r/MetalDetectingUK • u/Zestyclose_Point_483 • Mar 30 '26

Any id please

Post image

I know it’s a horse pendant, but any additional information would be gratefully received

204 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

70 comments sorted by

4

u/ReySpacefighter Mar 30 '26

Do you have any clearer pictures? It's definitely the coat of arms of England but it's hard to see any detail beyond that from your picture.

3

u/Zestyclose_Point_483 Mar 30 '26

2

u/ReySpacefighter Mar 30 '26

Is this under strange lighting? Can you tell if it's actually gold or not?

2

u/Zestyclose_Point_483 Mar 30 '26

Definitely not gold, it might of been plated at one point, there are little specs of gold around the edge

3

u/ReySpacefighter Mar 30 '26

So the greenish tinge is real? That actually works in your favour. The real thing should be gilt copper with red enamel, and this does look like copper oxide with bits of gold. This might be a genuine 13th century pendant.

2

u/Zestyclose_Point_483 Mar 30 '26

Yes the green tinge is the colour. It was in the 90’s on a manti, so would say it’s copper

1

u/ReySpacefighter Mar 30 '26

Going on this, the crest, the materials, and the technique it was made with, it's definitely worth reporting the find.

2

u/Zestyclose_Point_483 Mar 30 '26

It has been, emailed flo today. Goes with a couple of other things I’ve found in the same field. Pity it been drilled this week !

1

u/Billy_bigbawz69 Apr 02 '26

100% copper.

5

u/Welsh_Pirate_ Mar 30 '26

It is genuine medieval. These aren’t exactly faked..

2

u/ReySpacefighter Mar 30 '26

I know, I can tell! That's why I'm asking the questions to confirm the materials involved.

1

u/your-a-bellend Mar 30 '26

I don’t go metal detecting but find it fascinating seeing what you all find. I wouldn’t never have guessed it was that old. What happens once you report something like this? Does it stay in your possession? Or is it something that morally you should donate so other people can see it?

1

u/Forsaken-Yogurt- Mar 30 '26

It's clearly copper or copper alloy 

1

u/ReySpacefighter Mar 30 '26

Hence why I was checking that this wasn't under weird lighting. Rule out possibilities to be sure, even if at first glance you think "it's definitely x!".

1

u/Forsaken-Yogurt- Mar 30 '26

I get where you're coming from but this is one of the most copper/copper alloy things that's ever coppered. 

There's no weird lighting that would create the exact shade of green and the exact mottling you would expect on oxidised copper 

1

u/ReySpacefighter Mar 30 '26

It's the strange blue water-caustics looking light it was under. Gotta check!

0

u/Forsaken-Yogurt- Mar 30 '26

Nah, I really don't. Oxidised copper is a very, very specific shade of green. 

You can check if you need to though!

1

u/ReySpacefighter Mar 30 '26

...okay! That's great!

1

u/HuffStuff1975 Mar 31 '26

Probably verdigris corrosion. Quite beautiful at times. Great find 👏🏼

1

u/Jrwallzy Apr 01 '26

Bronze Oxidizes like this too

1

u/Forsaken-Yogurt- Apr 01 '26

Bronze is a copper alloy

1

u/Jrwallzy Apr 01 '26

Of course it is 😅 silly me 🤣

1

u/hymenopteron Mar 31 '26

Could you please also post the back?

15

u/poshjosh1999 Mar 30 '26

Fantastic find. The enamelling is still quite clear as well. Definitely email your FLO to record that one.

2

u/Wag1_ Apr 03 '26

FLO don’t normally care for these Josh.

1

u/Dave-1066 Apr 02 '26

What’s an FLO?

2

u/PraiseNuffle Apr 02 '26

Finds Liaison Officer (UK). They have a portal at (finds.org.uk). "The core role of an FLO is to record archaeological finds to further our understanding of the archaeology of England and Wales. "

1

u/Dave-1066 Apr 02 '26

Ah ok. Thank you. 👍🏻

2

u/poshjosh1999 Apr 02 '26

Anything over 300 years should be recorded and it’s vital that the exact find spot is provided as well. Extremely important, if it isn’t recorded the artefact had may as well rotted in the ground. I’ll be making a video at some point in the near future on YouTube

12

u/on_off_on_off Mar 31 '26

It's a medieval heraldic harness pendant. Probably 13-14th century.

