In August 1998 I reported how my detecting partner Fred, and myself, found a hoard of 147 Tealby type pennies of Henry II in Northants. Since a year has passed I thought I'd better update everyone on the outcome so far and also about our wonderful surprise at finding even more of the pennies which were too deep for us to find the first time. It has been a very frustrating business dealing with our find and, to date, it is still not settled. The British Museum did send a very brief report on the coins to the local coroners office after five months but although the Treasure Act states that a report should be made to the finders within six months, we never received one.

It took numerous phone calls to try to speed up an inquest which eventually took place in Feb 1999, almost one year after making the find. On one occasion I was told to remember that they were very busy� but in fact this was the only case they had ever had under the new Treasure Act.

Lasted ten minutes
The inquest lasted ten minutes and the hoard was declared treasure trove�there were no other cases that day! I told the coroner that we had never received a report on the coins and she promised she would look into the matter. We still didn�t get a report!
Meanwhile during last autumn and winter we were anxious to get back onto the field where we had found the hoard. We had had to leave it in a hurry on the third day of detecting due to the field being injected with slurry prior to growing a crop. When we were able to get back on the land the rain had been so heavy that it was a virtual bog. Despite several attempts we only succeeded in unearthing one coin! Every time we tried to dig a signal the hole filled with water.

However, we were able to get onto other neighbouring farms from time to time over the winter. We have noticed how more amenable farmers become when they know you have already found a hoard. One actually said, �Come and find a hoard on my land�. Of course, by this time our photographs had been in the local newspapers and we had also given a local radio interview.

XLT loves gold!
The XLT made many super finds over the winter including over 40 Roman coins, a Roman ring, several brooches and dozens of other later artefacts. It turned up an exceptionally fine sovereign dated 1875 and a gold Maltese-shaped cross. The XLT loves gold as much as I do judging by the resounding noise it always emits when it encounters the metal.
However, the most spectacular incident was when Fred was investigating one of our Roman hotspots and found a beautifully cast bronze figurine about 10 cms long and 6 cms high. It had two outstretched wolves heads protruding from it and a third was missing. Despite many visits to the spot Fred just could not find the missing head. Late one evening we were passing the field and with an hour of light left, I suggested that I should have a go with the XLT. Within minutes I had the missing head in my hand and Fred was overjoyed. It had been 10 inches deep but the XLT found it. The bronze turned out to be a rare chariot boss and there is one almost identical in the BM.

Incidentally, we have three detectors to use between us. They are all over three years old and both the others have broken down. My XLT just keeps on trucking along.
This April the farmer on whose land we found the hoard rang up to say that he was now able to plough the field for us. We always thought that we would find more coins but were amazed how many more there were. The farmer set the plough deep while Fred, myself and the farmers wife used the three detectors to search the overturned soil. By the end of the day we counted 100 coins. They had originally, obviously, been too deep for any detector, although the XLT had been doing a grand job last year by finding them at over 9 inches. The XLT found eight times as many coins as the other two detectors and that included my being called over frequently to check the other detectors signals which did not have the benefit of graphics, VDI scale or a hammered silver programme.

On the second day we recovered another 50 coins and nine more on the third day. We think we have now almost exhausted the field with a grand total of 306 Tealby pennies and a small bag of the tiniest fragments, all found by the XLT. The most pleasant surprise was in finding two purse attachments but we are not sure yet how they worked.
Since I use the XLT all the time I was pleased that it came with a rechargeable battery which after over 400 charges still gives a good days detecting over 3 years later. The other two machines use batteries and always seem to be running out.

We reported our find in the usual way thinking that the whole process would now be delayed. Apparently not, for we have just received a letter to say that the first part of the hoard is shortly to go before the Valuation Committee. Whether the second part of the hoard has to go through the whole procedure of the Coroners Court no-body seems to know. It seems that a few of the coins are of national importance and that a dozen different mints are represented.

We now await the verdict of the Valuation Committee, while hoping that we do not have to wait to go to the Coroners Court again. I cannot help feeling that it is rather ironic that the monarch whose coins we have been finding� Henry II�was also the very king who set-up Coroners Courts in the first place!