HOARD

Unique ID: HAMP-92F19F

Object type certainty: Certain Workflow status: Published

A group of 32 milled coins deposited together, comprising 14 gold (Guineas, Half Guineas) and 18 silver (Half Crowns, , Sixpences). The coins were found scattered across an area of approximately 1m2. There was no reported evidence for any context or container, so they may have originally been contained in a now decomposed bag of organic material.

Notes:

The earliest securely dateable coins in this assemblage are two Guineas of Charles II dating to 1679 with the latest being a of George III dating to 1766. This places the deposition of the hoard to the late 1760s at the earliest. The wear on the older gold coins and the high levels of wear on the silver suggest that at least part of this hoard was a circulating group. The majority of the silver comprise Shillings and Sixpences of William III, all of which demonstrate high levels wear, mostly to the point of illegibility. Interestingly all of the sixpences have been bent into an “S” shape. Coins bent in this fashion are sometimes referred to as 'love tokens' but are more correctly regarded as charms or pledges. They are not uncommon finds but their significance is not understood. This form of treatment of coins is known from the time of Elizabeth I (1558-1603) to the reign of Ann (1702- 1714) with some Georgian examples. They were particularly common in the reign of William III (1694-1702) and all of the identifiable Sixpences and Shillings in this group date from this period. Bending coins as part of an oath is an ancient practice; Manville (2014) says of such bent coins: “A twice bent coin might be carried in the pocket or wallet as a protection against the ‘evil eye’ or other witchcraft, hence the crooked of the children’s rhyme. Other so-called lucky pocket pieces might be bent to distinguish them from normal coins and prevent inadvertent spending". The combination in this hoard of large numbers of coins treated in this fashion with the high value gold issues suggests that whatever the rationale behind this practice, coins treated like this were still regarded as valid currency and remained in general circulation in the late 18th century.

Denomination Ruler Date Diameter Weight Spink Ref. 1 Guinea Charles II 1679 24.5 8.08 3344 2 Guinea Charles II 1679 25.0 7.84 3344 3 Guinea Annefinds.org.uk 1714 25.9 8.15 3574 4 Guinea George I 1722 24.8 8.21 3631 5 Guinea George II 1747 24.7 8.33 3680 6 Guinea George II 1751 25.0 8.35 3680 7 Guinea George II 1759 24.1 8.36 3680 8 Guinea George III 1764 24.6 8.43 3726 9 Guinea George III 1766 25.1 8.38 3727 10 Half Guinea William III 1698 20.6 3.85 3468 11 Half Guinea George II 1739 20.7 4.11 3681A 12 Half Guinea George II 1750 20.9 4.08 3685 13 Half Guinea George II 1752 21.2 4.13 3685 14 Half Guinea George II 1760 21.0 4.14 3685 15 Half Charles II 1669 32.5 13.92 3365 16 Half Crown William III - 33.2 14.31 - 17 William III 16_6 25.1 5.29 3482 18 Shilling William III - 26.0 5.04 - 19 Shilling William III - 25.0 5.17 - 20 Shilling William III - 25.2 5.27 - 21 Shilling William III - 25.1 4.98 - 22 Shilling William III - 25.2 5.06 - 23 Sixpence William III 1696 20.6 2.79 - 24 Sixpence - - 20.3 2.09 - 25 Sixpence - - 20.6 2.75 - 26 Sixpence - - 20.7 2.29 - 27 Sixpence - - 20.2 2.02 - 28 Sixpence - - 20.6 2.16 - 29 Sixpence - - 20.1 2.00 - 30 Sixpence - - 19.6 1.92 - 31 Sixpence - - 20.0 1.90 - 32 Sixpence - - 20.2 2.43 -

Subsequent actions

Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder after being disclaimed as Treasure

Treasure details

Treasure case tracking number: 2020T344

Chronology

Broad period: POST MEDIEVAL Period from: POST MEDIEVAL Period to: POST MEDIEVAL Date from: Circa AD 1669 Date to: Circa AD 1766

Dimensions and weight

Quantity: 32

Discovery dates finds.org.uk

Date(s) of discovery: Sunday 1st March 2020

Personal details

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Other reference numbers

Other reference: Hampshire Cultural Trust Object Entry Form HMHCT 861 Treasure case number: 2020T344 Materials and construction

Primary material: Gold Secondary material: Silver Manufacture method: Milled Completeness: Complete

Spatial metadata

Region: South East (European Region) County or Unitary authority: Hampshire (County) District: Winchester (District) Parish or ward: Hursley (Civil Parish)

Spatial coordinates

4 Figure: SU4024 Four figure Latitude: 51.01399454 Four figure longitude: -1.43117044 1:25K map: SU4024 1:10K map: SU42SW Grid reference source: From a paper map Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 1 metre square.

Discovery metadata

Method of discovery: Metal detector General landuse: Woodland

Spink and Son Ltd, 2016 Coin of England and the United Kingdom 51 London: Spink and Son Ltd

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