April 23rd. 2000.

Next club meeting Monday 8th. May 2000.

At Abbey Baptist Church, Abbey Square.

Meeting commences at 7.00 pm.

Apologies

Apologies were received from Michael and Ken for the April meeting. Ken was recently in hospital but is now recovering; we all send him our best wishes for a speedy recovery.

April meeting

The April talk given by Mrs. Jill Greenaway of Reading museum and was entitled "Finds of Roman Coins and their significance to Archaeology".

Jill started her talk by stating that all finds on a Roman site are important and help to build the history of a settlement. As an example, in the Neolithic period a flint arrow head is lost in a field near a tree. During the Iron Age, the tree is cut down and an axe is lost. A hut is built on the site with a drip ditch around it and the field is constantly ploughed, moving the arrow head. During Roman times the hut has gone but the drip ditch remains. The ditch and post holes are filled in; a house with flint walls, a tiled roof and a concrete floor is built. The owner finds the arrow head and takes it indoors where it is eventually discarded. Broken pottery has been discarded through all periods.

Today everything is gone and the site is flattened. The archaeologist now has to decode all of the finds to form a picture of the site. No conclusions are made until all information possible has been gathered. Digging a small hole only gives a distorted view so as big a site as possible is examined. Air views are normally the first action on any site. Crop marks can give a lot of information. Where there were ditches the crop tends to grow bigger and stronger, and where there were buildings the crops tend to grow smaller and weaker. Aerial photographs show the shadows cast by these crop differences. Certain features will also point to bronze, iron or Roman sites. The site is walked and all finds are marked on the aerial prints. Pot finds are looked at carefully as a particular type of pot may have been manufactured over a period of 200/300 years.

Jewellery was in for a long time and passed down through the family. Hair pins are matched to coin portraits, statues and paintings. Coins give some very precise information but care has to be taken, as it is always difficult to tell when they were lost. Coin hoards of pre-Roman and roman time also have to be studied carefully. h talk was accompanied with slides and produced a huge amount of reaction from the audience.

As a member contribution for the evening, I displayed a number of Chinese charms. All of the charms were brass, bronze or copper. The oldest was 400 years and the youngest was from 1990. Some were manufactured as charms and others were coins that had been turned into charms by an owner. Some were crude and some were quite complex. They ranged in size from 20-130mm. There is no Member display for the May meeting.

There were 17 members present and three dealer tables open.

May Meeting.

The May meeting consists entirely of the annual club auction. Catalogues are included with the newsletter. Lots are available to suit all tastes, with some excellent coins being auctioned.

There are no estimates this year but some lots do have reserves. Unsold reserved lots will be charged at 25p per lot.

10% of selling price will go to club funds.

Any lots donated to club funds are gratefully received.

Those members visiting the club for the auction will be issued a numbered card and all of their bids will be entered against this number. Good luck to all bidders.

Stamps.

I have been asked to remind you again that the Baptist Church collects used postage stamps for charity. If you have any please let the caretaker Mr. Don Williams have them.

Skittles Evening

The Club had a well attended and enjoyable evening at the Red Lion in Theale, and we are hoping to hold this event again next year. There were four individual winners, top scoring lady (Kay) and top scoring gentleman (Tim) in the team game. Tim's team won with a small margin. After a fine buffet, we had two knockout rounds that were won by Jean and Michael. Congratulations to all!

Club AGM & Michael Broome Display Competition

The AGM and Display Competition takes place on June 5th this year. The AGM is a major event in the Club's calendar and it is important for members to attend. This is the forum to hear reports from the officers on the current state of the club, plans for its future, and to elect officers and committee members for the forthcoming season. The club cannot continue without a committee and at the present time we only have four candidates for the five committee positions. Will all members please consider if they could give some of their time to help run the club? Last but not least, the AGM is for members to voice their own thoughts on how well the club is doing and what the club should be doing.

In addition to the formal business of the club, the Display competition provides a chance for members to put together a display of their own Numismatic interests and try to win the Michael Broome Memorial Cup for the year. Now is the time to start planning displays if you haven't already done so!

BNS. 23rd May.

Martin Allen. "Ecclesiastical mints in late medieval England"

The Council sherry party will be held immediately after the meeting and all members and their guests are cordially invited to attend.

Future Events

Coin Fair. Saturday 13th May. Commonwealth Institute. Kensington. London W8.

Coin Fair Sunday 14th May. National Motor Cycle Museum Bickenhill Birmingham.

20 Years ago.

Steady trading was done at the last meeting which was a "members and coin fair."

A small amount was made for club funds.