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April 2010 winner – John Formstone - with his Edward IV penny from the ecclesiastical mint at York .
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A hammered silver long cross penny of Edward IV, from the second reign during the years 1471-83. The obverse has the crowned facing bust with the letter ‘T’ to the left and a key to the right, indicative of this coin being from the ecclesiastical mint at York, under Archbishop Thomas Rotherham. This further refines the date to post 1479. The reverse has the Long cross pattée with three pellets in each angle and a quatrefoil at the centre. The coin is much worn and heavily clipped with some additional chipping to the rim.
January 2010 Joint winners – Henry Pugh (& Richard Smith) – Henry, with his super example of an Anglo Saxon dress pin.
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This is a copper alloy, Anglo-Saxon dress pin; probably from the 7th or 8th century AD. It is a well executed example with what would appear to be the remnants gold foil on the head of the pin. A zoomorphic head sits on a circular collar and may represent a frog. It has been worked after casting with small punch marks to give some texture to the surface. In his unpublished D Phil thesis of 1991 (Univ Oxford), Seamus Ross attributed this more elaborate ‘eclectic’ pin styling, to the seventh century. The pin is now bent at right angles just below the collar. It is probable that the pin is not complete with some missing section to the lower, or point of the pin. It also has a slightly swollen section to the pin shaft. The head of the pin is 14.5 mm with a width of 3.65 mm. If straightened, the length would be around 61 mm. The surface of the pin section is heavily corroded with a mottled dark and light green patina. The head has been protected over time by the now mostly missing gold foil; it remains in slightly better condition with a mottled green patina and the remnants of gold foil within the moulded depressions. There is now less than 10% gold in the artefact.
January 2010 Joint winners – Richard Smith (& Henry Pugh) – With his excellent example of a Wirral type Roman brooch.
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This is a Romano-British bow brooch in the ‘Wirral’ tradition, circa late 1st to 2nd century AD. The topmost section of the brooch has an extended horizontal ribbed flange on which there was a now broken, chain loop. The ribbing is further decorated with post casting score marks. The rear lug has in situ, the remains of an axis bar from a probable hinged mechanism. The top of the bow has a semi oval cross section decorated on the front with a panel containing three long channels that would have been infilled with enamel. There is a vestige of blue enamel to the lower part of the central channel. Beneath the panel, there is a protruding central knop. The lower bow or leg has a ‘D’ cross-section and is undecorated. There is a small knop at the foot and the remnants of the catchplate to the rear of the leg. The brooch is pitted and scarred with a deep brown/green patina.
October 2009 winner – Steve Morris – This is a first for CPAT, a very nice and rare find for our area.
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A hammered silver penny of King Coenwulf of Mercia (796 – 821). In this example, the obverse has the King’s name and title around central M (Mercia). The reverse has a Tribrach moline of two lines voided, dividing the legend with a pellet in the ‘MOD’ sector. The tribrach is supposed to represent the archiepiscopal pall thus giving the opinion that these coins are struck at Canterbury. The moneyer is Æthelmod (E þ LEMOND). The coin has damage to the rim in the lower right quarter as viewed from the obverse, other than that, this coin is in super condition with little sign of wear. An identical coin can be found in the Handbook of the Coins of Great Britain and Ireland in the British Museum - by Herbert Appold Grueber, Barclay Vincent Head – page 5, item 34. Further reference is at EMC number 1992.7640 (Ref: SCBI 42 - Southeastern: 640; Metcalf 1988: 133; BLS Cn 10e) from the Sylloge of Coins of the British Isles in the Fitzwilliam Museum.
July 2009 winner – Dave Jaques – Dave found this beautifully preserved halfcrown near Ellesmere.
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This is a silver Charles I York halfcrown in remarkable condition. The obverse depicts the King mounted on horseback facing left with the ‘EBOR’ mark for York at the base. The mintmark is that of a lion, indicative of the 1643-44 York mint. The reverse has a crowned oval quartered shield of arms, garnished, with the crowned letters ‘C’ & ‘R’ to each side. The surface of the coin has some corrosion and the obverse is struck off centre with some damage to rim at the 3 o'clock.
April 2009 winner – Julian Owen – Julian found this cracking example of a ‘Cheek Piece’ as he was walking off the field to go home!
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A late Iron Age copper-alloy horse harness fitting, possibly a 'cheek piece'. In form it is rod-like and circular in section at the ends of the slightly waisted arms. The central section is flattened and widened and is perforated by a sub-rectangular hole or slot. It is decorated in the La Tene style, consisting of a symmetrical pattern of incised curvilinear shapes derived from a series of interwoven circles, with a fine incised line encompassing each motif. There is a sub-rectangular decorative panel in the central section and a linear grove terminating at each end with a fan, or trumpet shape down the arms. These designs are encompassed by a fine line. The hollow fields were originally filled with enamel, probably all coloured red, as fragments survive in three of the fields. Similar objects are present in the Polden Hill hoard from Somerset now at the British Museum (see Registration numbers:
1846,0322.136,
1846,0322.139 and
1846,0322.142
under 'Polden Hill' in the British Museum online catalogue at
http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database.aspx).
Two are described as 'toggles' and one as a sword hilt. The design is only present on one side of the object although a line with a short return has been incised on the back of the central section. This looks to have been done in antiquity. The object is a dark green/brown colour with some pitting due to corrosion and scrapes and scratches.
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