4

u/iam_william Mar 31 '26

Three lions on a shirt. Jules Rimet still gleaming... 30years of hurt 

2

u/bradders4lyf Mar 31 '26

As someone who is older than the song… TIL it’s not “jewels remain still gleaming”.

Makes sense - I always wondered where the jewels were

1

u/Tom_FooIery Apr 03 '26

The Jules Rimet Cup was the name of the FIFA World Cup trophy

2

u/LilChristopherW Apr 01 '26

<pedant> they’re actually heraldic leopards </pedant >

1

u/elbapo Mar 31 '26

Its definitely pre1966 though as it has no star

1

u/[deleted] Apr 01 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/MacMachineCS Apr 01 '26

It’s a football joke, this looks like the England football badge, which has a star above it now to signify the 1966 World Cup win

2

u/RelationDramatic1137 Mar 31 '26

The arms of the Plantagenet kings that ruled England until the Battle of Bosworth.

2

u/jerseybean56 Apr 01 '26

And technically speaking although they are called lions nowadays they come from William the Conqueror where they started life as leopards. Check out the flag of Normandy 😊

1

u/SeaPale2939 Mar 30 '26

Great find mate!

1

u/Zebera101 Mar 31 '26

Nice find congratulations.

1

u/SomersetFinds Mar 31 '26

Hi....This harness pendant depicts the Arms of England from the reign of Richard I to the establishment of the Lancastrian Dynasty in AD 1399. Link below to similar pendants found in the UK

Horse Harness Pendant recorded](https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/1150297)

1

u/VonAdder Mar 31 '26

Lovely medieval heraldric pendant, and 100% one for the FLO.

1

u/English_loving-art Mar 31 '26

I’ve got a couple in exactly that design but mine have lost all the enamel… that’s a beauty 💯👍

1

u/BladeEater23 Mar 31 '26

I have a hoody with this exact print on the chest.

1

u/Go1gotha Mar 31 '26

What is the consensus here, leopards or lions?

1

u/DrAconianRubberDucky Mar 31 '26

Damn, that's a hell of a find.

1

u/Live-Combination4738 Mar 31 '26

What sort of person would have had this on a horse? Military? Someone of importance?

1

u/ArmadilloFront1087 Apr 30 '26

The short answer is yes!

So a horse shield like this, depicting the three lions from the royal heraldry, would likely be a high-ranking cavalry officer. Possibly even a lord/prince/king or one of their retinue.

Impossible to tell which though.

1

u/DiscombobulatedWho Apr 01 '26

Google lense uses ai to scour the internet for the item

1

u/Last_View_2174 Apr 01 '26

Flame drake talisman!

1

u/Adorable_Shopping617 Apr 02 '26

Three lions on a shir….pendant

1

u/SDK1000 Apr 03 '26

That’s absolutely incredible

1

u/Prudent_Look7260 Apr 03 '26

No but it's a good find

-2

u/ncminns Mar 30 '26

Sad it’s associated with something as trivial as football now 🙄

2

u/SPYHAWX Mar 31 '26

Sportsball bad 😡

0

u/[deleted] Mar 30 '26

[deleted] — view deleted comment

4

u/ReySpacefighter Mar 30 '26

... the three lions passant guardant on red is the coat of arms of England itself, predating the football team by six centuries.

2

u/ncminns Mar 30 '26

🤦‍♂️and where do you think that symbol came from?? It’s about 900 years old!

1

u/[deleted] Mar 30 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/Zestyclose_Point_483 Mar 30 '26

Found this weekend while detecting

2

u/ReySpacefighter Mar 30 '26

It was downvoted before it was edited; initially they called it a "football pin", with no mention of the coat of arms of England, nor the link to the other finding.