First Silver, and It's A Reale!

[Grogan14]

Hello all. Had a great couple of hours out detecting the yard this evening. Unfortunately, I do not have my camera here currently, so have no pics of my finds right now.

We moved to a farmhouse that we were told was at least a couple hundred years old several years ago, in an older farming community. I've been wanting to get a quality detector to give the yard a try, but money's been tight as of late. Found a BH Quick Draw II on Craig's cheap. I did have a BH 202 for a very short time a few years back, so familiar with it some. Been out there for a few hours a day, last couple of days.

The yard's loaded with iron, as I supposed is to be expected. I ran it with moderate discrimination at first, finding a few dollars in clad up close to the house. Wanting to get a little more depth, I decided to change over to running it wide open. A couple hours in the backyard scored me a small spill of 2 clad quarters with one 1979 Susan Anthony dollar, and a lead bale seal, on which I can't quite make the writing out.

About an hour before dark, the landlord's nephew pulls up. I ended up talking to him for half hour or so standing at his truck, getting all kinds of info on the property, as they're one of the town's founding families. While I'm chatting, my girl is swinging for the first time ever. I had her put it back in auto notch, figuring she'd come across a clad coin, possibly.

When I get done talking, she says she's found a good signal. I turned discrimination off, and it's bouncing around, mostly between dime and quarter, hitting half occasionally. Shows 8" target depth. Knowing the pinpointing isn't all too accurate with this detector, I've been digging 4-5" circumference holes. It's getting dark, and I'm about 8" down. The BH pinpointer that came with it isn't finding anything, and I'm thinking it's a deep can or something similar, and my gal wants to go inside and fix supper. One last try with the pinpointer, poking it into the side of the hole, and there it is, about 3" down. With a flashlight and a little spit, I make out 1796!

Unfortunately, I also make out that I dinged it while cutting the plug, . Still, we're high-fiving. Got it inside, ran it under the faucet and we can barely make out "Calorus IIII", and "Hispan ET IND" on the reverse. Even though I've heard of Reales, and know folks do find such up this way, it's paper thin, so I'm fearing it's a toy coin or something, especially with the "IIII". A little Googling, and searching Ebay, looks like we've found a genuine 200+ year old 1-reale coin. My gal's first silver, on her first swing, and only my 3rd, after having found a couple of Mercs in my yard years back.

Sorry for the long post, but I'm so stoked on our find. Can't wait to get back out there tomorrow!

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[Mackaydon]

Does it look like this?
Don........

[Grogan14]

Does it look like this?
Don........

Yes, except it's very worn. You can't make out much of the bust at all, and the edging is almost entirely worn off. On the reverse, what I'm assuming are mint marks are hard to decipher. After IND is R, then the Mexico City mark, then possibly F then M. It also appears to be struck off-center, at least to my uneducated eye.

[Grogan14]

I also found a token labeled New Hampshire Public Works and Highways, just like the one pictured.



And, what I believe is a musket ball, exactly like the one pictured.

[Mackaydon]

If the Mexican coin is a 1/2R, the diameter will be 18mm; for a 1R, the diameter is 20mm. The silver fineness would be .896. The letter "R" by itself, not "1R", means 1/2 real.

FM are the initials of the assayer. BTW, Welcome to Treasure Net !!
Don...........

[Grogan14]

A 1/2 Real, then - neat!

Thanks a bunch for the info, Don, and for the welcome!

[SilverForBrains]

[QUOTE=Grogan14;2806552]I also found a token labeled New Hampshire Public Works and Highways, just like the one pictured.



And, what I believe is a musket ball, exactly like the one pictured.

Very cool, I've found that exact same token! one of my favorite finds. From what I understand it's a bus token from the 1930's, and if it's not stamped with a B that means it hasn't been used. Nice find!

[Grogan14]

Very cool, I've found that exact same token! one of my favorite finds. From what I understand it's a bus token from the 1930's, and if it's not stamped with a B that means it hasn't been used. Nice find!

Thanks for the reply! The pinpointer I'm using only has a range of about half an inch, and it was able to find it from the surface. I was able to dig it with my finger, less than an inch down. I believe the detector rang nickel on it, though not certain. Being so shallow, I thought it was something more recent, but I noted a listing on Ebay stated they were circa 1930. Mine's not cancelled. I like it a lot, too.

[saltyshark2002]

Nice job on your Reale.As for the token they are pretty common here in NH,I have found a dozen or so over the last 5 years

[oldsalty19]

[leprechaun]

Very nice finds