detectors on board heading for Hampshire to attend a charity rally in aid of a local church near Andover.

We were using a new bus company this time, Laser Travel from Tonypandy.

We expected to stop at the usual services on the M4 but to our surprise the driver turned off the motorway at junction 15 following his sat-nav; we then stopped at a small service on the outskirts of Marlborough, which was very pleasant.

We arrived at the rally site around 9.30 in plenty of time for the 10 o’clock start. The fields looked very inviting; they were vast and had been rolled in readiness for the rally. Unfortunately the fields didn’t live up to their appearance and proved to be very short on finds.

We gallantly stayed searching until the stop time at 4 o’clock and the nearest we got to anything Roman was the helmets and swords brought for the occasion by one of the “naughty boys “at the back of the bus.

Finds were very few but some did manage to find a hammered, Colin Roberts found a Lizzie penny and a cap badge of the Essex Regiment. Austin Lockett also found a Lizzie hammered sixpence. Darren Thomas had a bag seal, Mark Street found two unidentifiable copper coins and Byron Matthews had a George V farthing dated 1923.

Our youngest member, Jesse Holt found a 1866 halfpenny of Queen Victoria, his father, Phil Holt found a large silver spoon which was hall-marked but unreadable. Ceri Jones had a 17th century buckle, Matthew Stoneman found a Vicki penny, a thimble, a musket ball and a four hole button. Carl Meyrick had a nicely decorated button, Nigel Williams found a George III farthing and another finder of a farthing was Ronnie Davies who had a George II. Finally, Robert Thomas had two copper coins, and the usual musket balls, buckles and shotgun ends also turned up.

We returned to the M4 on the usual route, the A34 and made good time back to Nantgarw. We are now looking forward to the next bus trip which hopefully won’t be too long in coming.

Byron Matthews.

Vice-chairman

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            Club dig at Gilfach Goch - June 1st 2014

Eighteen members and two juniors met in the lay by/bus stop for a 9.30am start of the convoy to the farm. We were met by a very enthusiastic farmer who gave us a run down on the local history.

There was a roman road running across a couple of fields but unfortunately was overgrown and boggy in places. He was very proud of how long his family had been at the farm by saying his grand-daughter was the “Tenth generation” to live there.

The farm was situated on the top of a hill, so the fields all fell away steeply downhill. Going down was easy but returning to the car for something to eat needed some rope and crampons!

Finds were not easy to come by but some members did get some interesting items. Some of the coins found were a hammered Lizzie, two cartwheel pennies, one was a second edition 1803, a Vickie shilling, a George the sixth sixpence, a farthing of undeterminable age, a florin and a few coppers.

 Half of a very large horse bit/bridle came up and the usual bits of lead along with a reflector off a vehicle, probably a tractor!

The farm was around two hundred acres so there is plenty of land to go back to, the farmer said we were welcome at any time and grass would be cut off the fields we couldn’t get on this time.

We were blessed with good weather which helped to make it another enjoyable day for the attendees. Many thanks must go to Norman for arranging another dig for the club.

Byron Matthews. Vice-chairman RARE

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                                              Flemingston Club Dig May 4th 2014 

Twenty eight members met in the car park in Cowbridge for the first club dig for quite a while . We left in convoy and headed for the farm in the heart of the Vale of Glamorgan , hoping to find something of interest.

The farm had lots of land available to detect on, so after getting our instructions, we were off! As usual there were georgian coins, buckles and musket balls coming up, but it was quite a quiet area for most of us.

Some interesting finds were had including a Bristol halfpenny token by Paul Gough, who also had a nice watch winder. 

Matthew Stoneman found a George 3rd bull-head sixpence dated 1820. Ronnie Davies also had a George 3rd coin, his was a penny along with a cartwheel penny. 

Colin Roberts also had a cartwheel penny and a George 3rd halfpenny. Norman Oxley found a part of a socketed iron age axe, two georgian buckles and a George 5th sixpence. 

Byron Matthews found a small complete spectacle buckle and small mount for a belt or harness. 

Ceri Jones found a spectacle buckle too and some pieces of an ornate buckle. 

