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Need Help! With Normandy find.

Article about: Hi Whiles searching around my Pasture land in Normandy (D-day +15 American sector) I came across a WW2 .50cal bullet with a Grey Tip.(I believe this indicates it has an explosive head?)This

  1. #1

    Default Need Help! With Normandy find.

    Hi
    Whiles searching around my Pasture land in Normandy (D-day +15 American sector) I came across a WW2 .50cal bullet with a Grey Tip.(I believe this indicates it has an explosive head?)This is the Bullet and has been fired.
    Knowing it was shot from a plane at a target in and around my land I started to try and trace the line of fire to see if I could find others.The next find I have a few feet away was Horse shoes.Thinking now I had found a German camp,I was surprised to find next a British George V 1912 sixpence.Next find again a few feet away was a French 1855 ten cent coin.
    So I am now wondering if this could have been a friendly fire incident as a British coin on a German soldier is very strange. I am also wondering why an American soldier would also be carrying a British and French coin.
    A few weeks ago I came across American Fox holes and again found a British Sixpence close by.If this is the case why would American soldiers have british coins on them after 15 days of fighting in Normandy....maybe lucky coin ?

    Has anyone out there also found similar items out of place or a different idea of my findings.

    It's also worth pointing out I have in the passed found spent .50 cal shells around the fields having been dropped from planes as they shot from the air at targets in and around my home here in Normandy
    Click to enlarge the picture Click to enlarge the picture Need Help! With Normandy find.   Need Help! With Normandy find.  

    Need Help! With Normandy find.  

  2. #2

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    There were people around there before D-Day, the coins probably are completely unrelated to WW2. I once found an 18th century silver coin in a German trench from 1940.

  3. #3

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    US soldiers were stationed in the UK before going overseas. I've found plenty of English as well as US and German coins on sites before. Just because the finds are in the same vicinity does not always mean they are event/time related.

  4. #4

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    Quote by earlymb View Post
    There were people around there before D-Day, the coins probably are completely unrelated to WW2. I once found an 18th century silver coin in a German trench from 1940.
    Yes your right this could be the case.The reason I started to look in this field is because a few weeks ago I found America K rations (Coffee) and I have the morning reports from 2nd Inf Division showing they set up a CP in fields in and around my area.
    This is always going to a simple explanation but with the Germans holding this area and the US troops fighting field by field I sill think it could be related to the WW2.....maybe I need to find more evidences to explain it's just the only reason I started looking here was finding the .50 cal bullet.

  5. #5

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    Quote by Normandydoc View Post
    Yes your right this could be the case.The reason I started to look in this field is because a few weeks ago I found America K rations (Coffee) and I have the morning reports from 2nd Inf Division showing they set up a CP in fields in and around my area.
    This is always going to a simple explanation but with the Germans holding this area and the US troops fighting field by field I sill think it could be related to the WW2.....maybe I need to find more evidences to explain it's just the only reason I started looking here was finding the .50 cal bullet.
    Hi BlackCat1982
    Nice to hear you again.
    Because US troops were in the UK up to a year I think this could be why I have found a British coin.But do not know if a 1912 sixpence is being used in the UK during the 1940's?.Also I would not imagine a 1855 French coin would still be French tender during the 1940s in France.
    These are the loose ends I am trying to tie up to explain what I have come across.
    When you say you have found English coins on sites ,are these in France.I would imagine if I was going away to fight overseas in the 1940s I would not be carrying English money from home.Surely you would not want to carry this around unless you are able to trade with it.

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    Or it could have been lost by a British tourist in 1928. If you dig deep enough you might find some Roman coins... Not every field was battled over and it will depend on what artifacts that are clearly WW2-related you can find to find out what happened here.

  7. #7

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    Quote by Normandydoc View Post
    But do not know if a 1912 sixpence is being used in the UK during the 1940's?.
    Yep, right up to decimalisation in 1971. I often would receive a "tanner" or sixpenny piece in my pocket money and coins of that age were quite common. It was not unusual to find a "florin" (very similar to the two shilling piece but with the words "one florin" instead) which by then had been replaced by the two shilling piece (later the Ten New Pence) and even farthings would turn up despite no longer being legal tender.

    Regards

    Mark
    "War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing he cares more about than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature with no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."

  8. #8

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    Quote by earlymb View Post
    Or it could have been lost by a British tourist in 1928. If you dig deep enough you might find some Roman coins... Not every field was battled over and it will depend on what artifacts that are clearly WW2-related you can find to find out what happened here.
    Pretty sure no british tourist will be wandering around the field this was found back in 1928 .....unless they were interested in Cows.
    Just to be clear I am situated in the heart of ''le bocage country'' (Battle of the hedgerows) But you are right not every field was fought over but I live about a Half a mile from the front line in June 15-20th 1944.This area was were the Germans held up the Americans for about 1 month before finally taking St lo on the 19th July 1944.
    I imagine I will never know,just though someone on here may have had similar experiences finding British coins in WW2 areas of France .

  9. #9
    MAP
    MAP is offline
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    Lucky you to live in such a storied area.

    Just my thoughts but the bullet could have come from anywhere. As an errant shot from miles away. These travel far. Especially if shot from a plane. That said, if you find more, that would indicate the target was close by.
    "Please", Thank You" and proper manners appreciated

    My greatest fear is that one day I will die and my wife will sell my guns for what I told her I paid for them

    "Don't tell me these are investments if you never intend to sell anything" (Quote: Wife)

  10. #10

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    Nice find also nice that you own the land. Now no one can call you names for digging there!

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