Carlisle Rally 26th March 2006

Posted by ricey on January 27, 2006 11:34 PM

I'm hearing that the Brampton & Longtown Rotary Club have a charity rally in Carlisle on the 26th March 2006. Money is going to charities supported by the rotary club.

Off the A689 Carlisle to Brampton Road

10am - 4.30pm

£12 pp Pre-Booked - £15 pp On the Day

Catering - Toilets - Trade Stands - Raffle - Token Hunt - Children Welcome if supervised

Camping available - just ask for a list.

Telephone James for bookings on 01228 562340 or 07833 126 123

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Lusitania and Mauretania Medals

Posted by ricey on January 27, 2006 10:18 PM

Living in Liverpool, a Major Shipping Port, for centuries it would come as no surprise to hear that some of the finds you make Metal Detecting can be related to 'The Seas'. My Father, also a keen Metal Detectorist has found numerous Commemorative Medals - Two of particular interest. These relate to the ships Mauretania and Lusitania.

Mauretania was Lusitania's nearly identical sister. Launched in 1906, Mauretania made her maiden voyage from Liverpool to New York on 16 November 1907 - another significant point in Liverpool's history. During World War I Mauretania served as a troopship and a hospital ship. On 26 September 1934, the day Queen Mary was launched, Mauretania left New York on her final Atlantic crossing. She was scrapped in 1935. Many parts of the ship were made into Medals commemorating the ships existence.

The keel for the Lusitania was laid in May, 1905 in Clydebank, Glasgow. A bit over twelve months later it was completed and launched on June 7, 1906.Lusitania was 785 feet long and 88 feet wide with a displacement of 31,550 tons. The great ship was driven by four steam turbines generating what at that time was an impressive total of 68,000 horsepower capable of speeding this greyhound of the seas to over 26 knots. In 1907 the Lusitania retook the coveted Blue Ribaud (Blue Ribbon), the trophy held by the fastest ship in the Atlantic, and flaunted by the Germans for the previous decade. For the next eight years the Lusitania undertook regular and profitable service ferrying passengers and freight across the Atlantic. This ship also had a medal made but for a far more interesting and important reason. Thanks to Greg Burns of www.lusitaniamedal.com an expert in this field - he has allowed me to reproduce excerpts from an article on the medal in question. For those who are interested in reading more a visit to his website is highly recommended.

THE LUSITANIA MEDAL

Karl Goetz

This German medalist and sculptor was best known for his satirical medals created during and shortly after the conclusion of World War I. Born in Augsburg, Germany, he studied art in that city under master Johannes Dominal and continued his education and training in Dresden, Leipzig, Berlin, and Düsseldorf until 1897. After spending the subsequent two years in the Netherlands, and after that Paris for five years, he finally settled in Munich where he spent the rest of his life. Karl Goetz was a busy man, enjoying active membership in the Munich's Artist Society, The Numismatic Society, The Ancient Club of Munich, and the Artisan Society for Numismatics in Vienna. Karl Goetz also extended his sculpting and medalist abilities in the creation of pattern coins for the German Empire and the Weimar Republic.

By the later 1940s, Goetz struggled to continue working as he dealt with increasing paralysis in his right hand caused by a stroke. By the time of his death at the age of seventy-five his entire right side was paralyzed.

Writer Gunter W. Kienast (The Medals of Karl Goetz [1967, reprinted 1980], and later Goetz II: a supplement to The Medals of Karl Goetz [1986]) chronicled some 784 different medallic works of Karl Goetz, including 175 with satirical themes. Many of the non-satirical medals were created as commemoratives of significant events in his personal life or the lives of his friends and acquaintances, or to commemorate the birth or life of a famous personage.

Goetz received many awards and recognitions during his lifetime, including the Silver State Medal at Nuremburg (1906), the State Medal at Gent (1913), and posthumously, the Silver State Medal of the World Exposition in Madrid in 1951.

The First Goetz Medal

Karl Goetz must have been stewing in heated indignation as he sat sipping his coffee and reading his morning paper. The impertinent British had the arrogance to put innocent lives on board what he understood to be a military transport, with their hope that the barrier of guiltless souls would prevent the German navy from sinking the ship with its cargo of munitions destined for the deaths of noble Germans fighting for the Vaterland. Imagine Goetz as he repeats the parade of righteous anger over and over in his mind. An image forms of a medal, another satirical spear with which to jab the inflated British ego and to expose them for the hypocritical and heartless money-grubbers they were. Eventually his mental picture took form within his hands. Busy in his workshop he carefully sculpted the piece.

