Total number of finds recorded for the county in 2022: | 29 |
No of Treasure cases discovered in Staffordshire in 2022: | 0 |
Material composition of highest number of objects recorded: | Silver |
Historic period with the most finds recorded: | Post Medieval |
Object type with the highest number of finds recorded: | Coins followed by brooches |
The following objects have been chosen by Sarah Williams, Finds Liaison Assistant for West Midlands:
This complete Victorian copper alloy token was found in the Birmingham area and is dated to AD 1862 – 1893. Well preserved and readable, the obverse contains a shield in the centre and the word ‘FORWARD’ written underneath in a scroll. Surrounding this in a circumferential circular band is the address: SMALLBROOK STREET BIRMINGHAM. A further outer circumferential field reads: DAY’S CRYSTAL PALACE CONCERT HALL. The reverse has a central circular field, which has a 3d symbol for the value of the token. In the surrounding circumferential field, it reads: THE SAME EVENING AS RECIEVED. The outer field reads: TO BE SPENT IN THE CONCERT HALL ONLY.
The Day’s Crystal Palace Concert Hall was located on the corner of Smallbrook Street and Hurst Street, Birmingham.
It was built for James Day, who had a large Crystal Ball and mirrored walls installed into the Concert Hall and named it Day’s Crystal Palace Concert Hall for its opening on Thursday the 18th of September 1862.
The concert hall was very popular but closed In September 1893, due to the site being sold to Moss Empires, who demolished most of the hall to build their new theatre. Unfortunately, the Empire Theatre was then destroyed by German bombers in 1941 and subsequently demolished in 1950.
This well preserved and complete silver groat of Henry VI was found in Wolverhampton. It has been designated as a find of note due to the rarity of this denomination, with only four recorded on the PAS database.
Henry VI reigned from AD 1422 to 1461 and this coin has been dated to circa AD 1445 to 1454, issued as part of the unmarked coinage. Minted in London, the obverse of the coin has a crown bust facing and one saltire stop. The inscription reads: HENRIC DI GRA REX ANGL Z FRANC.
The reverse has a long cross with three pellets in each quarter and the inscription reads: POSVI DEVM A DIVTOR E MEVM / CIVI TAS LON DON.
This beautiful copper-alloy brooch is nearly complete and has been identified as a crescent type ‘Aesica’ brooch from the late Iron Age to Early Roman period, possibly dating to circa AD 25 – 100.
The brooch comprises an upper curved bow and a lower flat bow. The spring mechanism is similar to the Polden Hill brooches (Aesica, type 3) in that the springs are contained within cylindrical wings which are pierced by a central axis bar.
Well preserved, the only evident damage is at both ends of the spring, the missing pin and the damaged rearward facing hook that would have held the external chord in place at the centre of the rear of the head. The brooch has an upper plate which has a ‘C’ shaped curve that gives the brooch its crescent shape. At the centre of the bow running vertically is a prominent lateral rib. The decoration consists of a linear vertical inlay of red enamel.
The upper curved bow is joined to the lower flat bow with a circular knop that forms a large, pierced hole which can be seen when the brooch is in profile and at the reverse. This central rounded knop is decorated with seven triangles inlaid with red enamel.
Extending from the large circular knop is the lower bow which is flat and broadly triangular in form. The triangular fantail foot is decorated with a design consisting of a series of inlaid cells filled with enamel. In the centre is a blue lozenge cell. Above and expanding to the outer border are two blue triangular cells. Above is a red enamel semi-circle. Below the central lozenge are two red triangular cells expanding to the outer border. Below this at the lower edge are three smaller triangles inlaid with red enamel interspersed with four smaller blue triangle cells.
For more information about this brooch, please visit the object record at: WMID-87ABB2
This incomplete lead alloy probable bell or other decorative furniture fitting has been dated to the Post Medieval period, and dated to circa AD 1600 to 1800.
The artefact is a conical shape with a narrowed top and is hollow on the inside. At the top is a broken attachment point. The narrowed top is undecorated but the lower skirt bears foliate style decoration, with the inscription IHS appearing once. This could refer to a monogram meaning Iesus Hominum Salvator (Jesus Saviour of Mankind). On the inside, it is concave, with a broken attachment point at the centre.
The shape of the object would suggest a bell of some type, but due to the weight at 110.1g, this is less consistent. Unfortunately, no direct parallel for this object has been found on the database as of yet.
On this object record at WMID-F10125, you will find a 3D scan of the object underneath the 2D image. This is new for 2022 and something FLO Teresa Gilmore has been working on for new finds over the past year. The 3D model of the object has been scanned using the mobile phone app, Qlone. This app can be used by anyone and is a quick and easy way to scan objects and upload them to the database. It can take all of 15 minutes to do this!
3D models can show much more detail than just relying on a 2D image and it could act as an aid for a later more accurate identification of an object, such as this one.
Both of these Mesolithic objects have been found this year in the same Dudley area of the West Midlands and have been dated to 9000 BC to 4000 BC. Showing that there had been Mesolithic occupation within Dudley long before the industrial landscape we associate with the area today.
The hammerstone (WAW-D443C4) is a completely rounded, ovate quartzite pebble. One end has considerable surface damage due to the stone being utilised as a hammer stone.
The microlith (WAW-DF9EC3) is complete and manufactured on a tertiary bladelet of white patinated flint. The complete left-hand edge of the dorsal face has abrupt, parallel retouch which continues around the obliquely truncated proximal end.