Elizabeth I, William III and a Crotal Bell

William III  sixpence dated 1696 

This was my best detecting day with just a handful of club members turning out on another glorious day in mid West Sussex. 

It started well with my first ever hammered coin, a well worn Elizabeth I sixpence dated 1581 (2.40gm, 26mm)

This was followed by 18 muskets balls (15 small, 2 medium, 1 large), six 18/19^thC halfpennies (including an 1861) and 3 farthings with hardly any surface markings  and a George III penny dated 1799.

a crotal bell which is another first, a thimble,

and 3 harness mounts, one with scrolled initials HCD worked into a fancy design.
Also a plated 20^thcentury George Rex broach minus pin and sparklies. The crotal bell has its dinger inside and makes an excellent noise. 

Other finds were a 20^thc general service military button with Birmingham on the reverse.

Ray found his first ever hammered, this Elizabeth I 1567 sixpence, (above) and Kevin  found one also, so smiles all round.

Finally when everyone else had disappeared my second great coin came out, a perfect William III  sixpence dated 1696 (above) 2.94gm, 21 mm. It is an early milled coin. This was the start of the Great Recoinage as the decision was made to remove all the old hammered coins from circulation. The head side has the Y (York) mint mark at the bottom.
The words on the coin are:
Obverse: GULIELMUS III DEI GRA (William III by the Grace of God)
Reverse: MAG BR FRA ET HIB REX (King of Great Britain, France and Ireland)

this shows a clod shot as it came out of the ground and both sides 

An Orange Tip flew by at the end of the day. They were probably there before, but I was focused on the ground most of the time... With yesterday's adder and Skippers, this has been an exceptional weekend.