Napoleon meets George in Sussex

A club dig north of Bognor turned into a fruitful day.

It started well with this George III 'bull neck' sixpence, 1819.

obverse: GEOR III D G BRITT REX F D (George III by the Grace of God ‘Dei Gratia’, King of the British territories, Defender of the Faith ‘Fidei Defensor’).

reverse: HONI SOIT Q MAL Y PENSE (motto of the English chivalric Order of the Garter meaning "Shame be to him who thinks evil of it") - see wikipedia.

2.71 gms, 19.5 mm

A George III halfpenny, 1770-1775

obverse: GEORGIUS III, reverse REX BRITAN NIA 5.75 gms, 27.5  mm

Napoleon III 1856 DIX CENTIMES

obverse: NAPOLEON III EMPEREUR 1856

Reverse: EMPIRE FRANCAIS DIX CENTIMES

BB below Imperial Eagle is the mint mark of Strasbourg

Engraver: Barre (under bust)

French bronze coins of ten and five centimes circulated widely in Britain during the second half of the 19th century, as pennies and halfpennies due to a shortage of small change. They were used from c1860 to 1887 when they were declared illegal.

9.34 gms, 30 mm

Other finds are part of a spur similar to this one in ukdfd (60 x 55 x 9mm), a silver ring (0.83gm, 17mm) both above, a possible incomplete clothes fastener (38 x 20mm, 3.4gm)

three buttons, a 1921 George V penny in good condition and a threepence with three-headed thrift plant.

Other finds by club members included at least two hammered coins (one above) and this nice seal:

Martin stayed on into the afternoon with me and as he walked back to his car he found this lovely ear scoop, possibly Roman.   ukdfd states: “A Roman Ligula, which is a type of specialist spoon with a narrow cup-shaped bowl at one end. It was used for extracting ointment, ungents, powders and balsams, from tubes and boxes. It could have also been used as a medical probe or an ear scoop.”   The rains held off on a cool day, perfect for detecting. A couple out for a walk asked what I had found so I showed them and they were surprised by the history of the area. I ended a long day tired but content with my finds.