Mark McMullan, 50, went for his first search of the year around Darlington when he stumbled across a “star find” – the mysterious gambling spinner.
He managed to find a collection of items on his latest hunt, including lots of coins, but after doing some research he realised the historical importance of the object.
(Image: Mark McMullan) Mark discovered that the origins of ‘Put and take’ are not clear but it is thought that it originated in the trenches during the First World War.
He said: “I have found some amazing and sometimes ‘very strange’ mystery items over the years whilst metal detecting across the fields of County Durham.
“The star find (from Mark’s first search of the year) can be found in the bottom left-hand corner – it’s a 100-year-old ‘put and take’ gaming piece.
“The full history of the game is unclear but it is thought to have been invented by a soldier in the trenches to provide some lighted-hearted relief from the horrors of war.
“The original game was derived from a brass bullet that the soldier shaped into a spinning top with six sides.
“Each side had a player instruction that that was either Put one, Put two, Put all, Take one, Take Two, or Take all.
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“The spinner top was spun by players, who each put an ante in the pot (said to be a cigarette), and depending on how the top fell either took or put how many cigarettes indicated.
“After the war, the ‘Put & Take craze’ enveloped the world with its popularity peaking in the 1920s and 30s and was briefly outlawed in the 1940s due to the prevalence of cheating.”
To find out more about Mark’s metal detecting finds around County Durham, check out his Facebook page here.
