The world's biggest detector event - lots of unique finds and a treasure trove of gold coins

Last weekend Detectival 2024 took place in Hertfordshire, England. The event, which brings together thousands of detectorists and history enthusiasts, produced some of the most spectacular discoveries in years - from Roman and Celtictreasures, silver and gold coins, to early medieval and Saxon finds, including rare imports, to the discovery of a hoard of 18th century gold guineas. The discovery of the Guineas of the 19th century.

The coin set was discovered by the affable Brian Murphy of Wexford, Ireland. He found a total of eighteen large gold guineas dating from 1771 to 1794 from the reign of King George III. Eight of the coins were concentrated in one excavation, the others were scattered around. "It was like I didn't know what was going on, it was too much to process," Brian added with a laugh, explaining that after a while, when he called out for others to come down to him, the adrenaline subsided and he just felt an overwhelming sense of happiness.

Not to be outdone - the guineas of George III. They are highly collectible, King George III had 6 variants minted with different monarchs and reverses. The coins, measuring over two centimetres in diameter and weighing 8.35 grams, were used from 1662 until 1816, when currency reform took place as a result of the Napoleonic Wars. Subsequently, guineas were replaced by the first lesser but later very popular sovereigns.

The name of the coin is associated with Guinea in West Africa, where the gold used to make them originally came from. The coin was originally worth one pound sterling (20 shillings), but its value varied according to the price of gold, eventually reaching 21 silver shillings. The gold guinea was struck in several versions: initially it bore the image of the monarch on one side and the arms of the United Kingdom on the other. Gradually, design changes were made to reflect changes in the political situation and heraldry.

Detectival 2024

Detectival is the largest festival held in England for all detectorists who want to to look together over a vast area and often in places that have been untrodden by detectorists and where they would not otherwise have been able to go. The event always runs from Friday to Sunday and is attended not only by British detectorists but also by a number of detectorists from many different countries. What was originally an enthusiastic tradition of a few people has grown into the world's largest event of its kind. Since 2018, the main sponsor of Detectival has been Minelab, which posted information about Brian's find on its Facebook page.

"Thank you, Minelab The Equinox 900 is an amazing machine. I hope there are many more treasures to come. And thank you to the Detectival team for everything and everyone who was in the fields with me Saturday night and Sunday. They were all amazing and so helpful in every way. It's truly something I will remember for the rest of my life," Brian wrote underneath Minelab's post. "I made some fantastic new friends and sincerely hope to see you all again before the next Detectival. Everyone on the Detectival team should be extremely proud of themselves for how amazingly the whole event went," he added.

This year's Detectival (2024) was held in North Hertfordshire, UK. The rally, as such an event is called, took place over 400 hectares of farmland over three days and produced a number of beautiful finds from perhaps every metallic period. The event attracted enthusiasts from all over the world, from amateurs to professionals, as well as leading detector and accessory manufacturers.

As well as the actual search, Detectival brings opportunities to test metal detectors in collaboration with leading manufacturers, with the chance to buy bargains there. The event also included live demonstrations, expert lectures, workshops and various competitions. This year the event was even live streamed and a number of youtubers filmed breathtaking footage directly from the field.

Videos

Interview with Brian

• Brian's "golden" dance - https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=522276990491998
• More photos: www.detectival.com

Roman Nemec