Hello All,
Let me start by giving you the soundtrack for this post. Feel free to enjoy some good old cajun fiddle while you read along.
What you see below is the result of two hunts. I held off on posting the first one (a couple days), hoping for a positive ID from the relic experts but that ID has not come yet. So, here's the story...
I got together with Shanegalang for another great hunt, and we decided to see how the Field of Dreams was doing. When we arrived, the farmers had re-trenched the field, opening up the bottoms of the cane rows and tossing the dirt back up on the sides. The cane was overhanging the rows (the leaves will cut your skin to shreds), but I had long sleeves on in spite of the 93 degree heat and choking humidity, and the cane wasn't super thick yet, so I jumped right in.
I was hoping that the trenching would make a difference, and it did. I dug a flat button right off, and eyeballed some pipe stem pieces. Shane's 11-year-old son found an absolutely incredible find in the cane field with his eyes--but he will have to post that one. I can't steal his thunder, other than to say that it is a find I have never made, and probably never will.
Anyhow, I was congratulating him on the incredible find, and thinking about the fact that whenever that little man is around I can't seem to find anything.
Then I dug a deep signal and about a foot down came the top from an ale jug from our tavern! I hunted a while longer and got a nice big brass signal, and recovered a strange looking piece. The more I investigated it, the more I became excited. I have a hunch it is a hat plate from the late 1700s to early 1800s. Could be militia, but also could be Spanish, as one relic expert e-mailed me over the weekend!
Then we located another site on a property we had permission for for months, but had not even explored yet. (Part of the 40,000 acres we have permission for.) We managed to find a site in that massive field too, and it is a mixed site, spanning about 200 years of history. It's a little tough to untangle. We have eyeballed scalloped feather-edge china (late 1700s) and clay pipe stems like the ones we find at our tavern site. But we have also found 1940s marbles and I dug a wheat cent. Anyhow, I think we will find something there.
Here is a photo of all my finds from the field of dreams:
And the closest match I could find for the lid (Georgian Era lid from an ale jug):
And a close-up shot of the cap badge:
If anyone can provide a positive ID, please help me out.
And here are the finds from the second site of the day:
Wish we'd had a bit more time on that site...but there's always next time.
Then I got together with Shane again today for another hunt. We had a new strategy, but when we got there, the farmer had disced up the turn rows for us. So we decided to grid those out again. The first signal I dug was a piece of can slaw. The second signal was in a clod, so I broke it in half, and when I broke it in half again, a tiny silver reeded edge was staring me right in the face!
Well, I thought about saving the moment of discovery for when I got home, because I knew what it was going to be: a late 1830s or early 1840s Seated Half dime with an Orleans mintmark.
I knew U.S. because of the reeds instead of the dot/dash pattern of the Spanish silvers, and I knew it wouldn't be a Capped, because these folks didn't get Philly minted coins down here in circulation until after our site was abandoned in the 1840s. Well, I broke open the clod, and a BEAUTIFUL 1839-O half dime glistened in the sunshine!
Gotta love that sticky, silty Louisiana MUD! I gently raised the coin out of its earthen tomb and took this photo:
Well, I kept hunting, racking up a small handfull of musketballs and a surprise 3-ringer. Went down a nice cane row that gave up a bent flat button and a tiny padlock and dug a very large two-piece button. I didn't want to scrub on it much, but curiosity got the best of me, and I rubbed some dirt off, revealing what looked like a bust on it. I thought it might be a commemorative button of some sort, or perhaps Jacksonian era and stuck it in my pouch.
When I got home, I got out the aluminum jelly and started to investigate the strange button. I was shocked to see that a Kentucky-related find had followed me here. It was a HENRY CLAY campaign button from the 1820s or 30s! Friends, I could not recall ever seeing one of these on Tnet since I joined the forum years ago, so I searched and this is indeed the first one ever posted here. Henry Clay tokens have been found and posted before, but no campaign buttons. This button has a rarity value of 75 in Albert's book, which makes it as rare as digging a Texas button. And a lot of gilding surviving. I am on cloud nine about this button find!
Here is a photo of my finds from the hunt:
And here are the photos of that Sweet, Sweet Seated. It's great to finally get one that wasn't roughed-up much by the plough.
Best Wishes,
Buckleboy
The CaneField Bandits
P.S.--if you need something to get you motivated, take a look at our Spring Wrap-Up here: http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/m...you-have-high-blood-pressure.html#post2797663
Let me start by giving you the soundtrack for this post. Feel free to enjoy some good old cajun fiddle while you read along.
