Hessle History Hunter

29/04/2026

Nice piece of a Roman silver siliqua coin from the reign of Julian II (360-363) … the reverse says ‘Votis Multis’ which means ‘prayers for many’. Shame this is incomplete as it looks to be in lovely condition!

15/04/2026

Nice little medieval lead spindle whorl found in North Yorkshire recently, with a short explanation and similar item listed in the British Museum’s ‘Finds Identified’ book.

01/04/2026

As a Yorkshireman who went to Lancaster University, this was a nice military badge to find!

23/03/2026

What an amazing story … a friend with a detector was asked to visit a spot to help find a ring lost 52 years earlier whilst gardening and hey presto, there it is!

17/03/2026

Lovely little Roman silver denarius found lately. It dates from 87BC, the period of the Roman Republic. Before the reign of Julius Caesar and the subsequent Roman Empire, nearly six decades prior to the Roman invasion of Britain.

Sat in the soil for over 2,000 years until I walked over it! As a result, it came out of the ground looking like a small copper coin, and only after I was assured by experts that it was in fact silver underneath the baked-on dirt, did I try a bit of home-made electrolysis to remove the layers of dirt. I’m over the moon with the result!

23/02/2026

Had a rare chance to get out over the weekend as there seemed a momentary break from winter … found a nice Roman coin and a lovely condition 1797 Cartwheel penny!

06/02/2026

James II became King of England, Scotland and Ireland on this day in 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch, reigning until the Glorious Revolution of 1688. His short rule meant little time for major changes to coinage, but his reign marked the complete shift to milled coins produced by mechanised equipment such as the screw press.

After being deposed, James sailed to Ireland to reclaim the throne. To fund his campaign, he issued Gun Money – tokens made from salvaged materials including copper, tin, pewter and even church bells. These were intended to be exchanged for silver after his victory. The campaign failed, yet the tokens continued to circulate in Ireland at reduced value for nearly a century.

02/02/2026

If you've read or used the Hessle Local History Trail please take a moment to complete this quick survey and give your feedback!

Thank you for offering to take part in this survey. In order to secure some funding to create the Hessle Local History Trail map and brochure, we are required to provide feedback demonstrating beneficial impact to the local community. We'd be very grateful if you could take a few minutes to complete...

14/01/2026

One day…!

Look at this beautiful Iron Age Parisi tribe coin found in East Yorkshire which has just sold at auction for £3,300!

The "incredibly rare" 2000-year-old coin was found by a metal detectorist in Lelley.

16/12/2025

Nice bit of coverage…

The tour created by the local history society feature 45 historic town locations.