Carl Meyrick had a very nice button with three feathers adorning it, he also had a very old window latch. 

The Holt family were out in force, Rod found half a nut cracker and an old metal comb, Phil had a very nice George 2nd halfpenny dated 1738, and last but not least, the youngest member of the family, Jesse, unearthed a George 5th penny dated 1918 in very good condition. 

The weather was very nice to us as it was warm and sunny most of the day with one or two suffering a little sunburn! Later in the afternoon we started making our way home and looking forward to the next outing of the club.

Many thanks to Norman for arranging the event …......

Byron Matthews. 

Vice-chairman.

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              Annual Beach Hunt at Barry Island   - Jan 6th 2013

  Around 30 members turned up at a breezy Barry Island on the morning of Jan 6th for the first club dig of 2013 .As usual it was a token hunt and 100 old sixpences had been buried for us to find . We were very successful as 99 of these tokens were found ! The usual rules applied , ie. A raffle ticket for every token found ,unfortunately the prizes had been left behind,as were the raffle tickets,so the draw was left until the club meeting on jan 16th . This did'nt spoil anyones enjoyment as it was another day out with like-minded people after all . 
Some bling came up , one lucky person found one and a half gold rings , well done you !Other bits and pieces came up that were not as significant but added to the enjoyment.The tide was in fully at 12.30pm but there was plenty of beach to detect on.
Some of us stayed and followed the tide out for a while . Besides ourselves there were hundreds of people walking the beach , most were exercising their dogs, and there was a vast assortment of breeds on show from a Bulldog to chihuahuas and every size and shape in between !  (more pics on the gallery more tab / gallery)
Another enjoyable day for RARE members and a chance to blow away the cobwebs ! We are now looking forward to the first bus trip of the year . 
Byron Matthews .
vice-chairman

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                 Weekend Wanderers Xmas Dig  - Dec 16th 2012  

We set off from Nantgarw at 6.30am for the long trip to Hampshire for the Weekend Wanderers Xmas dig . It was held on the same farm as last year, but on different fields which had been ploughed since they were last detected . There were around 300 detectorists present who spread out all over the three available fields .The weather was not as cold as expected but  we took advantage of the free hot drinks and mince pies on offer all day in the barn , there were apple pies and mulled cider too . The twenty two members who attended had varying degrees of luck with finds . 
Mark Harford found a George 3rd halfpenny,2 x Romans and a thimble. 
Jeff Berryman found a Sestertius , a George 3rd penny and a nice silver button decorated in a rose pattern. 
Ceri Jones had a Vicky sixpence. Ian John found a love token.
 George Jenkins was lucky to find a Medieval Annular brooch , a 17th cent. Farthing token and a broken casket key . 
Jo Watson found 2x Roman coins , a large distorted buckle and a shoe fastener 
.Mark Watson had 2 x hammereds and a thimble 
.Gwillym Williams found 2 x hammered coins and a token . 
Tina Pople uncovered a copper farthing,a buckle and some pieces of brass .
Robert Thomas found 2 x Romans , 2 x Georgians and a lead token .
 Carl Meyrick had a silver button , which was hallmarked , a complete spectacle buckle and a strap-end .
 Norman Gowen found a George 3rd 1806 halfpenny in very good condition . 
Norman Oxley had a Vicky farthing and a spectacle buckle . 
Paul Minton found a hammered coin, a cut half hammered and 2 x tokens .
The rain started to come down quite heavily around 2.15pm so most made their way back to the bus , some hardy members stayed out on the fields for a bit longer ! . The coach was parked with the off-side wheels on the grass verge , in the same spot as last year , but due to the rain softening the earth it was bogged down and even though we tried pushing it was stuck ! We asked the farmer if he could help and he brought out this huge “payloader” machine which pulled us clear with no effort at all ! This is the farm with a herd of Water Buffalo , those big black beasts with massive horns , which luckily for us were away in a distant field for our safety . I did manage to get a photo of some in a barn close to the farmyard , see enclosed .
That was our last trip of 2012 and we now look forward to many more in 2013 .
Happy New Year to all our members. 
Byron Matthews.
Vice  chairman

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Weekend Wanderers Rally - 23rd September 2012

We set off from Nantgarw at the ungodly time of 6 o'clock, to get to the rally by the 9 o'clock start, with twenty two bleary eyed people on board. After the usual pit-stop at the services en-route we arrived in plenty of time to register our presence. We were given a lime green bracelet, to be worn on the wrist, and a light green label to fix to our detectors, along with a map of the fields available and their layout. Because the site was so big there were tractors available to take you to whichever field you wanted, at a charge of one pound per ride.