Unfortunately for Karl Goetz and the German propaganda machinery, he put the wrong date of sinking on the medal, an error he later attributed to an error in the newspaper account he had read. By mistake, instead of the correct date of May 7, Karl put on his medal the date of May 5, a full two days before the actual sinking. Without realizing his error Karl began to make copies of the satirical medal and to sell them on the streets of Munich and to the select numismatic dealers with whom he regularly dealt. The date error probably didn’t seem like such a big deal at the time.

The British Copy

The British quickly recognized and seized the propaganda windfall Goetz’ medal provided. They raced to produce their own copies of Goetz’ medal and accompanied it with a propaganda pamphlet which strongly and slantedly denounced the Germans, and accused them of premeditated wholesale murder. The British copies are of a poorer quality and were produced in iron by die casting. The British copies can be distinguished by their poor looks alone, and also by their anglicized spelling of the German “Mai� as “May�, though not all of them are so made.

The Second Goetz Medal

Seeing the world’s abhorrent response to the tragedy, and finding the British joyfully compounding this reaction with their inflammatory copy of the medal along with its literature, Karl Goetz set about to correct his mistake by producing a second version of the medal with the proper date of “7 Mai.�

The Pennsylvania Copy

The British weren’t the only ones with strong feelings regarding the German ethics involved with the tragedy. Among a hoard of others were two men in the United States, Gustav Sandstrom and Clarence Mahood of Warren County, Pennsylvania.

Sandstrom and Mahood created their own copy of the medal and sold it along with their own version of the box and propaganda leaflet similar to the British. With several obvious differences in appearance, they sold along with the box and leaflet for fifty cents apiece, three for a dollar, or a dozen for three dollars.

Today these pieces are fairly scarce and command a nice premium among knowledgeable collectors over the common British copies. The Sandstrom and Mahood pieces are easily distinguished by the style of lettering and die engraving, and most obviously by the rather goofy grinning pumpkin head of a skeleton.

Other Copies

In the 1970’s, Guido Goetz, Karl’s son and heir to his medals cabinet, authorized a Japanese firm to produce reproductions of many of Karl Goetz’ more popular medals, among them the Lusitania medal. Fortunately, these authorized reproductions are distinguishable in a number of ways, most noticeably with a visible difference in quality as they are actually more finely finished than even Karl’s genuine pieces. Cheaply offered in the past, the Japanese copies are, like the Sandstrom and Mahood copies, fairly scarce and command a premium.

In addition, there are currently at least two sources that dabble in producing and marketing copies of the medal. They also have distinguishing characteristics that set them apart from the other varieties.

Finally, because of the medal’s popularity it has been frequently counterfeited. These are usually cheaply done copies that appear to have been produced perhaps in a high school metals class or a similar lark. Sometimes appearing in lead, other times in pewter or other alloys, most of these are extremely crude and instantly recognizable as cheap imitations.

Attribution

The techniques used to tell apart the different varieties of the medal include visual appearance and casting quality, magnetic properties, edge marking, presence and type of patination, weight, specific gravity (alloy density), lettering distance from the edge, presence of German umlauts (the little dots over certain alphabetic characters such as in “gerschäft über�), and a few others. Aside from visible characteristics, specific gravity determinations are the most reliable means of attribution.

Related Ephemera

The British and Pennsylvania copies both come with their respective boxes, and there are several varieties of the propaganda pamphlets for each.

The British pamphlet is very scarce in the German, French and Spanish language versions, and at least the English language version comes both with and without the legend at the top that states, “Do not destroy this...When you have read it carefully through kindly pass it on to a friend.�

The Sandstrom and Mahood pamphlets and boxes are just plain scarce, regardless of variety. There are several varieties of their pamphlet in various colors, layout and wording. And interestingly, considering the rather obvious knock-off of the British medal and ephemera, the Warren County producers had the brass to claim a copyright on their material. Talk about American ingenuity!

This really is what makes our hobby extremely interesting. Every article you find has a piece of history. It needn't be 2000 years old to have historic value. Even war medals we find from the last century to me hold - as much, if not more - interest than a Bronze Age Axehead from those years before Christ.

