Metal Detectors & metal detecting

The hobby of metal detecting is now firmly established in Britain, the USA, Australia and many European countries, and is suitable for all ages, from the very young to the very old. Using a metal detector is quite healthy for the body because it gets you out in the air and gives you exercise through walking and digging. The many thousands of metal detectorists (as they are known) who enjoy metal detecting as a hobby reap benefits in a variety of ways; the gain of knowledge about the past, the excitement and pleasure one feels when handling objects which haven't seen light for years and, of course, the coins and artefacts recovered. Initially, a Victorian Penny or a button is a great thrill to find, raising all sorts of questions such as how the object got there and to whom it once belonged etc. Nowadays, metal detectors are hi-tec electronic machines with a variety of capabilities dependant on price. We offer metal detectors made by Garrett , Viking , XP and Cscope. We have chosen these metal detectors because they offer probably the best value for money, owing to their high performance, reliability, good prices, and excellent manufacturer support. They are produced by well-known and established UK, European and American companies, and cover a broad range of prices.

Video Highlight BBC News Report

A farmer's son found thousands of silver Roman coins when he used a metal detector for the first time, and is to be allowed to keep the huge haul. Kevin Elliott, 33, used milking buckets to collect the 9,310 coins dating from 31 BC after finding them 10 inches below the surface of a field of barley stubble. The find is Britain's biggest find of Roman silver denarii coins. Mr Elliott and his cousin Martin, 33, found the coins on the 400-acre Northbrook Farm at Shapwick, near Glastonbury, Somerset.

Kevin, who had never used a metal detector before, could make hundreds of thousands of pounds from the sale of the haul. He said he found a coin in a gateway within three or four minutes - and just 30 minutes later they had turned up a huge hoard of thousands of similar coins. Some of the coins were made in Rome - others came from Syria and Egypt. The coins range in age from some issued by Mark Antony before the battle of Actium in 31 BC, to those minted for the emperor Severus Alexander, who reigned until 224 AD.

Somerset County museum spokesman Steve Minnitt said the hoard had been buried beneath the floor of what surveys had established was a previously unknown courtyard villa. Dr Richard Abdy, from the British Museum, said most of the coins were produced in Rome, Syria and Egypt. The coins were buried in approximately AD 230 and were equivalent to about 10 years pay for a Roman soldier.