The coach was parked near the entrance on very hard ground, so we thought it would be ok there all day, but, as the rain started falling the farmer sent us a message telling us to move it into the nearby farmyard onto a hard standing. That was a very wise move as the entrance became a quagmire as the day wore on and many people left the site early because of the bad weather, many having to be towed out with a tractor. Because the coach had moved and some members were out on the fields at the time, it did cause a little panic until they found out where it had been moved to. 
There were lots to see at the site, a big marquee with trade stands selling everything from detectors, coils, headphones etc., a bar to get you wet inside too! It was a very well organised event and even had portable toilets out in the fields as well as in the camping area.

The reports coming in of finds were very thin on the ground, it seemed that everyone was finding the same things, bullets and buttons in particular, as usual some of our members were luckier than others. Joanne Watson found four Roman coins, a big lead token and a small lead token. Her brother Mark also found three Roman coins, a buckle and the back half of a silver button. Nathan Almond  had a Roman coin. Mark Newbury  was also a finder of a Roman coin along with Norman Gowen. 
Robert Thomas did a little better than most with five Romans! Byron Matthews found a copper love token and a lead weight used on a net for trapping rabbits. Carl Meyrick had a small buckle, Lee Newbury found a gilded button . John Watts , on his first outing with us, found a pistol shaped handle, could be off a draw or an implement from a kitchen.

As the weather stayed wet from early morning we all made our way back to the coach earlier than expected, because we were all present we left the site about an hour before schedule, arriving back at Nantgarw at a respectable time. Although the weather and lack of finds were the main things remembered about this trip it was still an enjoyable day out detecting with like minded people.

Byron Matthews (Vice-Chairman)

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Wantage Rally - 9th September 2012

We set off from Nantgarw at 7:00am, with 22 members on board, after the usual short stop at the services we arrived at the site in plenty of time before the start.  The rally was run by the Wantage Round Table and there were three big fields of stubble for us to detect on. A nice touch was them having marshals on each gateway into the fields and manning the crossing points of the busy country lane for our safety. At the sign on area there were refreshments available, toilets and a FLO from the regional museum to log and identify the finds. All in all a very well organised rally.

The area was known for Roman habitation  as a hoard  of coins had been found in an adjacent field. This showed with the amount of Roman coins found by several of our members. Joel Goldthrite found a Radiant Barbarous, silver cuff-links, two thimbles and a very nice button adorned with a rifleman. Rod Holt, David Evans and Mark Street had a small roman each, David Harrison was lucky with two Roman coins, a large Crotal bell and a ring. Chris Leach found a lead Roman brooch in the shape of an alligator. Mark Watson had a Roman groat, a Rose Farthing and three Spectacle buttons. Steve Evans had two Roman coins and a small lead seal which had a portcullis on it, probably Medieval. Tina Pople had the best Roman coin  in the shape of  Silver Denarius, she also found a spectacle buckle. The Romans kept turning up, Charles Price found two coins and a  zoomorphic mascot in the shape of a chicken. Brian Mitchell rounded up the Roman coin collection by uncovering three!! A couple of Hammered coins were found by two of the ladies, Ann Oxley had a James 1st .dated 1606/07 and Jan (g.i.jan)Davies was lucky with an Elizabeth 1st. Paul Minton found a Saxon pin, a Medieval Strap Mount decorated with blue enamel and a single loop buckle dated between 1250-1430. Byron Matthews had a spectacle buckle and a Nokia mobile phone!! Everyone found lots of buttons, bullets, lead and the usual bits and pieces. The weather was very kind to us with sunshine for most of the day. The only mishap we had was at the end of the day when the bus refused to start  due to a flat battery!! We waited around 45 minutes for a mechanic to arrive from Newbury with a couple of heavy duty batteries and a set of jump leads. It only took a couple of minutes and we were on our way home. We arrived back at Nantgarw weary but happy. The next trip is the Weekend Wanderers Rally on Sunday Sept.23rd. Bring it on!!

