Decent Gobble Day hunt! Colonial copper and small silver coin, etc.....

Don in SJ

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My son and I got out this morning for our first hunt in quite some time. We started out seeking a possible new site and after going thru the brush for a bit, we were rewarded with a clearing ahead with two depressions and the ever telling Grapevines growing!
Site247 TwoDepressions.jpg
My son is walking just behind one of the depressions where the Oak trees are surrounding the perimeter.
Huntin next to depressions.jpg
I started out finding a couple nice, but dirty, Tombac buttons.
DesignTombacs.jpg
But shortly thereafter rewarded with the high sweet tone of a coin! One very crusty, heavily coated copper emerged, and we both looked at it and had no idea what it was, other than knowing it was not a Large or Half Cent, or regular KG copper, so it would have to wait till we got home to clean it up to ID the coin.
Copper in the hole.jpg
Crustycopper.jpg
Found about 4 buttons at this site and a Thimble, of a type I never found before, it was made without a top! Also got a parital smaller pewter spoon bowl, and a few other knicknacks.
After the finds petered out we started heading back to the truck and along the way a site I found two weeks ago, that produced a complete shoe buckle frame would be our last stop for the short morning hunt.
Site246.jpg
At this site I lost a pair of hand pruners two weeks ago and my goal was to find them, I DID. At this site my son got a couple more buttons, he also got about 2-3 at the first site, but no coins, however he also did get part of a shoe buckle. So we only hunted a short time, and after getting another thimble and button, but wow, the thimble looked like it exploded, and it also had two holes punched in the top, weird. But as I was almost back on the road leading back to my truck, I got another coin signal and at first when I picked it up, I thought it was a button with no shank, but a quick look revealed it was either a half real or half dime. It was the latter.
CrustySilver joins CrustyCopper.jpg
So, here are the finds for the day, all are mine, I did not get to photograph my son's finds.....
Thanksgiving Days Finds Dirty.jpg
Nov26Findscleaned.jpg
The crusty silver coin was a bent, buckled, distorted ::) 1842 Seated Liberty Half Dime.
1842SeatedLibertyHalfDimeSite246.jpg
The crusty copper after a vigourous peroxide hot bath and many qtips, finally started to melt the cement like clay coating on the coin to reveal a corroded but good detailed 1773 Virginia Halfpenny. My third one I have ever found.
1773BeforeAfter.jpg

Don
 

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Mach1Pilot

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Don,

I always enjoy seeing your always impressive finds! Looks like you and your son had an excellent morning of hunting. :hello2:

That Virginia Half Cent cleaned up real well. :icon_thumright:

Congrats!
 

BuckleBoy

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A Beautiful post with some great photos and wonderful finds. A VA halfpenny is one on my wish list.

Too bad your son didn't find more, but nice that you two got to spend some quality holiday time together.



Best Wishes,



Buckles
 

nova treasure

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Excellent finds Don, Great Day hunting with your Son and bringing home some more amazing finds.

Congrats, Nova Treasure
 

Iron Patch

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Not a bad day for a father and son hunt! That coin is better than I expected... very acceptable condition for my sites! :thumbsup:
 

Iron Patch

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Don.. what's up with the "3" ? Am I seeing what I think I'm seeing! That 3 is punched in reverse! :o ? Would have to think it's counterfeit. and no doubt a good find.

I just read there are many dies used for both sides, but surely no reverse with a backwards "3". Well I guess anything is possible but I want to hear more! :thumbsup:
 

Kyle PA

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I really like the VA halfpenny. I don't see those popping out as much as I'd like to see on the forums. Great overall hunt, Don!
 

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Don in SJ

Don in SJ

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Iron Patch said:
Don.. what's up with the "3" ? Am I seeing what I think I'm seeing! That 3 is punched in reverse! :o ? Would have to think it's counterfeit. and no doubt a good find.

I just read there are many dies used for both sides, but surely no reverse with a backwards "3". Well I guess anything is possible but I want to hear more! :thumbsup:

Upon close review, the right side of the 3 is a weak strike, very thin and it looks like it is just an illusion of it being backwards, it does not appear so looking at the coin closely.

However when I blow the photo up, I am not sure, I will be taking the coin to Dr M____ on Sunday, so he is studying Va Halfpence so shall see what he says about it.
 

Iron Patch

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Don in SJ said:
Iron Patch said:
Don.. what's up with the "3" ? Am I seeing what I think I'm seeing! That 3 is punched in reverse! :o ? Would have to think it's counterfeit. and no doubt a good find.

I just read there are many dies used for both sides, but surely no reverse with a backwards "3". Well I guess anything is possible but I want to hear more! :thumbsup:

Upon close review, the right side of the 3 is a weak strike, very thin and it looks like it is just an illusion of it being backwards, it does not appear so looking at the coin closely.


Really.... I would have bet the farm looking at that picture. It looks like a complete 3 in reverse. (and it's very clear) Weird. But I can see it starting, and where it stops.

