Minutes for Treasure Valuation Committee Meeting – 23rd May 2012 The meeting was held in the Hartwell Room at the British Museum on Wednesday, 23rd May 2012 at 11am. Present Committee British Museum DCMS Colin Renfrew (Chair) Caroline Barton Paul Blaker Trevor Austin Roger Bland Ian Carradice Janina Parol John Cherry Ian Richardson Peter Clayton Emma Traherne David Dykes Hetty Gleave Tim Pestell Item 1: Minutes of the meeting of Friday, 20th April 2012 Item 2: Objects Bronze Age artefacts 1. Bronze Age gold ring (broken) from Dalton area, Cumbria (2011 T499) The provisional valuer suggested £180-£200. The Committee examined the broken ring in light of this and noted that the suggested figure had an appropriate uplift on the bullion value of the equivalent amount of gold to reflect the item’s appeal. In agreement with the provisional valuer, the Committee recommended £180. Dock Museum hopes to acquire. NB – The Committee confirmed as a principle that the method of arriving at a recommended figure by means of the bullion value of the precious metal in an artefact (detailed in the minutes of the meeting of 20 April 2012) should only be applied when the item is non-descript and not of any particular recognisable form or function. In cases where the item’s form is clearly discerned, such as in the above example, where, although damaged, the item is clearly a ring, the Committee agreed that it would refer to the bullion value only to ensure that the recommended figure was at least equal to this amount. 2. Bronze Age gold ring from Headbourne Worthy, Hampshire (2010 T145) The provisional valuer suggested £400. The Committee viewed the ring in light of this, noting that it was plated with gold and had a bronze core. The Committee commented that examples of similar items in solid gold would be worth a greater amount than this piece, and pointed to the citation made by the valuer, of a triple-banded ring valued at £400-£500 (Benet’s Artefacts of England and the United Kingdom, 2003, pg. 53). The Committee commented additionally that it considered the figures suggested in Benet’s to more closely mirror retail prices, rather than the price settled on between a willing buyer and a willing seller, which is usually less than the retail price. The Committee also drew attention to a similar two-banded ring that it had previously valued at £500 (2008 T76 from Brighstone, Isle of Wight; Portable Antiquities and Treasure Annual Report 2008, pg. 47; PAS ID: IOW- 1F5D46). The Isle of Wight ring weighed 9g and was made of solid gold, whereas the ring under discussion weighed 5.92g and was not solid gold. Taking all of the above into consideration, the Committee recommended £300. Winchester Museum Service hopes to acquire. 3. Bronze Age gold torc fragment from Shorwell, Isle of Wight (2011 T501) The provisional valuer suggested £300-£350. The Committee viewed the fragment with this in mind and noted that it had earlier valued a similar artefact from Bradford Peverell, Dorset at £450 (2003 T19; Treasure Annual Report 2003, pg. 17). The Dorset torc fragment weighed 12.95g, and the item under discussion weighed 7.0g. In that respect, and in light of the arguments made in the provisional valuer’s report, the suggested range was felt to be accurate. In agreement with the provisional valuer, the Committee recommended £350. The Isle of Wight Heritage Service hopes to acquire. 4. Late Bronze Age hoard (15 Cu objects and 3 wood fragments) from St Ishmael, Carmarthenshire (11.10) The provisional valuer suggested £450. The Committee inspected the hoard in light of this and commented that a complete socketed axe (celt) of this size in reasonable condition would expect to retail at approximately £230, while its market value would be somewhat lower. The example contained in this hoard was not felt to be in the most desirable condition, and the Committee felt its value was £70. The Committee agreed with the valuer that the other items in the hoard possessed little commercial value, and felt that their combined worth was £180. Overall, the Committee recommended £250 for the entire find. Carmarthenshire Museum 5. Bronze Age – Early Iron Age hoard (114) from the Vale of Wardour, Wiltshire (2011 T684) The provisional valuer suggested £11,500. The Committee viewed the hoard in light of this and agreed that it appeared to be an archaeologically interesting hoard, and debated what that attraction would equate to in terms of a market value. Several of the pieces were felt to be attractive and aesthetically pleasing in their own right. The Committee noted that the provisional valuer had relied heavily on comparisons from the price guide Benet’s: Artefacts of England and the United Kingdom (2003) and observed that it was not clear whether the valuer had suggested equivalent prices for those objects in the hoard that paralleled similar items in Benet’s or whether the valuer had in fact suggested values that merely used the Benet’s price as a starting figure. This was a significant point, for the Committee noted that it regarded the prices in Benet’s to more closely reflect retail prices, rather than prices ‘for object(s) in a sale on the open market between a willing seller and a willing buyer’ (Treasure Act 1996 Code of Practice, par. 65), the figure the Committee is tasked to recommend. The Committee therefore requested a second provisional valuation before it recommended a figure for the hoard. Salisbury & South Wiltshire Museum hope to acquire. 