Report by Byron Matthews (Vice-Chairman)

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Henry Axford Shield - 2nd September 2012

The annual inter-club competition began with members of both clubs meeting in a pub car-park then proceeding in convoy to the search site.

Forty five people in total were present, twenty five from RARE and twenty from Cardiff Scan Club. After a short welcome and briefing we were off onto the very big stubble field.

Thirty tokens had been planted to count toward the raffle of which twenty four were found. Another six tokens, painted red, were to count for the actual competition. All six were found, three by each club! To break the tie the result was worked out by average and as Cardiff Scan had the least members present they were declared the winners of the Henry Axford shield  for the second year running. A further two tokens were buried as “ special prizes “ and both were found. The finder of the replica Serstertius won a bottle of whiskey, while the finder of the replica silver halfcrown of Queen Ann was rewarded with champagne! Well done both...

Apart from the token hunt, members were finding the usual buttons, buckles, copper coins, lead etc... Some of the members had more luck than others, two silver Denarii were found by Norman Oxley (rare) and Alan Leeson (Cardiff). Five hammered coins surfaced during the day, Mike Davies (rare) found what was classed as the find of the day in the form of a Henry 8th Groat in beautiful condition. Pat Goode (Cardiff) recovered a Henry half penny, Rod Holt (RARE) had a hammered coin which is yet to be identified, Phil Holt (RARE) also had a worn hammered and a small phallic brooch, possibly Roman. Ian John found a very nice Commonwealth half groat in fantastic condition. Stan Phillps (Cardiff) had  a Bristol farthing token, Roy Young found silver in the shape of a George 6th sixpence, dated 1941. Carl Meyrick (RARE) also had silver, a George 3rd sixpence circa 1820. Ian Magee (RARE) found half of a fibula brooch. A young lad, Joshua Hathway, the son of one of the Rare members, did well with his Maplins detector by finding a very old hook off a horse harness, probably used on a large farm wagon, he also had a large horseshoe, could they be connected? Well done Joshua!

Around 12.30 we made our way to the BBQ which had been smelling very nice across the field for ages. There were hot-dogs, curry, cakes and biscuits, along with cold drinks for our consumption. Huge thanks must go to Gwillym and Debbie for their sterling work over the hot stove for our benefit.

At the end of the day, after the reckoning up of the scores, the raffle was held.  All the tokens found were exchanged for tickets and many prizes were claimed.

We all enjoyed our days detecting and thanks must go to the people who organised the day and spent time planting all those tokens. It was nice to socialise with friends old and new and may the good relations between our clubs continue .We look forward to the return in 2013.

Byron Matthews, RARE Vice-Chairman.

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East Stratton Charity Rally - 15th April 2012

We set off from Nantgarw, on time at 7.00am, in a coach which resembled a silver bullet and had a seating arrangement like a Boeing 747. Unfortunately the usual 30 seater coach had been booked out so we were given this 70 seater instead, so we had plenty of room to stretch out.  We were met by one of the organisers to guide us to the site and park the coach in a covenient position near the entrance to the fields.  The rally was in aid of the local church's restoration fund so we were asked if we would fill out a “gift aid” form so they could reclaim the tax on our donations, many of us did so.

There were huge fields available, they had been ploughed and seeded so the going was pretty good. Although the sun was out most of the day, the colour in our cheeks was from the pretty strong wind that blew all day. The rally was well attended, at least three hundred detectorists were there. The FLO's table had a queue waiting to record finds all day, even right up to 4.30 when were leaving.  As usual our members had differing luck on the finds front. Most had the usual buckles, musket balls and georgian/viccy pennies etc but others were a bit luckier. 

