I found these coins along a stretch of riverbank near my house. The first one I dug (top row, right) has a vague shadowy figure and a few letters on it. After a few hours of squinting at it I realized it was a Connecticut copper... or, as the linguists here say, coppa.
The other four coins showed up very close to the spot over the coming months. Some were right in the water, and a few were nearly on the surface (just under small rocks or little piles of silt). Sadly, all of these are so badly worn they're just slugs now, but it's probably fair to guess they might be from the same unlucky guy who dropped the first one.
The real prize is in the story, though: the place where I live (in modern-day Pennsylvania) was controlled by Connecticut until 1799. Little remains of the CT people who lived here, and most people don't know they were ever here at all... so in these old coins I have a little testament to them.
Probably my best individual finds so far... hope you like 'em!
Riverbanks are great for older artifacts......and coins if there was a homesite nearby. Keep hitting that site, and keep your eyes peeled for indian artifacts as well. They're bound to turn up on the riverside.
Large copper total for 2008 --7
1797 Draped Bust large cent
1809 Classic Head half cent
1787 New Jersey copper (Maris 63-s variety)
1845 Braided hair large cent (holed)
1835 hard times token (Walsh's General Store)
No detail coppers--2
WOW ......Five at one site.....what a fantastic day for you and I bet there are more in there! Keep digging and posting those kind of finds! Many Congrats to you!
I go a great distance,while some are considering whether they will start today or tomorrow
Thanks everyone!
Research really paid off with this site. For years I dug all over but never really found much. So I hit the books again and found a needle in the haystack, a colonial-era site just sitting around untouched. It is possible!
Thanks everyone!
Research really paid off with this site. For years I dug all over but never really found much. So I hit the books again and found a needle in the haystack, a colonial-era site just sitting around untouched. It is possible!
Just stumbled on this thread going through the "best finds" section. Nice set of CT coppers. My ancestors actually were part of the group of CT settlers that came to northern PA, so a bit of a personal connection here.