August 16th, 2010 by Frances McIntosh

Although the vast majority of finds I record are found by metal detectorists, every now and again I get something different in. This jetton was found by the father of the man who brought it in to me, in his market garden in the 1950s. The gardens now no longer exist, being underneath a housing estate in North Shields. Thankfully the man reporting the find remembered exactly where it used to be and so we have a good findspot. It does look rather wierd on the map, coming from such an urban area- but that shows the changes in the area in the last century.

The jetton is in good condition and has been identified as a French jetton, dating from c.1497-1521.  It has been recorded on the database if you would like to look more closely at it DUR-106F90.

 Obverse- SIT NOMEN BENEDICTVM (garbled); in centre V (for Virgo- Virgin Mary)

 Reverse- similar legend; in centre cross pattee with a flower in each angle

A jetton can be described a metal counter used in calculation of financial sums but not itself directly exchangeable for coins, goods or services. If you search the PAS database for jettons you will see there are just over 3800 examples recorded there.  Many of the examples found in Britain come from abroad, particularly France and the Low Countries, with c.800 coming from Nuremberg.  I chose to put this example onto my blog as although jettons are fairly common finds from metal detectorists this is a slightly unusual type and also came with a different discovery method.

French jetton