Viking relics, an Elizabethan sixpence and a tin used by troops in World War One are just some of the items a retired couple from Royton have discovered in their search for buried treasure.
David and Bernadette Edwards said they picked up metal detecting in search for something to do in their retirement.
However, it was after watching the BBC show, Detectorists, that inspired the married couple to "have a go" themselves just before the first lockdown in 2019 - and they have been doing it ever since as often as three times a week.
Mr Edwards said: “My wife said about Haggate being a Roman settlement and there’s a Roman fort in Castleshaw and Rochdale, so she said ‘why don’t we make an imaginary line from Haggate over to Rochdale and do the fields?’ so that is what we did.”
The 69-year-old said as much as he and Bernadette, aged 73, enjoy the hunt for treasure, they also enjoy the outdoors and spending time in nature.
“I’ve seen hares boxing, foxes coming home and deer as well - it’s absolutely brilliant.
“Plus when it’s nice weather, me and my wife will have a full day of it – we’ll take a picnic and a couple of camping chairs and a nice little glass of wine.
“We really enjoy it”, he added.
The couple plans most of their routes and research ahead of each treasure hunting expedition, though they need permission from local farmers to use their land.
Mr Edwards said they say thank you with a bottle of "whatever their tipple is".
Sometimes, the owners of the land are keen to claim some of the items the couple find.
“If you find a 'Royton hoard' or some Viking treasure, then we come to an agreement with the farmer about it.
“I don’t mind. I just like to be there and digging it up.
“You never know what you’re going to find – you might get a good signal only to find it’s a rusty nail."
However, the rules stipulate anything over 300 years old must be reported to the appropriate authorities, which includes the Finds Liaison Officer.
Mr Edwards said one such exciting and aged item he was able to report was a Roman steelyard weight that was “crudely shaped into a bell”.
The liaison officer confirmed it was Roman and said he had to log all the GPS coordinates and report it ahead of the next meeting which is held for enthusiasts across the country to come to share and catalogue their finds.
But some of the time, the couple gets to keep their treasure which they put on display in a box frame.
Mr Edwards said the most interesting thing he has found to date has been an Elizabethan silver sixpence coin which he found on a local field in Royton.
“I have found quite a few coins, I have maybe 500 or 600 coins in the collection, but the most amazing one has been Elizabethan.
“It’s an Elizabeth I silver sixpence.
“It’s a hammered coin, which means they put a piece of silver blank between two dyes and gave it a right good clout with a hammer.
“It has Elizabeth’s portrait on one side and the Royal standard and everything on the other from 1575.
“At first I thought it was just an ordinary shilling that had been dropped but upon closer examination, your heart starts going and then you see the date – but that’s the beauty of it.”
Another interesting item that the couple have dug up has been an aluminium tin with a name stamped on it.
Through researching online, the couple were able to determine the tin had come from Gibb’s, a toothpaste brand, from 1914 and was used as a shaving block for troops in the trenches during the first world war.
With items like that, he said he puts them in the frame and writes up a few words about it to “add a little bit of a story to it.”
There are some rules and regulations the couple and fellow metal detectorists have to abide by, such as the country code and filling in any holes after the search.
And although the detectors can be quite costly, metal detecting is relatively inexpensive with enthusiasts encouraged to sign up online to become a member of the National Council for Metal Detecting (NCMD), which costs £8 a year.
Mr Edwards added: “But if you like the outdoors and the fresh air, it’s a perfect hobby – it really is.
“And it can be a social thing as well because there are clubs to join.
“It’s well worth the effort.
“We like history as well – we’re really into history – and so the things that you find, there’s some history attached to it as well so it’s great.
“I recommend it."
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