10 Pfennigs

[Plynkes]

My great-nephew has a new hobby: Metal detecting. He's just found a 1940 Ten Pfennig piece in our front field, complete with eagle and swastika.

Pondering how the hell it could have ended up here on the Welsh border. There were a lot of POWs working on the farms around here during the war, so I guess that's the most likely answer.  Thought it might be fun to share. Was definitely not expecting that.

[Storm Wolf]

Great find, and yes you are probably right as to most likely cause of it getting there.

When I was kid, messing about in our back garden, I once dug up a brass ARP button which made sense but not far from it I also found another brass button with a skull and cross bones on it of a similar vintage, still not sure what that one was?

Odd 

[carlos marighela]

Interesting. Yes quite possibly a POW but typically they were divested of such items upon capture. Equally likely someone brought it back as a souvenir. Just possible it fell from the flying suit pocket of Luftwaffe aircrew shot down in the area. Interesting either way. Give my regards to McKenzie Crook btw.

@ Storm Wolf.

Skull and crossbones brass button is mostly likely to be 17/21 Lancers. Your button look anything like this:

[has.been]

When my wife took an fancy to metal detect, we bought what turned out to be
a very basic model. Even when we dropped a large bunch of keys on the lawn,
& could SEE them, we could not 'detect' them.
Needless to say we never had the level of result that your grand-nephew had.

[Plynkes]

Interesting. Yes quite possibly a POW but typically they were divested of such items upon capture

Yeah, that's what I thought would happen, which is why I was a bit puzzled.

[carlos marighela]

When my wife took an fancy to metal detect, we bought what turned out to be
a very basic model. Even when we dropped a large bunch of keys on the lawn,
& could SEE them, we could not 'detect' them.
Needless to say we never had the level of result that your grand-nephew had.

 

You reminded me of a comment made by some US Army engineers testing out a a Soviet mine detector. back in the Cold War Their conclusion was that 'it wouldn't detect a metal chair in an empty room'.

[Plynkes]

Speaking of Soviet stuff, he's just found a 1974 five Kopek piece.  He's building up to it: I'm sure we'll have a Saxon burial horde by tea time!
 

[has.been]

You reminded me of a comment made by some US Army engineers testing out a a Soviet mine detector. back in the Cold War Their conclusion was that 'it wouldn't detect a metal chair in an empty room'.

 
Sounds like some of my (Wargaming WW2) Russians, who failed to set light to
a log cabin with a flame thrower!!!

[Storm Wolf]

Interesting. Yes quite possibly a POW but typically they were divested of such items upon capture. Equally likely someone brought it back as a souvenir. Just possible it fell from the flying suit pocket of Luftwaffe aircrew shot down in the area. Interesting either way. Give my regards to McKenzie Crook btw.

@ Storm Wolf.

Skull and crossbones brass button is mostly likely to be 17/21 Lancers. Your button look anything like this:

Carlos,

Yup I think you are probably right, I did a little google detective work after I posted and found the same thing. Also I live in Kent and not far from the Thames approximately where the 17/21 Lancers were stationed in 1940.

Many thanks

Glen

[carlos marighela]

Speaking of Soviet stuff, he's just found a 1974 five Kopek piece.  He's building up to it: I'm sure we'll have a Saxon burial horde by tea time!

The mystery deepens. Are your lands being overrun by nocturnal, itinerant coin dealers? Has Antiques Roadshow ever visited?  Do your farm buildings look like they may have a history of use as a safe house by various sleeper agents from the Abwehr through to the KGB?

Good luck with the Saxon horde. I think you'll find its more likely modern equivalent is a Wrexham FC pin, a very rusty Joe 90 Badge (circa 1969), a handful of roofing nails and a selection of bottle tops of indeterminate age but definitely mid to late 20thC. 

Just remember that in Detectorists they passed over the Saxon horde at the end of the first series. The only solution is to dig up the entire field.