Norman Oxley found a Cartwheel penny and three Viccy pennies,  he also had a very nice 18thc watch winder, Paul Minton did'nt find a great deal but he did find a 1912 George 5th penny, which coincides with the 100th anniversary of the Titanic sinking almost to the day.

George Jenkins had a silver threepence of William 3rd. Dennis Long found two Roman grots and a nice belt decoration. Charles Price also found a belt decoration in the form of a strapend. G.I.Jan Davies was lucky to find a Roman Nummus of Constantine dated 318-324 ad. Joel Goldthrite found his first cut half, a Henry 3rd. Brian Mitchell had a Basingstoke Token 16th/17thc and what the FLO described as a Cruci form mount, for a belt or harness.  Byron Matthews had silver by finding a really battered hammered and a milled William 3rd sixpence, he also found a swivel attachment and two belt decoration studs. Sue Paterson had a George 5th shilling. Rod Holt found a buckle of the 13th or 14th century. Phil Holt was luckier than his father, he found A Roman Republican Denarius, two crotal bells and a strapend.  Colin Roberts also found a crotal bell. Mark Watson found a quarter hammered which is yet to be identified, he also had a thimble and a buckle. Steve Rolls found a Saxon strapend and a Jetton.  Dai Griffiths had musket balls and a thimble. There seemed to be lots of thimbles found as Phillip Evans had one too, along with a very nice livery button which had the figure of a horse on it. So it looks like our members had an enjoyable day.

The ladies had a good day too I am told, at the Membury services, on the way up, they “mistakenly” went into the Gents toilet! They must have enjoyed that because they did the same thing on the return journey too! So once again it was an enjoyable day out for R.A.R.E. Club members and guests, and we did something to aid a charity too. We look forward to the next outing in a few weeks time.

Byron Matthews, Vice-Chairman

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Royal Wootton Bassett Rotary Club Rally

The day started badly when the coach did'nt turn up at Nantgarw by 7 0'clock, we  
were informed it had broken down shortly after leaving the depot. We eventually
got rolling 50 minutes later, much to the relief of the 37 detectorists on board.

After a short stop at the services we arrived on site with plenty of time to spare to 
sign-on , be given a map and instructions and an entry ticket with a number on for
the prize draw at lunchtime. Detecnicks had a trade stand with lots of detecting
items for sale. There was plenty of hot drinks and food available all day for those in need of sustenance.

There were 15 fields available, lots of people headed for the stubble one, or the ploughed one next to it, full of  expectation of a good haul and hoping for some luck. Unfortunately for the majority of our members it was not to be, the usual things like buttons, buckles, penicillin tubes, shotgun ends etc were the norm.

Some of our members and guests were luckier than most. Paul Minton found a hammered of Lizzie 1st dated 1566, GI Jan, on her first outing with the club, had a belt mount 1500-1700, a “poor man's ring”, a spindle whorl and a horse brass.  Charles Price found a William 3rd love token and a pigeon ring, with the leg bone still in it! Brian Mitchell had a George 1st halfpenny and a William 4th farthing. Jo Watson had an unusual lead horse bridle mount. Steve Rolls was happy with a James 1st half groat and a George 5th sixpence. Carl Jenkins found a modern silver ring with what looks like a screw head design on it.

Some of our Cardiff Scan Club guests had good day with Leyton Jones finding an Edward 3rd hammered penny 1344-1351, a Roman coin of the house of Constantine ad 330-335 and an Elizabethan lead token dated 1558-1603.  Eric Harvey found a Nuremburg Jetton 17c and a Roman Nummus 320-402 ad. Alun Jones was lucky with a Henry 3rd longcross half.

So that was the first coach trip of the year over and we headed back to Nantgarw, tired but happy and looking forward to the rally across the bridge.