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Hawkeyes - the winner of Treasure Islands Book

Posted by ricey on January 27, 2006 4:02 PM

Here is a picture of Hawkeyes the winner of the signed copy of the Bill Wymans Treasure Island Book. Once again thanks to all those who entered and I'm glad you like it Helen.

Regards
Steve

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Metal Detecting Rally

Posted by ricey on January 26, 2006 3:47 PM

For club members (and others) interesting in travelling please note the following:

To be held on the estate of Belchamp Hall in North Essex.

(As seen on TV's Lovejoy series!)

Date: Sunday 26th February

Time: 10am until 4pm

Cost: £10.tickets by post only with SAE and full payment

**Limited spaces available**

Toilets and catering on site

We have 76 acres of lightly disced land for the day, one and a quarter miles from a major roman villa.

Please send SAE and cheques payable to:

1st Castle Hedingham Scout Group

C/O Paul James 16 Yeldham Road, Sible Hedingham, Halstead, Essex, CO9 3QJ

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Best Finds and Coins of 2005

Posted by ricey on January 18, 2006 11:43 PM

Last week we had the competitions for the best coins and finds of 2005.

They were

Early Find - 1st/2ndC Trumpet Brooch
Late Find - Georgian Silver Thimble
Early Coin - Charles 1st Shilling
Late Coin - Gold Guinea

Well done to the winners. As you can see from the above - it doesn't have to be gold to win. Sometimes the fact that it is in lovely condition or has great workmanship goes for the votes a lot more.

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Detector User of the Year

Posted by ricey on January 12, 2006 10:57 PM

Well done Tommy Mac on winning Detector User of the Year for 2005. This trophy has been in existence in the club for over 25 years and is something members try hard to win. I was fortunate to win it 5 years ago and know how much energy and time was required to come up with the goods each and every month for 12 months. I personally travelled in excess of 20,000 miles that year looking for nice finds to display - so I could get enough points to win the annual competition so can only imagine what Tommy had to do.

Here is the photo of him receiving his certificate last night from our Chairman Dave Owens (on the right). The old trophy was retired last year feeling its age - and his name will now go on a plaque.

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Coin and Find of Year Competitions 2006

Posted by ricey on January 5, 2006 9:29 PM

Well it has come to that time of the year when the members of the South Lancs and Cheshire Metal Detecting Club vote on their favourite Coin and Find - which was dug up in 2005.

As usual the quality of some of the finds are exceptional. All are welcome to attend the meeting in January - even non members.

Here are a few of the items that will be voted on

1st/2ndC Roman Seal Box Lid

Trajan denarius

Juliian 11 Roman Sillaqua 360-363

1803 1/3 Guinea

More Info

Charles I Shilling

1561 Elizabeth 1 Sixpence

15th Century Dagger Chape

George IV Sovereign

There will be a lot more on the night. Well done and good luck fellas.

Regards
ricey

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Frosty the 'Metal Detecting' Man

Posted by ricey on January 4, 2006 9:19 PM

One great thing about this hobby is meeting people. Over the years I have made so many friends whilst metal detecting and met so many different people. Even if you don't have a detecting companion you can still go out with groups on rallies etc. As well as meeting people you have the benefit of excercise and fresh air. - and on top of that you might actually find something:-)

In recent years it has also become easier to keep in contact with detectorists in different countries. I have had the priveledge to meet many in different forums on the net. Usually you find those based in Australia, USA and Canada are envious of our history - and what we find metal detecting. At the same time I find myself wondering what it would be like to go Gold Panning and Nugget Hunting.

Here are a couple of photos sent in by Colin - in Canada - this week.
He went detecting in Tuws falls.

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Don't forget Research - Medieval Fairs

Posted by ricey on January 3, 2006 8:16 PM

Medieval Fairs

During all my years Metal Detecting some of the most interesting sites have been fair sites. This is simply because of the amount of activity on such a site throughout the years. Although these fairs only usually took place once a year the site would have been a hive of activity. Also it was common for the fair to be on the same place each year - for hundreds of years.

