16th Century Silver Coins Cache Discovery
Picking Up "Leftovers"
After we slept for a few hours, we resumed the search around the spot by using our metal detectors and recovered some artifacts that were missed by others. Soon we could not get any more signals and we called it a day.
The Last Group of Finds From the Spot (Until Next Plowing)
A 16th Century Bronze Signet Ring
It took me a while to ID all coins from the cache. I have to admit it was a hard process but a very educational one. As I determined, the cache consisted of coins minted at four early Russian mints that were located in Moscow, Novgorod, Pskov, and Tver in 16th century (see individual pictures in the "Wire Money" photo gallery. Besides a single smallest and rare coin - "Polushka" (coin denomination: Polushka=1/4 of Kopek), the face value of 70% of coins was "1 Kopek" (1/100 of Rouble at modern times).
1533-1584 1 Kopek Minted Under the Rule of Tsar Ivan IV
1533-1584 1 "Sword Kopek" Minted Under the Rule of Ivan IV
The face value of the rest of "fish scales" was "1 Denga" (1/2 of Kopeck).
1533-1584 1 Denga Minted Under the Rule of Ivan IV
Fish Scales at a Closer Look...
All "Hammereds" from a Hoard
All in all, it was a great experience that allowed me to grow a little more as a treasure hunter. I also made new friends among fellow metaldetectorists. My interaction with everyone gave me an incredible opportunity in learning something new and useful. There is nothing like a good and humorous conversation or a great treasure hunting story that can inspire and put one in a positive mood! And that would be very important for successful metal detecting!
You might want to read my recent story on successful cache hunting - Discovery of A Huge Coin Hoard in Neighbouring Estonia (Story 14).
You might want to check out my Photo Gallery of Russian Medieval Hammered Coins - Wire Money for detailed descriptions of the wire coins' obverses and reverses, and to see the exact readings on the wire coin legends inscribed in old cyrillic letters.
Happy Hunting or "Fishing"!
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