What you see below is the result of two hunts. I held off on posting the first one (a couple days), hoping for a positive ID from the relic experts but that ID has not come yet. So, here's the story...
I got together with Shanegalang for another great hunt, and we decided to see how the Field of Dreams was doing. When we arrived, the farmers had re-trenched the field, opening up the bottoms of the cane rows and tossing the dirt back up on the sides. The cane was overhanging the rows (the leaves will cut your skin to shreds), but I had long sleeves on in spite of the 93 degree heat and choking humidity, and the cane wasn't super thick yet, so I jumped right in.
I was hoping that the trenching would make a difference, and it did. I dug a flat button right off, and eyeballed some pipe stem pieces. Shane's 11-year-old son found an absolutely incredible find in the cane field with his eyes--but he will have to post that one. I can't steal his thunder, other than to say that it is a find I have never made, and probably never will.
Anyhow, I was congratulating him on the incredible find, and thinking about the fact that whenever that little man is around I can't seem to find anything.
Then I dug a deep signal and about a foot down came the top from an ale jug from our tavern! I hunted a while longer and got a nice big brass signal, and recovered a strange looking piece. The more I investigated it, the more I became excited. I have a hunch it is a hat plate from the late 1700s to early 1800s. Could be militia, but also could be Spanish, as one relic expert e-mailed me over the weekend! Then we located another site on a property we had permission for for months, but had not even explored yet. (Part of the 40,000 acres we have permission for.) We managed to find a site in that massive field too, and it is a mixed site, spanning about 200 years of history. It's a little tough to untangle. We have eyeballed scalloped feather-edge china (late 1700s) and clay pipe stems like the ones we find at our tavern site. But we have also found 1940s marbles and I dug a wheat cent. Anyhow, I think we will find something there.
Here is a photo of all my finds from the field of dreams:
And the closest match I could find for the lid (Georgian Era lid from an ale jug):
And a close-up shot of the cap badge:
If anyone can provide a positive ID, please help me out.
And here are the finds from the second site of the day:
Wish we'd had a bit more time on that site...but there's always next time.
Then I got together with Shane again today for another hunt. We had a new strategy, but when we got there, the farmer had disced up the turn rows for us.
So we decided to grid those out again. The first signal I dug was a piece of can slaw. The second signal was in a clod, so I broke it in half, and when I broke it in half again, a tiny silver reeded edge was staring me right in the face!
Well, I thought about saving the moment of discovery for when I got home, because I knew what it was going to be: a late 1830s or early 1840s Seated Half dime with an Orleans mintmark.
I knew U.S. because of the reeds instead of the dot/dash pattern of the Spanish silvers, and I knew it wouldn't be a Capped, because these folks didn't get Philly minted coins down here in circulation until after our site was abandoned in the 1840s. Well, I broke open the clod, and a BEAUTIFUL 1839-O half dime glistened in the sunshine!
Gotta love that sticky, silty Louisiana MUD! I gently raised the coin out of its earthen tomb and took this photo:
Well, I kept hunting, racking up a small handfull of musketballs and a surprise 3-ringer. Went down a nice cane row that gave up a bent flat button and a tiny padlock and dug a very large two-piece button. I didn't want to scrub on it much, but curiosity got the best of me, and I rubbed some dirt off, revealing what looked like a bust on it. I thought it might be a commemorative button of some sort, or perhaps Jacksonian era and stuck it in my pouch.
When I got home, I got out the aluminum jelly and started to investigate the strange button. I was shocked to see that a Kentucky-related find had followed me here. It was a HENRY CLAY campaign button from the 1820s or 30s! Friends, I could not recall ever seeing one of these on Tnet since I joined the forum years ago, so I searched and this is indeed the first one ever posted here. Henry Clay tokens have been found and posted before, but no campaign buttons. This button has a rarity value of 75 in Albert's book, which makes it as rare as digging a Texas button. And a lot of gilding surviving. I am on cloud nine about this button find!
Here is a photo of my finds from the hunt:
And here are the photos of that Sweet, Sweet Seated. It's great to finally get one that wasn't roughed-up much by the plough.
Best Wishes,
Buckleboy
The CaneField Bandits
P.S.--if you need something to get you motivated, take a look at our Spring Wrap-Up here: http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/m...you-have-high-blood-pressure.html#post2797663
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