Hammered silvers from unbelievable depths!!

[Bill D. (VA)]

First, I want to thank my friend John from Montana who graciously offered to let me use his Minelab GPX-4000 to go back over the site here in SE Virginia where 23 hammered silver coins from 1563-1640 were dug about 3 years ago by my friends and I. I just knew after finding 2 scattered caches at this site, more could be found if a very deep seeking machine could be utilized. And John's claims of extreme depth were definitely validated today. After reading the manual a few times, adjusting the settings for this site, and making a couple of practice runs, I finally took it today for the first time to my old site. After about 30 minutes of going very slow over the exact area where one of the caches had been found, I got a very weak and somewhat erratic hi/lo tone, but it was for the most part repeatable. Definitely one worth investigating. Well, I kept digging and digging and the target was still in the hole. Finally the target popped out in the last shovel-full, and to my shock it was a 1606 James I sixpence. And it came from a measured depth of 22 inches!! I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it for myself. It's probably 10" deeper than any coin-sized object I've ever dug. Very, very impressive!! Then about 20-30 min later I got another similar signal but it was a little more pronounced. Again, I dug and dug, and eventually pulled out another sixpence, this time a 1594 Elizabethan. And this one was 18" deep. I had several "close calls", but they were all larger and very deep iron. I've only just started to cover the area, so hopefully more will surface. Eventually I plan to take the time to dig some of the lo/hi's, which are usually small iron, but could also be a gold coin. Can't wait to get back!

 

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[Kyle PA]

Bill, you are truly in a league of your own! Unbelievably amazingly sweet!

 

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[CRUSADER]

Bill, you are truly in a league of your own! Unbelievably amazingly sweet!

I just realised I have not given this the credit it deserves & my thoughts have always been reflected in Kyle's well put words

 

[beerbarrel]

AWESOME! Can't wait for you to get back also, to see what else you find. Congrats on a great hunt!

beerbarrel

 

[BobinSouthVA]

wow 22 inches

oh and I love the spectacle buckle in the collection picture. That is a beauty.

Ok so the wife is already PO'd about the grand+ I dropped on the Explorer.

Hmmmm how am I going to justify 6 grand

 

[BobinSouthVA]

This may be sort of OT, but, do coins continue to sink the longer they are in the ground or do they level off at some point? I'm thinking it may be dependent on the amount of moisture penetration and depth?? Hmmmm. Of course, I've still not figured out how a disk shaped piece of thin foil can sink at all, let alone 5" or 6"!

Well can't do a search right now due to high server load and lack of charter membership, but there is an in-depth interesting discussion on depth and time and density etc... somewhere on these boards.

anyone have the link?

 

[Kirk PA]

This is proof that no one else can compete with you in Virginia. Considering the fact that you do not detect everyday, you make sure your hunts count in a huge way. You are definitely in a Colonial league of your own. I bet you get 40+ Hammered silvers from this field. I nominate you to the "Colonial Virginia Hall of Fame."

Kirk

 

[gwdigger]

Thats just crazy Bill. I was out with my new explorer 2 and found some stuff at a beat site (searched with several DFXs for at least 7 years). Nothing like this but these minelabs are impressive to say the least.

I'm working on my finds but embarrassing compared to these, really.

Kudos!

banner!

 

[allen]

wow !! Those are awesome !!

 

[Steve in PA]

Very nice Bill! You had a plan and you executed it well. I am sure you will turn up more hammered silver in the field, and who knows, maybe an intact cache in an area that has not given up any random coins yet.

Needless to say BANNER!!

 

[Brian(upstateNY-Central Fla.)]

Awsome awsome Bill what else can I say but congrats and good luck diggin more

 

[MaineRelic]

What more can be said ! An incredible find ! I thought this would make Banner for sure ! MaineRelic

 

[ReidMan]

Why is this not a Banner?

This should be a banner for sure.

 

[traverdog]

Outstanding!!!

 

[CRUSADER]

I thought this might make banner

 

[DMN]

I thought this might make banner

You and me both. Figured the rarity of a cluster of coins like that found in the ol' US of A should have shown up in the banner at some point.
Oh well.

 

[HISPAN]

Makes you wonder how many are left at greater depth. Have you thought about asking permission about scraping the the field down inch by inch with a tractor? Do you think there was a tavern or store maybe there, or a scattered cashe? It's possible that main portion has not been found, just a suggestion but try the woods next to the field, along the edge. Fantastic find and love seeing those coins. HH

We thought a good while back about asking the farmer to scrape a foot off that part of the field, but felt he would not be interested and it would draw too much attention. Decided that the only other viable option would be to use the deepest machine available, and I think that's what I have now. About 75 yards from the coin area I found the original house site, and I probed out a few trash pits immediately behind it. They were chock full of huge oyster shells, although we did get some nice pottery, pipe stems, an ornate buckle and other stuff (see pic below). But the tavern sites I've dug the pits generally contained large amounts of black glass, and I found very little of that here. Plus, my research bears out that this was a home and not a tavern or any other kind of structure.

People who lived in this house Spanish dishes and English coins?.... is a strange mixture.

