This post medieval copper alloy jetton was found by Yanne at Tadworth on the site of a First World War training camp — an unusual discovery given its much earlier date. The piece is an extremely worn Nuremberg jetton of anonymous issue, struck between 1500 and 1570. It belongs to the “Lion of Saint Mark” type and carries fictitious legends, a common feature of jettons produced for widespread export.
Jettons were not coins but counters, used across Europe for bookkeeping, teaching arithmetic and gaming. The city of Nuremberg in Germany was a major centre of production during the 16th century, exporting millions of these small discs across the continent. Their wide distribution means they are a fairly frequent find in England, where they were used in both domestic and commercial settings.
The discovery of such a jetton at a military training ground from a much later period highlights one of the joys of metal detecting — uncovering different layers of history in the same place. While soldiers trained here in the early 20th century, centuries earlier this small object had already travelled from continental Europe to Surrey, where it eventually lay waiting to be found.