Report by Byron Matthews, Vice-Chairman

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Annual Beach Hunt - Barry Island January 12th 2012

More than twenty intrepid members turned up for our annual beach hunt, the first outing of the new year. 50 tokens, in the form of chinese coins with square holes in them, had been planted earlier. Also buried were 5 painted halfpennies worth £10 each to the lucky finders. We all met back at Paul's van for the draw at lunchtime, every token found was rewarded with a raffle ticket. Everyone had donated a prize for the draw, mostly unwanted christmas presents, along with some bought prizes. 44 of the tokens were recovered so all the prizes were claimed. All of the £10 tokens were found too, so the lucky finders got cash!! After the break about a dozen or so members went back on to the beach, as the tide was well out. A couple of people were lucky and found gold rings, and one a silver ring. Well done to those members. It was a very enjoyable day out and the weather was amazing, it didn't seem to be the middle of winter, it was so mild.

This is hopefully only the first of many outings to rallies around the country we hope to get to this year. Happy New Year to all R.A.R.E. Members.

Byron Matthews, Vice-Chairman

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Norman Oxley - Cardiff Arms Park - 6th November 2010

Norman Oxley @ Cardiff Arms Park

I would like to pass on my thanks to Norman Oxley for helping to save my marriage!!

While producing the Wales v Australia rugby last month in Cardiff, I managed to lose my wedding ring attempting the BBC's 'Passing the Ball through Brain Moore's Mouth' challenge.

With no sign of it anywhere and the programme about to start, I wasn't looking forward to explaining to my wife how I'd lost my ring throwing rugby balls around Cardiff Arms Park.

Fortunately Norman came to the rescue, and after more than an hour's search, Norman managed to detect the ring before my wife found out. I still haven't told her!!

Regards,
Richard Hughes (Editor - BBC Rugby)

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RARE Coach Trip - Spaxton Rally Bridgwater - 3rd October 2010

Gavin & Stacey Coach

What’s occurring???...

We were sat in our cars at 7:00am, waiting for the coach to arrive at Pontypridd car-park, watching the rain hammering down!! As we had booked with a different coach company we didn't know what to expect and up pulled this bus with "Dave’s Coaches" emblazoned on the side. It turned out to be the very one used in the popular TV series " Gavin & Stacey".
On the way to Somerset, the rain continued to pour down with vengeance, but, as we approached the junction to leave the motorway it stopped and stayed dry for the rest of the day!! Were we lucky or what?

We reported in at the Spaxton Village Hall, where there were loads of cars and people eagerly awaiting the start. In the hall a full English breakfast was available for £3.50, so some of us tucked in and it set us up for the day. A convoy of cars, vans, mini-buses and coaches left for the site, travelling through the lanes and being directed by marshals on the junctions. At the site were toilets and a barbeque area where hot food and drinks were available all day.

Around 130 acres were offered for detecting, pasture, stubble and a couple with longish grass, so we set out to the fields of our choice.  As usual some of our members were luckier than the others, but we all found something of interest.  Paul Minton had a Lizzie hammered and two romans, Ann Oxley found a nice horse brass, Mark Harford had a religious type medallion and some coins.  Chris Leach was lucky with a William 4th hammered.  Brian Mitchell had a good day with a silver thimble, which has gothic type letters on it which may say "regard" and two Viccy halfpennies, one dated 1862.  Mike Coburn found his first William 3rd love token, which he say’s he’s giving to his wife, how romantic!! George Jenkins found a hammered Henry, a religious medallion, a silver spoon and a cartwheel penny.  Rod Holt had a worn hammered, various coins and some buckles. Dai Griffiths found a nice jetton, Robert Thomas found a battered hammered, but a hammered none the less, and a musket ball.  Norman Gowen had a roman radiate and another religious type medallion, the third of the day, makes you wonder what went on at this site!! Byron Matthews found a cartwheel penny, a large pot-leg and a badge with a crown and VR stamped on it.  The usual bits and pieces were found by everyone.

Ian John was having his first try at metal detecting, with a garrett 150 which one of our members had lent him...a very generous gesture by Leighton Poar.  During the afternoon two people were seen lying on the ground digging a very deep hole, at least four feet, in one of the stubble fields!! Spectators were stopping to look into the hole with interest. It turned out to be an aircraft crash-site from WW2. A cigarette case was also found in the area , but that has to be confirmed as part of the accident, the area was cordoned off by the archaeologist on site.  At the end of the day some of us had our photo taken with our "famous" transport and we made our weary way home, looking forward to the next RARE outing.

