COINS FOUND MUDLARKING ON THE THAMES

Anne E. Bentley, Massachusetts Historical Society Curator of Art & Artifacts writes:

Mini thread about coins I've found while mudlarking on the Thames. Earlier in the week I found my second Louis XIII Double Tournois copper coin from 1640. A bit battered but fleurs-de-lis on the reverse more recognisable than many corroded newer coins I find.

Louis XIII was King of France from 1610-1643, the eldest son of Marie de' Medici & Henry IV of France. The day I found this coin a young couple, leaning against railings on the Embankment above the foreshore, stopped to ask me what I was doing.

They came down onto the foreshore so we could chat. I found out they were from Paris & we spent the next 15 minutes chatting about ‘Le Mudlarking', me in my A level French struggling with the subjunctive. They were delightful & I gave them the Tournois coin.

It's a challenge finding coins on the river. I don't metal detect so everything coin-like is found by eye only. I didn't find my first coin until the second year of larking & by this time I'd learnt where to look

George V and VI coins are common finds at low tide. This is a George V (King from 1910-1936), the King's head on the obverse is faded & worn, Britannia on the reverse has faded into nothing. I hope this isn't an omen of doom for the future...

In contrast, this George II (1727-1760) halfpenny is in good condition after 300 years in anaerobic Thames mud. The obverse shows the ‘older head' of the King, often the monarch's face has been worn to nothing because people rubbed this side for good luck.

To read the complete tweets, see:
Mini thread about coins I've found while mudlarking on the Thames. (https://twitter.com/liz_lizanderson/status/1222886763816943617?s=11)

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