2010: The First Six Months

[Neil in West Jersey]

Well it was a delayed start for detecting this year. Winter storms pounded the East Coast over and over. It was not until March that I finally got out with my detector, but I sure made up for lost time!

First there were the usual buttons, relics, Mercury Dimes and that sort of thing we all love to dig, and then with the first warm day came my first old gold. It came at a site that has produced many artifacts and copper coins, all dated prior to 1840. It is a gold brooch with the initials LH.



Based on the type of clasp that was soldered to it, and the site it was found at, I would have to say it dates circa 1840. From that moment, I knew this would be a banner year!

On my very next outing I checked out a new site that turned out to be a campsite for soldiers returning from the CW. I was reluctant to stay after a few hours of finding nothing, but when I heard that my buddy found a Trime (3 cent piece), I decided it was worth staying. Five minutes later I yelled out "I found one too", and my friends did not believe me. I went on to find some more buttons including the "V" button and many other CW era buttons. My friend went on to find another 3 center for a combined "Trimefecta" that day!





Mine was the sweetest of the three, and has a repunched "1" in the date!

Although this has not been a banner coin year so far, there have been a few other coin highlights including a Chinese coin that dates circa 1730-1770's, as well as a nice King George II Halfpenny 1740-1754, and plenty of Indian Heads, Mercury Dimes, etc.





There have also been some terrific artifacts, including thimbles, spoons, watch winders, buckles, Martingales and more.







But the real win this year is with buttons. I usually dig approximately 100 buttons in a year, but this year I have already surpassed the century mark. It isn't just quantity, but the quality of the buttons. Many military buttons have been dug this year, ranging from the CW era, back to the War of 1812:







Tons of great civilian buttons were also dug, some dating back to circa 1800:







Some of the more unusual finds: British Customs Officer's button circa 1810:



Communion Token (?)




Pharaoh?



With the heat wave upon us, it may be some time before I get out to detect again, but at least I have many great finds to be proud of. There are more on my site, but these are my personal favorites.
Enjoy!

[Iron Patch]

Good start Neil, and I think it will be even better for you the 2nd half. I'm also pleased with our hunts here and what has come out of the dirt, but one great find in the Fall can trump all that. So I'm looking forward to some decent finds, but just as interested in the rush I get finding some new Colonial sites to hunt. In fact, I have to pretty much make a banner type find to equal the feeling I get when we first find a site and realize it's old. That's where most of my highs come from these days. Last year when Ironhorse, the Patriot and myself found a new great site I was more pumped in the first 20 minutes of swinging then I was at anything I dug that day. That wasn't the case for the Patriot though, it was his 1/2 real, 2 reales, 1812 button day. But this year the three of us returned to the site and he got his payback. Man those hunts are more fun than they even seem at the time when you look back and reflect.

[Steve in PA]

Looking good so far Neil! Lots of nice relics and coins.