 

[Iron Patch]

Makes you wonder how many are left at greater depth. Have you thought about asking permission about scraping the the field down inch by inch with a tractor? Do you think there was a tavern or store maybe there, or a scattered cashe? It's possible that main portion has not been found, just a suggestion but try the woods next to the field, along the edge. Fantastic find and love seeing those coins. HH

We thought a good while back about asking the farmer to scrape a foot off that part of the field, but felt he would not be interested and it would draw too much attention. Decided that the only other viable option would be to use the deepest machine available, and I think that's what I have now. About 75 yards from the coin area I found the original house site, and I probed out a few trash pits immediately behind it. They were chock full of huge oyster shells, although we did get some nice pottery, pipe stems, an ornate buckle and other stuff (see pic below). But the tavern sites I've dug the pits generally contained large amounts of black glass, and I found very little of that here. Plus, my research bears out that this was a home and not a tavern or any other kind of structure.

People who lived in this house hutilizaban Spanish dishes and coins English ?.... is a strange mixture.

Never know. All my Spanish cobs are from French sites. They also had English coins too.

 

[tinpan]

estant

Makes you wonder how many are left at greater depth. Have you thought about asking permission about scraping the the field down inch by inch with a tractor? Do you think there was a tavern or store maybe there, or a scattered cashe? It's possible that main portion has not been found, just a suggestion but try the woods next to the field, along the edge. Fantastic find and love seeing those coins. HH

We thought a good while back about asking the farmer to scrape a foot off that part of the field, but felt he would not be interested and it would draw too much attention. Decided that the only other viable option would be to use the deepest machine available, and I think that's what I have now. About 75 yards from the coin area I found the original house site, and I probed out a few trash pits immediately behind it. They were chock full of huge oyster shells, although we did get some nice pottery, pipe stems, an ornate buckle and other stuff (see pic below). But the tavern sites I've dug the pits generally contained large amounts of black glass, and I found very little of that here. Plus, my research bears out that this was a home and not a tavern or any other kind of structure.

People who lived in this house hutilizaban Spanish dishes and coins English ?.... is a strange mixture.

Never know. All my Spanish cobs are from French sites. They also had English coins too.

Hi Spanish Cathlics and English Protestants all holding hands when going to church. History must be wrong.

tinpan

 

[HISPAN]

estant

Makes you wonder how many are left at greater depth. Have you thought about asking permission about scraping the the field down inch by inch with a tractor? Do you think there was a tavern or store maybe there, or a scattered cashe? It's possible that main portion has not been found, just a suggestion but try the woods next to the field, along the edge. Fantastic find and love seeing those coins. HH

We thought a good while back about asking the farmer to scrape a foot off that part of the field, but felt he would not be interested and it would draw too much attention. Decided that the only other viable option would be to use the deepest machine available, and I think that's what I have now. About 75 yards from the coin area I found the original house site, and I probed out a few trash pits immediately behind it. They were chock full of huge oyster shells, although we did get some nice pottery, pipe stems, an ornate buckle and other stuff (see pic below). But the tavern sites I've dug the pits generally contained large amounts of black glass, and I found very little of that here. Plus, my research bears out that this was a home and not a tavern or any other kind of structure.

People who lived in this house hutilizaban Spanish dishes and coins English ?.... is a strange mixture.

Never know. All my Spanish cobs are from French sites. They also had English coins too.

Hi Spanish Cathlics and English Protestants all holding hands when going to church. History must be wrong.

tinpan

I know many Spanish Protestants and many English Catholics .
I really like these two coins.....congrats !

 

[tinpan]

Re: Let me tell you what I know

The Roanoke colony disappeared in 1588, too early for some of these coins, but what about some other early settlements around there? Finding pockets of coins like that is unusual, unless someone was buried there with coins in their pockets. Interesting idea... I'm not up on Virginia history, though; too far removed. Still curious though.

Bear in mind the wear on the coins, they were both likely lost around 1630s (at least) 8)

I've done a bunch of research on this site, and have uncovered some very interesting info. I believe the owner of the property where the coins were found (who I cannot name for obvious reasons) was a supporter of Charles I of England who was overthrown and beheaded in 1649 during the English civil war. Many of his supporters fled the country and some headed to America to escape punishment or death. Some of these folks were quite wealthy and brought their hoards of gold and silver coinage with them. So I'm quite sure the coins were buried at the site for safekeeping. Additional research revealed that in the early 1700s a slave found an extremely large hoard of gold and silver coins in an abandoned home across the creek from where I found my coins. The owner had apparently died unexpectedly, and nobody knew the whereabouts of his fortune. This person had also come to Virginia as a result of the English civil war. (I actually have permission to hunt that site too, but have found only one 17th century cob so far.) Anyway, I feel there could be many more coins at the site where I found the others, and that is why I've borrowed a GPX-4000 so I can go deeper and maybe find a larger hoard(s). Gonna be fun to try anyway. By the way, the previous poster (Noodle) might be intersted to know that around 7-8 of the coins I found 3 years ago at this site predated the 1588 date he mentioned.

I always believed that Catholic Supports of Charles 1 would crossed the English Channel to the saftey of the English Protestant Enemies France and Spain. Kind of like jumping out of the pot into the fire if they gone to English colony controlled by the Anglician Church and its elite tabacco growers. This not the recorded history of early Virginia. So later on when Charles 2 gave up the throne he too move to Virgina.

tinpan