File:Medieval plaque (FindID 37950).jpg

English: Decorative circular plaque made from gilded silver. 12.5 mm in diameter, it is decorated with a raised border around a sunken field in which is a counter-relief dragon in profile facing left . The dragon has two sturdy hind legs with a zig-zag edge resembling fur or feathers, and a medium-sized tail. The body is decorated with rows of punchmarks which may represent fur, feathers or scales. The wings are large and appear deeply feathered. The long neck curves up and backwards and ends in a head which points downwards, with open jaws and a large expressive eye. The back of the head has two crests. Around the dragon the base of the sunken field is keyed for enamel. The plaque is about a millimetre thick. On the reverse, around the edge, are three triangular projections (and room for a fourth) which look as though they could have been used to secure the plaque onto wood or leather. One is bent outwards and the other two slightly inwards, and they are only about a millimetre long. In the centre of the reverse is an area of folded, perhaps soldered, silver sheet, with an off-centre rounded projection. The reverse suggests that the plaque did not form the centre of a finger-ring, but was instead a decorative mount perhaps from a box. John Cherry has dated it to the first half of the 14th century. James Robinson, British Museum, has examined this object for the purposes of the Treasure Act 1996, and his report (03.05.2002) reads: "A circular mount measuring 12 mm in diameter engraved with the image of a winged dragon, facing left with its horned head bent back and looking down over its left shoulder. On the reverse, three projections suggest how the mount might have been secured by clips to the item it originally decorated which could have been a leather strap or a box. Examination at the British Museum has established the metal to be silver-gilt and the date to be about 1300-1350. Consequently, the mount qualifies as Treasure under the stipulations of the Treasure Act 1996 in terms of both age and precious metal content and should go forward to inquest."