6. Late Bronze Age hoard (19) from Manobier, Pembrokshire (10.12) The provisional valuer suggested £900. The National Museum of Wales submitted comments. The Committee viewed the hoard in light of this and noted that the provisional valuer had relied heavily on comparisons from the price guide Benet’s: Artefacts of England and the United Kingdom (2003) and observed that it was not clear whether the valuer had suggested equivalent prices for those objects in the hoard that paralleled similar items in Benet’s or whether the valuer had in fact suggested values that merely used the Benet’s price as a starting figure. This was a significant point, for the Committee noted that it regarded the prices in Benet’s to more closely reflect retail prices, rather than prices ‘for object(s) in a sale on the open market between a willing seller and a willing buyer’ (Treasure Act 1996 Code of Practice, par. 65), the figure the Committee is tasked to recommend. The Committee therefore requested a second provisional valuation before it recommended a figure for the hoard. The National Museum of Wales hopes to acquire. NB: For the record, the Committee felt that the provisional valuation for this item was high. Iron Age artefacts 7. Early Iron Age hoard (7) from Stockbury, Kent (2011 T110) The provisional valuer suggested £1,500. The Committee examined the hoard in light of this and noticed the provisional valuer’s suggested figure was partly based on the assertion that the horse bit and harness fragment ‘may be the first example found in the UK’. The Committee pointed out that the report had said that the horse bit under discussion was ‘the first of its kind to be found in Britain.’ The Committee therefore questioned the rationale applied by the valuer, and felt that the prices suggested by the valuer were closer to retail figures rather than prices ‘for object(s) in a sale on the open market between a willing seller and a willing buyer’ (Treasure Act 1996 Code of Practice, par. 65), the figure the Committee is tasked to recommend. Before recommending a figure for the hoard, the Committee requested a second provisional valuation. Maidstone Museum hopes to acquire. Roman artefacts 8. Roman gold phallic pendant from Knaresborough area, North Yorkshire (2011 T808) The provisional valuer suggested £250. The Committee examined the pendant in light of this and pointed to several other examples it had seen before, which had been mentioned in the report for the coroner. One was a phallic pendant from Braintree, Essex (Treasure Annual Report 2000, pg. 26; PAS ID: ESS-0CDDC1valued at £1300) which was much heavier (3.86g) and larger (27mm) than the pendant from Knaresborough. Another was the pendant from Hillington, Norfolk (2011 T78; PAS ID : NMS-94CA46, valued at £800). Both of the above were also in better condition than the Knaresborough example. The Committee felt that on balance, the suggested figure adequately reflected the attraction of the piece, and in agreement with the valuer, the Committee recommended £250. The British Museum hopes to acquire. 9. Roman silver denarius reworked into a finger-ring bezel from Ulceby with Fordington, Lincolnshire (2011 T752) The provisional valuer suggested £25. This item was not considered as the finder and landowner had both agreed to waive their reward in respect of the Collection, Lincoln, allowing the item to be acquired at no cost. 10. Roman silver finger-ring from Walkeringham, Nottinghamshire (2010 T732) The provisional valuer suggested £200. The finder submitted comments. The Committee examined the finger-ring in light of this and looked at this alongside another ring (2011 T614 from Horncastle area, Lincoln; valued at £300) at the same meeting. It pointed out that many similar rings had been valued by the Committee in the past. One example from Scopwick, Lincolnshire (2005 T196; Treasure Annual Report 2005/6, pg.62) was valued at £300 and was felt to be slightly finer than the piece under consideration, particularly along the shoulders of the ring. Taking all of this into consideration, the Committee felt that a slightly higher figure than suggested was warranted, and recommended £230.