Those of you who have been reading this blog, will know I have a passion for very early cut hammereds. These coins originally started off as a full coin but were cut in order to get a lower currency. So a penny would be cut in half to get a half penny and in quarters to get a farthing.
Hammered coins are found regular by metal detectorists. These cut hammereds are not rare, however they are difficult to find. The sheer size of the coins make the job of finding them difficult. Unless you are on newly ploughed field which has recently been rolled it is difficult to find them. Cut halves are difficult, go one further and try and find a cut quarter it is even harder.
It often takes a very experienced detector user to find such coins. In 25 years of detecting and having found many lovely finds ranging from Celtic to Modern Day I have only ever found three cut hammereds. This included a small cut quarter. I've also been on outings were Scottish Cut Hammereds were found.
Below is a fantastic example of a lovely Scottish coin from the reign of
Alexander III 1249-86 transitional coinage, class 1b cut long cross halfpenny, struck at Berwick
This is a scarce coin and in lovely condition.
It was found by a fellow detectorist in Essex using a Minelab Explorer II
If I'd found this I'd be extremely proud of it.
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