 Report By Byron Matthews  (RARE Vice-Chairman)

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 RARE Coach Trip - West Hanney - 12th of September 2010

Club Members

A coach full of Rhondda Artefact & Research Enthusiasts made it's way to Oxfordshire to attend the Weekend Wanderers Summer rally at West Hanney.  We eventually arrived at the site, after wending our way through the countryside due to being diverted off the M4, as it was closed both ways over three junctions, because of a police incident. The farm drive was lined with trees sporting the flags of the nationalities attending, America, Canada, Holland and many more including Wales!!  Meeting us at the registration point were Boudicea and some Romans, all in realistic costumes.  The coach was directed to it's reserved parking place, on concrete.  Some RARE members were attending the whole weekend, so they came along to welcome us and give us the gossip and finds from the previous day, after setting up and having a quick snack, while checking a map of the fields, we were off.

In field number one, there were some Irish coins buried, as a token hunt with the first prize being a Minelab Etrac!! I think all the tokens had been found on the Saturday.  As this site was where the Saxon grave was found last year, most people made their way to that area, but the actual grave site was cordoned off.  Due to the size of the farm, 19 fields were available, the organisers had laid on tractors and trailers to convey people to the outlying fields and charging a pound a time, all these monies going to charity.  Dotted around the fields were Portaloos, a great idea.  The Weekend Wanderers, had put a great deal into the organisation of this event, well done to them.  There was catering at the farm yard, supplying hot food and drinks, a bar and a live band on the Saturday night.  There were also trade stands from all the well known dealers.  The FLO's were in the big marquee to assess and register the finds. As usual tales of gold, silver and other interesting finds filtered through the fields.

Not too far from the saxon grave site, there was a great deal of activity, it looked a little like Time Team were there, using a mechanical digger!! Lots of onlookers surrounded the area watching with interest, someone had found something deep and still had a signal at four feet!! Apparently it turned out to be the site of a Saxon Longhouse, this site turns up something every year. We were due to finish at 6:00pm, but most of our party were back at the coach early, all detectored out!!

On the trip home, tales of what was found, meeting old friends etc helped pass the time.  Luckily the motorway had re-opened, so no detours on the return journey. As usual, some of our members had been luckier than others but a variety of items were found.  Phil Jones, our Treasurer, found a very old looking dagger, with a lovely patina, but a young FLO dismissed it as a "mis-cast modern letter opener".  We dont think so, and are looking forward to what our FLO has to say about it. Des Thomas had an unusual find of Shoe Pad.  Robert Lewis found a very nice Tudor clothes fastener, both Dai Griffiths and Dai Evans found very small thimbles, which could have been made for children.  Dai Evans also had a Medieval strap end and a couple of lead tokens.  Carl Williams had a good day with a Vessica Seal in excellent condition, he also had two lead tokens with the inscription, RH 1800 on one side and a horse on the other, a lizzie threefarthings and, of all things, a Spanish peseta dated 1900.  Rod Holt found a worn hammered, of unknown pedigree, but a hammered non the less.  Stuart Sutton, uncovered a Jetton and a couple of Roman grots, Norman Gowan had a lead token and part of a Jaws Harp.  Both Andrew James and myself (Byron Matthews) found silver in the shape of Victoria six-pences (1841 and 1888 respectively). It was a very nice day, at a well organised event and we are all looking forward to our next outing to Spaxton on 3rd October 2010.

Report By Byron Mathews (RARE Vice Chairman)

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RARE Members on BBC's X-Ray Programme

Our two members "Alan Jenkins and Ray Coburn" were on the BBC's X-Ray programme in June 2010 and the programme included information about the FID's "Free Recovery Service " for lost items and a bit about our wonderful hobby.  The programme even includes X-Ray presenter "Lucy Owen" having a go at metal detecting with her low and slow swing. 

An article link to the X-Ray website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/x-ray/2010/06/lost-and-found-the-metal-detec.shtml and the video can be found below!!

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Cowbridge Rally Report 1997

BBC Radio Wales - Alan Jenkins/RARE Interview.mp3