Most small villages had fairs. If you look at an old almanac you will see a list of fair-days with the names of the villages which, when the appointed days come round, cannot now boast of the presence of a single stall or merry-go-round. The day of the fair was nearly always on or near the festival of the patron saint to whom the church of that village is dedicated. There is, of course, a reason for this. The word "fair" is derived from the Latin word feria, which means a festival, the parish feast day. On the festival of the patron saint of a village church crowds of neighbours from adjoining villages would flock to the place, the inhabitants of which used to keep open house, and entertain all their relations and friends who came from a distance. They used to make booths and tents with boughs of trees near the church, and celebrated the festival with much thanksgiving and prayer. By degrees they began to forget their prayers and remembered only the feasting; country people flocked from far and near; the pedlars and hawkers came to find a market for their wares. Their stalls began to multiply, and thus the germ of a fair was formed.

In such primitive fairs the traders paid no toll or rent for their stalls, but by degrees the right of granting permission to hold a fair was vested in the King, who for various considerations bestowed this favour on nobles, merchant guilds, bishops, or monasteries. Great profits arose from these gatherings. The traders had to pay toll on all the goods which they brought to the fair, in addition to the payment of stallage or rent for the ground on which they displayed their merchandise, and also a charge on all the goods they sold. Moreover, the trades-folk of the town were obliged to close their shops during the days of the fair, and to bring their goods to the fair, so that the toll-owner might gain good profit withal.

We can imagine, or try to imagine, the roads and streets leading to the market-place thronged with traders and chapmen, the sellers of ribbons and cakes, minstrels and morris-dancers, smock-frocked peasants and sombre-clad monks and friars. Then a horn was sounded, and the lord of the manor, or the bishop's bailiff, or the mayor of the town proclaimed the fair; and then the cries of the traders, the music of the minstrels, the jingling of the bells of the morris-dancers, filled the air and added animation to the spectacle.

There are a number of books out there including one by our own club secretary with details of Fair Sites throughout England. These are a good source for research purposes. Below you will find a nice clothes fastener found on one of these sites. If you looked at the site now - in the middle of the countryside - you would have no idea it used to be a fair site. There were some nice coin finds off the site too.

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The pain of Metal Detecting:-)

Posted by ricey on January 3, 2006 8:09 PM

My dream farm - with dozens of detectorists on it...................ouch!!

I was sitting down the other evening, and was looking through some old
finds I'd found about 5 years ago. It brought back a memory of a day
I'd rather forget - but I thought I'd share it with you.

It was a crisp, sunny September morning and I was going to detect on a
new farm I'd recently gained permission to detect on. I'd found
hammered coins on it the week before and tokens and I was hopeful of
more to come. It was a lovely medieval village very close to a church
dating back to saxon times. I invited both my mum and Dad and brother
(all keen detectorists) to come along too.

We set off and travelled for 2 hours and as we were nearing the
village started seeing signs for a major Metal Detecting Rally. I
jokingly said to those with me 'I hope it is not on our farm.
Travelling further down the road my heart stopped. There was dozens of
cars and members of a local club walking all over 'my field'. Words
cannot describe (and they couldn't be printed either) how I felt. I
decided not to stop as I couldn't bear thinking of what might have
come off, so I went to the next village to another farm I'd detected
on before. To this day I don't know what was found........but life
goes on.

Footnote............

There again it can never be as bad as what happened to a mate of mine.
After travelling for 3 hours and searching all day he found a lovely
Henry V111 Hammered Coin and was delighted. He brought it along to our
club meeting and subsequently threw it away by accident with his crisp
packet..............the pain!!!

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Metal Detecting close to Village Inns

Posted by ricey on January 1, 2006 3:41 PM

In almost every village in England there is an inn. These are always
good to research if you are looking to go Metal Detecting. I have
researched many an inn in the past and gained permission to detect
close by. You will be surprised the amount of coins and artifacts to
be found. Before the Reformation there were very few of these
hostelries, as travellers were always accommodated at the monasteries,
each of which had a hospitium, or guest-house, where their wants were
attended to by special officers appointed for the purpose, and where
they could remain for several days. But the destruction of the
monasteries produced many changes in the condition of the country; it
introduced the necessity of a poor law, for the poor were always
relieved by the monasteries; it required the erection of schools and
places for education, as all the education of the country had been
carried on in these monastic buildings; and when the old guesthouses
ceased to
exist, travellers, merchants, and pedlars required some place in which
to lodge when they moved about the country, and inns became plentiful
as time went on. Hence in almost every village in England there is an
inn, which is generally a landmark; and if you wish to direct a
stranger to some place where he desires to go, you doubtless tell him
to turn to the right by "The Bull," or to keep straight on until he
comes to "The Magpie." Old inns have a great history. In former days
they used to be meeting-places of plotters and conspirators. All the
distinguished people in the country used to pass through the villages
and towns on the great roads through the country, and when the horses
were being changed they used to partake of the good fare which the
landlord provided. Those were busy times for the old inns, when there
was stabling for fifty or sixty horses, and the coaches used to rattle
through the village to the inn door long before the iron horses began
to drag their freight of passengers along the iron roads, and the
scream of the engines took the place of the cheerful notes of the
posthorn.

