A FANTASTICALLY fitting find was made during a coronation ‘Big Help Out’ litter-pick at the Lickey Hills on Monday.
The Secretary of the Lickey Hills Society Baden Carlson, who was one of the 28 volunteers on the day clearing up the area, unearthed a King George V half-crown coin on Rednal Hill.
He said: “I was looking among the burnt ashes when I came across what I thought was a bottle top.
“When I saw it was a coin, I thought it was a penny but then I realised it was a half-crown from 1934.”
The image of the King Charles III’s great-grandfather faces left. Because the way each monarch is facing is alternated, he is looking in the same direction as the new King – Queen Elizabeth II was always depicted facing right on her coins.
Baden added: “I was probably the oldest person taking part in the litter-pick and I showed the coin to the youngest one in the party and one or two others.
“I also felt a tinge of sadness finding the coin because when it was dropped, a half-crown would have been quite a lot of money to lose.
“In the 1930s, it would have paid for a whole family to go to Birmingham and back on the tram and maybe also even an ice cream or two and a cup of tea.”
Baden, who also found a child’s Scottie dog brooch, thinks last year’s devastating fire would have brought the items to the surface.
He cleaned the half-crown up with vinegar to return its original shine and now plans to show his grandchildren the coin before giving it to the Lickey Hills so it can be displayed in the Visitor Centre for others to see.
- The next volunteering session on the Lickey Hills is from 10.30am to 12.30pm on May 27. Meet at the Visitor Centre. Participants are urged to wear suitable outdoor clothing.
