March 26th. 2000.

Next club meeting Monday 2^nd April 2001

• The speaker this month will be Joe Bispham, President of the British Association of Numismatic Societies, whose subject will be Coinage of the First 3 Tudor monarchs (Henry VII, Henry VIII and Edward VI).

Meetings are held at the Abbey Baptist Church, Abbey Square, commencing at 7.00 p.m.

March meeting

After several reverses our speaker actually turned up and, I am pleased to say, so did 27 members. This is the best turnout for some considerable time (we currently have 35 members in total) and may reflect the interest in the question of metal detecting.

The talk given to us on this subject by our own member Phil went down very well. The talk was well presented with some interesting slides of coins and other artefacts that Phil had found over the years. The finds discussed ranged all the way from Roman times to the beginning of the 19th Century. However there was a touch of controversy, particularly in respect of Treasure Trove and the views of the archaeologists.

Phil explained how metal detectorists have discovered many unknown coin types for example in the Celtic series and in general have vastly increased the number of coins and artefacts available for study. He also told us how important luck is in the process, with a particular site yielding practically nothing for one detectorist, yet turning up trumps for another. One particular field continues to yield coins after 28 years of searching and Phil joked that it was more metal than soil! Some of the reasons why coins turn up where they do will never be known, but one interesting speculation is that the sweepings from the local inn were used as manure and coins that had slipped to the floor would be carried along.

Phil's devotion to the subject came through clearly in the talk and such devotion is clearly needed when examining a site requires a great deal of patience, often involves working to a deadline and can take place in inclement weather. A most interesting and absorbing talk, thank you Phil.

There were four dealer tables at the meeting.

Donations

Will has very kindly donated a quantity of coins and medals which will be auctioned to club members at a suitable time in the near future. Also included are some fifteen years of the Spink Numismatic Circular. These will be put out on a table at the next meeting for members to purchase. Thank you Will for such a generous donation.

Skittles Evening

The club skittles evening will be on Saturday 28th April 2001. As last year, it will be at the Red Lion at Theale from about 7-30pm onwards. The cost is £8 per head, which includes a buffet (liquid refreshments not included!). The buffet will consist of

We would like to have a firm commitment from members who wish to attend the skittles evening at the next meeting to give the people at the Red Lion an idea of numbers. We shall be collecting payments at the April meeting. We would be very grateful if members who wish to come along to the skittles evening, but are not attending the next meeting, contact a committee member to let us know.

British Museum Trip

As previously announced, a visit is being arranged to the British Museum and the Bank of England Museum. The British Museum part of the trip is expected to include a 'handling session' in the student's room. The date proposed is Wednesday 25th July 2001. Your committee is making arrangements with the powers that be, we will keep you posted - in the meantime please pencil the date in your diary.

Future Events

Coin Fair. Saturday 17^th March. Commonwealth Institute. Kensington. London W8.

30 Years ago

On the 4^th April 1971 Mr. Alan Ashmole visited us and talked to us regarding his negotiations and implementation of the currency of the Sultanate of Oman, which he oversaw from beginning to end, together with some interesting anecdotes of his dealings with what was a medieval society.