The quaint-looking pictures and curious names which attract our notice
as we pass an inn door have some queer stories to tell. We notice a very
curious collection of animals sometimes, and a strange assortment of
things; and the reason why our ancestors put some of these curious
things together is somewhat difficult for us to find out. In olden days,
other houses of tradesmen besides inns had signs. Grocers, tailors,
candlestick-makers, all had signs; but most of these have disappeared.

One reason for the curious mixture of animals and other things which we
see on signboards is that an apprentice, when he had finished his time
and begun to set up for himself, adopted some sign, and then joined with
it the sign of his old master. This will account for such curiosities as
"The Lamb and Dolphin," "The Goose and Gridiron," "The Fox and Seven
Stars," combinations of things for which it would otherwise be difficult
to account. Another reason is that signs were taken from the armorial
bearings, or crests, of some popular character, or of some great family
in the neighbourhood. For example, I may mention "The Bear with the
Ragged Staff," which was the crest of Richard Nevil, Earl of Warwick,
commonly called "The Kingmaker," who was slain in the battle of Barnet,
1471 A.D. "The Blue Boar" was one of the badges of the House of York.
"The Bull" is a very common sign, because it was a very common crest,
and we have them in all colours--black, red, white; lions also rage in
blue, white, and red attire. Sometimes we meet with "The Cross Keys,"
the keeper of which was probably an old servant or tenant of an abbey or
monastery, and chose his sign from that of the monastery with which he
was connected. Frequently, in olden times, a cross was erected at the
meeting of two or three roads, or where the pilgrims to Canterbury used
to pass; afterwards an inn was built near it, and was, in many cases,
called the Cross Inn.

One very common cause of curious signs is the way in which the original
word has been corrupted by ignorant people frequently repeating words
which they did not understand, and thus changing their whole meaning.
You may have seen an inn described as "The Swan with Two Necks"--a very
rare bird indeed. But it was never intended to disfigure the bird by
giving it two necks; the original sign was "The Swan with Two _Nicks_"
and nicks were the marks which were cut on a swan's bill to distinguish
it from other swans, so that it might be known to whom the bird
belonged. But _nicks_ became _necks_ in course of conversation, until at
last a fabulous creature with two beautifully curved necks appeared on
the signboard. This same cause will account for the two strange signs,
"Bull and Gate" and "Bull and Mouth." The original signs were "Boulogne
Gate" and "Boulogne Mouth," _i.e._ the gate and harbour of the town of
Boulogne, in France, which was captured by the English under King Henry
VIII. in the year 1544. The English were very pleased to hear of the
defeat of the French, and of the taking of that important town, and
several inns were named in honour of the event; but the French
"Boulogne" was too much for our good English mouths to speak, so it
became "Bull and."

Another name which puzzled our forefathers was "_La Belle Sauvage_"
("the Beautiful Savage"), which was named after a noted savage beauty
who was the rage at Paris. Others assert that the name of the landlady
was Isabella Savage, shortened into Bella Savage. However, in course of
time the name was altered into "Bell and Savage," and a picture
representing this odd combination stood over the door. In the same way
the original sign, "Whip and Nag," between which there is often a very
close connection, became "Whip and Egg"; and the reason why these two
articles should be placed together is not so evident. So also there does
not seem any reason for an inn to be called "Bag o' Nails"; but when we
are told that the original word was "Bacchanals," _i.e._ followers of
Bacchus, the old god of wine, we can understand how the corruption, "Bag
o' Nails," arose. Before the days of licensing, when everyone could sell
liquor who chose without obtaining any licence from the magistrates, it
was the custom to put a bush over the doorway, in order to inform the
passers-by that liquor could be purchased there. This is the origin of
the saying, "Good wine needs no bush."

