Recently I had the pleasure of heading back to the UK to treasure hunt to my heart’s content. Five days back-to-back detecting. Great historic locations, good signals… although I must say, most of them turned out to be buttons!
It started splendidly with great conditions, good friends and the signals were strong and exactly how you’d want them to sound. I dug, found a button - and then pretty much repeated that for five days. Video below gives you the lowdown:-
What was really frustrating was how good they were at pretending to be coins - which is a more desirable find. They don’t sound like trash - but right until the last second sometimes, as you crack open the sod of soil - they reveal there true button identity.
By halfway through the trip I had quite an sizeable pile of them building up and I don't mind admitting that it was a test on the spirit.
It just wouldn't have been fair if I didn't find anything of interest. So I was saved by managing to pull one medieval silver coin around 800 years old and a Tudor clothes fastener from the 16th century. Those moments still land when they happen. They always do. But they also throw the rest of the day into perspective - you have to put the work in to get the fruit!
Last year it was Anglo-Saxon gold which as you can imagine sets my sights quite high. That find is inspiring the live Treowth collection, of which the second launch will be launched soon. This time I’ve come back with something a bit less obvious.
But I am getting more convinced that there may be something to these buttons. There’s something in them, firstly so absolutely familiar. Also the vraious forms, the wear, the way they’ve aged. It’s not immediately obvious what that turns into but then it rarely is at the start.
So I’m slightly caught between dismissing them completely and leaning into them to see if there’s something there.
A button-inspired piece might not be the worst idea - what do you think?