Glad I wasn't bidding on that pic. :D
 

RPG

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Iron Patch said:
Don in SJ said:
Iron Patch said:
Don.. what's up with the "3" ? Am I seeing what I think I'm seeing! That 3 is punched in reverse! :o ? Would have to think it's counterfeit. and no doubt a good find.

I just read there are many dies used for both sides, but surely no reverse with a backwards "3". Well I guess anything is possible but I want to hear more! :thumbsup:

Upon close review, the right side of the 3 is a weak strike, very thin and it looks like it is just an illusion of it being backwards, it does not appear so looking at the coin closely.


Really.... I would have bet the farm looking at that picture. It looks like a complete 3 in reverse. (and it's very clear) Weird.

Also looks a little too close to the 7 and a little low. :icon_scratch:
 

Iron Patch

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Don in SJ said:
Iron Patch said:
Don.. what's up with the "3" ? Am I seeing what I think I'm seeing! That 3 is punched in reverse! :o ? Would have to think it's counterfeit. and no doubt a good find.

I just read there are many dies used for both sides, but surely no reverse with a backwards "3". Well I guess anything is possible but I want to hear more! :thumbsup:

Upon close review, the right side of the 3 is a weak strike, very thin and it looks like it is just an illusion of it being backwards, it does not appear so looking at the coin closely.

However when I blow the photo up, I am not sure, I will be taking the coin to Dr M____ on Sunday, so he is studying Va Halfpence so shall see what he says about it.


I wonder if it wasn't punched twice, the second time to correct an error. Anyway, still a good find.
 

Iron Patch

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RPG said:
Iron Patch said:
Don in SJ said:
Iron Patch said:
Don.. what's up with the "3" ? Am I seeing what I think I'm seeing! That 3 is punched in reverse! :o ? Would have to think it's counterfeit. and no doubt a good find.

I just read there are many dies used for both sides, but surely no reverse with a backwards "3". Well I guess anything is possible but I want to hear more! :thumbsup:

Upon close review, the right side of the 3 is a weak strike, very thin and it looks like it is just an illusion of it being backwards, it does not appear so looking at the coin closely.


Really.... I would have bet the farm looking at that picture. It looks like a complete 3 in reverse. (and it's very clear) Weird.

Also looks a little too close to the 7 and a little low. :icon_scratch:


I thought it was low too, but have only compared a couple reverse dies. (and if the dates were punched then I guess it means very little)

The halfpenny displays the bust of George III on the obverse with the shield of Virginia on the reverse. There are several variants listed by Newman. He lists 13 obverse varieties with no stop after GEORGIVS (1-13) and 9 obverses with a stop (15 and 20-27). Two reverses have a harp with six strings (A-B), 15 varieties have seven harp strings (D-T, with no variety assigned to the letters I or L) and 5 varieties with eight harp strings (V Z). These 22 obverses and 22 reverses are found in 28 different combinations. There is also a nine harp strings reverse die that survives in the royal mint collection but does not appear to have been used for production as no examples have been found with that reverse. There is also a very rare larger size proof prototype, sometimes referred to as a "penny," and an extremely rare silver proof pattern dated 1774 that was engraved by Thomas Pingo, often referred to as a "shilling". Breen knew of six examples of this latter variety. The matrixes and device punches for the halfpenny still exist in the Royal Mint collection in London.
 

Jerry1NJ

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Nice finds Don!!! :icon_thumleft: All I managed to find today was a couple shotgun shell brasses.
 

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Don in SJ

Don in SJ

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Better pic of the date, it could be this or could be that, me thinks it is probably corrosion, dirt and weak right side strike or die that is giving that impression, I just don't know, will send photo to the Dr shortly, maybe he will comment before actually seeing the coin this weekend.

Don
 

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Iron Patch

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Don in SJ said:
Better pic of the date, it could be this or could be that, me thinks it is probably corrosion, dirt and weak right side strike or die that is giving that impression, I just don't know, will send photo to the Dr shortly, maybe he will comment before actually seeing the coin this weekend.

Don


You should crop it, and mirror the image when you show Dr. M. I think it might be corrosion too, but would be interested in trying to match a mirror image.
 

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Don in SJ said:
Better pic of the date, it could be this or could be that, me thinks it is probably corrosion, dirt and weak right side strike or die that is giving that impression, I just don't know, will send photo to the Dr shortly, maybe he will comment before actually seeing the coin this weekend.

Don

Could be corrosion but sure looks backward to me. And too low.

Nice hunt Don. What's the chance of two of these poping up on the same day? Turkey day 2009. :thumbsup:
 

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Don in SJ

Don in SJ

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Oh well, makes for an interesting discussion, still have Vpone NJ/MM coin on my mind also, that will be interesting on Sunday with the getogether over that coin, and a few others I have to show.
Here is a forward and backward photo.

Don
 

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Iron Patch

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Don in SJ said:
Oh well, makes for an interesting discussion, still have Vpone NJ/MM coin on my mind also, that will be interesting on Sunday with the getogether over that coin, and a few others I have to show.
Here is a forward and backward photo.

Don


Now that doesn't sound quite as good as my Saturday, but does sound like fun! :thumbsup:
 

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