{Sentinel}
Silver Member
Amazing Site:1783 KG III Half-Guinea Counterfeit & 1 of best finds of year!
Hey Guys, I'm still on Cloud 9 right now!.....Myself and diggin' buddy Jeff went out to do some field hunting yesterday at a new site hoping to get maybe another King George Copper or something of the like as Jeff had dug a nice counterstamped KGII Copper the day before. I had school so could not make it but on our return, I focused on an area down from the high spot in the field, a spot that had some trash but that hadn't really been hit previously. After about an hours time I had only dug a few pieces of lead and the infamous can slaw which had been strewn about by the plow
:P I kept on swinging along and then all of a sudden I got a PERFECT signal with a V.D.I. of +45 which is usually a button or a coin. I dug down about 6 inches and out popped a two-piece button! Now this was unexpected as Jeff hadn't dug any out there the previous day.....I was very intrigued at what it might be as the size was not quite Coat and not quite cuff, more of a school coat or vest size......I noticed the backmark was Scovills Mfg Co which is an 1850-1865 backmark and was an unusual shape. This got me very excited as i'm pretty keen as to how Eagle Buttons look and feel and this definitely wasn't one! When I turned the button over, I saw a nice green face but with alot of dirt clumped to it.....when I lightly brushed it away I saw COLUMNS! and IMMEDIATELY I thought Norfolk Military Academy 
But I didn't want to get my hopes up too high until I was sure. But after a few minutes of cleaning away the dirt alittle better and verifying....it was undeniable: a genuine Confederate NORFOLK MILITARY ACADEMY BUTTON!!!!! 
In the world of Civil War buttons, the N.M.A. button ranks right at the very top as one of the rarest and hardest to find Confederate Buttons, just like the H.M.A.s from a couple months ago. It was originally misidentified by our good buddy Mr. A. Albert as being from Transylvania University of Kentucky and is a VERY WELL known fact that most Civil War Relic-hunters know about. Butch Holcombe of American Digger, Steve Sylvia of North-South Trader, Harry Ridgeway of The Civilwar Relic Man and Civil War relic-hunter and legend Buddy Andes will & have verified this well-known misidentification attributed by Albert.
Norfolk Military Academy still stands in downtown Norfolk, Virginia today and is an exceptionally beautiful structure. It was a military academy before the war and once the South Seceded, a Confederate Military Academy. It was also the military alma-mater of none other than Col. Walter Taylor, General Robert E. Lee's Adjutant and Aide-de-Camp for the duration of the Civil War and the person to General Lee's left in the now famous photo of himself, Colonel Taylor and Gen. G. Lee, Robert E. Lee's son. Many a Graduates from N.M.A. went off to fight in Northern Virginia against the Army of the Potomac.
Having dug this button and the Alabama Volunteer Corps Button (a rare button in its own right) in one month is something I may not be able to do again for a long time because of the rarity of these buttons. Although I probably will never sell it, the Norfolk Military Academy buttons rarely come up for sale but when they do they usually sale for around $1000.00 give or take a couple hundred!
In addition, I also dug a Sweet copper on Monday that I'd never seen before in this area as it was very thin, the size of a farthing and just FUNNY LOOKING! Something wasn't right
IT WAS TOO THIN
And the shield on it was nothing like a King George III Virginia Halfpenny, the only other copper around here with a Shield Coat-of-Arms on it........
COME TO FIND OUT....IT WASNT A COPPER AT ALL, but a forgery of a gold coin!; a King George III 1/2 guinea counterfeit!!!! That's why it was so thin
I love this find as well because I don't think that there are too many in this area...I've never found one around here and I've been digging around here for a long time.....it would've been cool though if there had been alittle gold left on it
Oh well I guess, still a pretty cool find!!!
Also ended the day with a Large Cent, New York Cuff and the usual Eagle "A's".
Thanks for taking the time to post to you guys that do. I know its easier to just look at a post and keep trucking so it means that much more when you guys actually post something so I appreciate it fellas
HH
ALL FINDS FOUND BY ME ON PRIVATE PROPERTY WITH CONSENT OF THE OWNER
Col. Walter Taylor who attended Norfolk Military Academy is standing on the right side (Gen. Lee's left) of photo.
NORFOLK MILITARY ACADEMY
NORFOLK MILITARY ACADEMY BUTTON (Confederate Military Academy Est. 1804)
Fresh out of the Hole:
Before Rinsing: (Put it in a pill bottle and caked dirt around it to hold the moisture in and stabilize until I got home)
After Rinsing and lite brushing: (More Gilt on this button, will clean it slowly though to keep from damaging)
Front:
Back: (Backmark: SCOVILL Mg. Co. 1850-1865)
Video:
1780s-1800s King George III Half-Guinea Gold Coin Counterfeit
(Photo of real George III Half-Guinea)
(Photo of another Countefeit)
181? Matron Head Large Cent
New York Cuff Button (Still has alittle crud on it that I'll have to clean off, should clean up nice)
[/youtube]
http://upload.youtube.com/my_videos_upload
GROUP SHOT (Including 1862 Fatty Indian, Nice Gilted Flower Button, Eagle "A's" and other campsite finds...)