"The Catherine Wheel" tells us the sad story of St. Catherine, who was
born at Alexandria, and for converting fifty heathen philosophers to
Christianity was sentenced by the Emperor Maxentius to death on a wheel,
devised by most ingenious cruelty, armed with knives, saws, and nails.
It is recorded that she was rescued from this fate, but was afterwards
beheaded (305 A.D.). It is curious that this instrument of torture and
the story of St. Catherine's heroism should be recorded on a signboard.
But it may have been brought before the public by a certain miracle
play, founded on the life of St. Catherine, which used to be performed
on festival days. However, the Catherine wheel appears frequently on the
coats-of-arms of several families, and it may be that the sign was taken
from these.

"The George," also, is a very popular sign; and the "St. George of
merry England" is the patron saint of this country, and the battle-cry
of her knights and yeomen of ancient days. Who does not remember that
stirring scene on St. George's Mount during the Crusades, described in
Sir Walter Scott's _Talisman_, when King Richard tore down the Austrian
banner, which the Austrian monarch had dared to erect beside the Royal
Standard of England? St George is generally represented as slaying
a dragon. He was a soldier who served gallantly under the Emperor
Diocletian, and commanded a legion of soldiers; he was a Christian,
and by the dragon whom he slew is meant the devil, red with the blood
of the Christians. So popular a personage as St. George, whose name
inspired our ancestors with courage, and was often borne by them into
the heart of the foe, would soon be recorded in paintings and become a
general sign. "The Goat" is a common sign, and is taken from the crest
of the Duke of Bedford; but "The Goat and Compasses" has puzzled many
people as to its origin. It appears to be a corruption of a pious
expression, "God encompasseth us"; and this shows how strangely words
may be twisted and converted by ignorant and careless usage.

There are some very noted inns where great events have taken place,
such as the Bull Inn at Coventry. Here Henry VII.
was entertained the night before the battle of Bosworth Field, when
he won for himself the English crown. Here Mary Queen of Scots was
detained by order of Elizabeth. Here the conspirators of the Gunpowder
Plot met to devise their scheme for blowing up the Houses of
Parliament. And when the citizens refused to open their gates to
Charles I. and his soldiers, no doubt there were great disputings
amongst the frequenters of "The Bull" as to what would be the result
of their disloyal refusal.

Some of the inns in remote country places did not enjoy a very enviable
reputation, and were little better than man-traps, where the
unfortunate traveller was robbed and murdered. At Blewbury, in
Berkshire, there was an inn, the landlord of which was suspected of
murdering his guests with great secrecy and mystery, and no one could
tell what he did with the bodies of the victims he was supposed to have
murdered. Some years ago an old tree in the neighbourhood of the inn
was blown down, and on digging up the roots a skeleton was found among
them. People wondered how it could have been placed there, but at last
a very old inhabitant told the story of the mysterious disappearance of
the bodies of the late landlord's guests, and the mystery was at length
accounted for. Whenever he slew a man he planted a tree, placing the
body of the murdered victim beneath it. The constables never thought of
looking there; and probably under every tree which he planted (and
there were several), when their roots are dug up, the bones of his
numerous victims will be discovered.

Another story is connected with the old "Hind's Head" at Bracknell,
which was another of these mantraps, where many travellers slept to
rise no more. One winter's night a stout-hearted farmer stayed there,
and joined several jovial companions round the kitchen fire. They ate
and drank merrily, and at last the serving-maid showed the traveller
to his chamber. She told him that he was surrounded by robbers and
murderers, showed him a trap-door at the side of the bed, on which if
he stepped he would tumble headlong into a deep well. She directed him
to tie the bed into a bundle, put it on the trap-door, and escape by
the window. He did so; down went the bundle, instead of the farmer,
into the well, and he managed to effect his escape. Rousing the
neighbourhood he captured the villains, who were all executed, and the
bones of many of their victims were found in the well. Happily such
inns were rare.

To discuss the history of our English inns would take much more than a
web page and hopefully one we can come back to in the future but if
you are looking for somewhere to start of detecting - give it some
research. Some of the inns may now be demolished. But give it some
thought. If you were a traveller or soldier looking for somewhere to
hide a hoard, it would make sense to leave it somewhere you could find
it. Perhaps a large tree by the inn??

Article from http://www.treasurehunting.tv/Metal_Detecting_close_to_Village_Inns.htm

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