Hey Guys, I'm still on Cloud 9 right now!.....Myself and diggin' buddy Jeff went out to do some field hunting yesterday at a new site hoping to get maybe another King George Copper or something of the like as Jeff had dug a nice counterstamped KGII Copper the day before. I had school so could not make it but on our return, I focused on an area down from the high spot in the field, a spot that had some trash but that hadn't really been hit previously. After about an hours time I had only dug a few pieces of lead and the infamous can slaw which had been strewn about by the plow
:P I kept on swinging along and then all of a sudden I got a PERFECT signal with a V.D.I. of +45 which is usually a button or a coin. I dug down about 6 inches and out popped a two-piece button! Now this was unexpected as Jeff hadn't dug any out there the previous day.....I was very intrigued at what it might be as the size was not quite Coat and not quite cuff, more of a school coat or vest size......I noticed the backmark was Scovills Mfg Co which is an 1850-1865 backmark and was an unusual shape. This got me very excited as i'm pretty keen as to how Eagle Buttons look and feel and this definitely wasn't one! When I turned the button over, I saw a nice green face but with alot of dirt clumped to it.....when I lightly brushed it away I saw COLUMNS! and IMMEDIATELY I thought Norfolk Military Academy But I didn't want to get my hopes up too high until I was sure. But after a few minutes of cleaning away the dirt alittle better and verifying....it was undeniable: a genuine Confederate NORFOLK MILITARY ACADEMY BUTTON!!!!! In the world of Civil War buttons, the N.M.A. button ranks right at the very top as one of the rarest and hardest to find Confederate Buttons, just like the H.M.A.s from a couple months ago. It was originally misidentified by our good buddy Mr. A. Albert as being from Transylvania University of Kentucky and is a VERY WELL known fact that most Civil War Relic-hunters know about. Butch Holcombe of American Digger, Steve Sylvia of North-South Trader, Harry Ridgeway of The Civilwar Relic Man and Civil War relic-hunter and legend Buddy Andes will & have verified this well-known misidentification attributed by Albert.
Norfolk Military Academy still stands in downtown Norfolk, Virginia today and is an exceptionally beautiful structure. It was a military academy before the war and once the South Seceded, a Confederate Military Academy. It was also the military alma-mater of none other than Col. Walter Taylor, General Robert E. Lee's Adjutant and Aide-de-Camp for the duration of the Civil War and the person to General Lee's left in the now famous photo of himself, Colonel Taylor and Gen. G. Lee, Robert E. Lee's son. Many a Graduates from N.M.A. went off to fight in Northern Virginia against the Army of the Potomac.
Having dug this button and the Alabama Volunteer Corps Button (a rare button in its own right) in one month is something I may not be able to do again for a long time because of the rarity of these buttons. Although I probably will never sell it, the Norfolk Military Academy buttons rarely come up for sale but when they do they usually sale for around $1000.00 give or take a couple hundred!
In addition, I also dug a Sweet copper on Monday that I'd never seen before in this area as it was very thin, the size of a farthing and just FUNNY LOOKING! Something wasn't right
IT WAS TOO THIN And the shield on it was nothing like a King George III Virginia Halfpenny, the only other copper around here with a Shield Coat-of-Arms on it........COME TO FIND OUT....IT WASNT A COPPER AT ALL, but a forgery of a gold coin!; a King George III 1/2 guinea counterfeit!!!! That's why it was so thin
I love this find as well because I don't think that there are too many in this area...I've never found one around here and I've been digging around here for a long time.....it would've been cool though if there had been alittle gold left on it
Oh well I guess, still a pretty cool find!!!Also ended the day with a Large Cent, New York Cuff and the usual Eagle "A's".
Thanks for taking the time to post to you guys that do. I know its easier to just look at a post and keep trucking so it means that much more when you guys actually post something so I appreciate it fellas
HHALL FINDS FOUND BY ME ON PRIVATE PROPERTY WITH CONSENT OF THE OWNER
Col. Walter Taylor who attended Norfolk Military Academy is standing on the right side (Gen. Lee's left) of photo.
NORFOLK MILITARY ACADEMY
NORFOLK MILITARY ACADEMY BUTTON (Confederate Military Academy Est. 1804)
Fresh out of the Hole:
Before Rinsing: (Put it in a pill bottle and caked dirt around it to hold the moisture in and stabilize until I got home)
After Rinsing and lite brushing: (More Gilt on this button, will clean it slowly though to keep from damaging)
Front:
Back: (Backmark: SCOVILL Mg. Co. 1850-1865)
Video:
1780s-1800s King George III Half-Guinea Gold Coin Counterfeit
181? Matron Head Large Cent
New York Cuff Button (Still has alittle crud on it that I'll have to clean off, should clean up nice)
http://upload.youtube.com/my_videos_upload
GROUP SHOT (Including 1862 Fatty Indian, Nice Gilted Flower Button, Eagle "A's" and other campsite finds...)
Upvote
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that cuff is a great find Good hunt 
Jim
Thanks Kirk, I can't believe that's what it was when I I.D.ed it. No wonder I couldn't I.D. it at first.... 
