Best find yet! 1774!

BlackFish108

Tenderfoot
Mar 14, 2013
7
9
Greenwich CT
Detector(s) used
Whites VX3 W/ standard 950 coil but waiting on my new 10" D2
White's M6- regular coil plus 6X9 shooter
White's Classic III W/ BlueMax 950 coil
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Hi there,
It’s nice to report that I had quite the successful weekend! My hunts started at around 3PM and ended at about 6ish for both days which give you an idea of what might be lying in wait for me. I was using my VX3 with its standard 950 (my new D2 10" is in the mail for Thursday) and most of the finds were very shallow and mostly clad, the Kennedy was found at only 2 ½ inches! After a day of clad and a nice looking track medal, I attempted to get up higher and check out the more inland sites of the park on my second day. After coming across something resembling a grape shot cannon ball (the big rusty blob in the picture, weights about 5 pounds or more) I found myself in the middle of a foundation. Now although I’m a newbie (Though, in my defense I have been going out at least 5 times a week since Jan 31st) I know that foundations are KEY and this one was in a spot that was older than almost any sites in the area. After about three clads, I found my best find to date! A 1774 (correct me if I’m wrong, I will take a photo of the back although it’s almost entirely worn off) ½ or 2 Colonial Reale! Man that was something to dig up! Amazingly enough, as cruddy as the shape is, you can actually make out the date and the mint mark on the back (well, part of it) which shows an M, apparently minted in Mexico. Any who check out the pictures and let me know what you guys think! I would never sell the Reale (not that most are worth a huge amount) but just knowing that I found an object only a few months away from the Boston tea party makes me all the more hooked!
Thanks,
BF
IMG_0504.JPG (2).JPG IMG_0508.JPG (2).JPG
 

Upvote 8

Erik in NJ

Silver Member
Oct 4, 2010
4,037
3,043
The Garden State
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Minelab Explorer SE Pro & CTX-3030
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Hi BF,

Great finds! A 2 real is about the size of a US quarter and a 1/2 real is smaller than a US dime. The grape shot is very cool too! Congrats....Best, Erik
 

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BlackFish108

Tenderfoot
Mar 14, 2013
7
9
Greenwich CT
Detector(s) used
Whites VX3 W/ standard 950 coil but waiting on my new 10" D2
White's M6- regular coil plus 6X9 shooter
White's Classic III W/ BlueMax 950 coil
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Thanks Eric! Then it must be a 2 due to its size. Strangely enough my father has a much larger Reale (the size of a dollar) in a picture frame that I was looking at yesterday. It's amazing how closely everything except for the Chinese test marks and extra Roman numeral on the face side match up. I never thought I'd come across something like this.
 

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hamiddetecting

Gold Member
Feb 22, 2012
6,398
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North Pole
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Erik in NJ

Silver Member
Oct 4, 2010
4,037
3,043
The Garden State
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Minelab Explorer SE Pro & CTX-3030
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Thanks Eric! Then it must be a 2 due to its size. Strangely enough my father has a much larger Reale (the size of a dollar) in a picture frame that I was looking at yesterday. It's amazing how closely everything except for the Chinese test marks and extra Roman numeral on the face side match up. I never thought I'd come across something like this.

Hi BF!

Your Dad's silver real is an eight real. That gave rise to two terms that you still hear today "pieces of eight" and "two bits." Those eight reals were used in the colonies as silver dollars and were also often cut into quarters (like pie slices). An eight real could be cut into eight bits (thus the term pieces of eight referring to the whole coin--a piece of eight bits), so two bits was one of the quarter slices. There were four of them--each worth about 25 cents or a quarter which today is still sometimes referred to as two bits. A one real was worth about 12-1/2 cents and is bigger than a US dime at about the size of a nickel. A 1/2 real was worth six cents and is smaller than a US dime.

Your two real is a nice find and they are not that easy to come across. I myself have only ever found a one real (1764) and a 1/2 real (1770-something, can't remember off-hand) so far. It always amazes me how much Spanish silver still turns up. The cut silver or "two bits" (and sometimes single bits) seem to show up a lot more often in the South for some strange reason, maybe the Confederates used them longer than we did, probably not wanting to use US currency.

BTW, what are the Chinese test marks that you are referring to?
 

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BlackFish108

Tenderfoot
Mar 14, 2013
7
9
Greenwich CT
Detector(s) used
Whites VX3 W/ standard 950 coil but waiting on my new 10" D2
White's M6- regular coil plus 6X9 shooter
White's Classic III W/ BlueMax 950 coil
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
IMG_0125.JPG IMG_0126.JPG

Eric,
This is the dollar i was referring to. The test marks are very visible (almost questionably so) and as you can see, it gives a little write up about it on the front. I've seen these things on Ebay and really don't know much about the collection of these particular coins other than that. My brother was an archaeologist major in collage (his thesis was on captain Kidd's history) so he was the first to give me a very accurate description of what the type of coin I had found may be but thanks again for the description. Hes always given me info on things of this nature here and there, but its great to have such accurate knowledge on the subject. I wasn't aware that this was where the "two bits" phrase came from, very interesting stuff. I too am amazed by the Spanish sliver that is still around. I'll hopefully have the chance to get back to the site this weekend with my new D2 10" to find a more suitable piece (plus I'd like to take my brother and properly grid off the area since its only about the size of a tennis court). Unfortunately the last time I was there, I felt a bit too much unwanted attention so maybe not.
 

IAMZIM

Bronze Member
Apr 23, 2011
1,567
2,160
Butte City, Montana
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ace 250/garret pinpointer, garret AT Gold
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That is a freakin' awesome find for a newbie IMO! Think its gonna be a LONG time before I ever break into the 1700s! My goal right now is to just get a coin between 1800 and 1840! Congratz man!
 

g-olden years

Silver Member
Nov 10, 2010
3,139
945
California
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Super coin! :notworthy: Definitely return to detect all around where you found your real, as there may be other old coins nearby. Good idea to take your brother to help stave off unwanted attention (if it was of the negative sort & not just curious people). Also be sure to detect right up tight against the old foundation as sometimes small goodies are jammed right up against foundations, as my son & I have found out in our fave field. Looking forward to what else you find there! Andi
 

Ifoundit69

Saving the past one find at a time !
Dec 5, 2007
1,251
600
Lancaster ,VA
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Hella of a nice score ! I dont think that iron peice is grape shot I would lean more towards cannonball , let cannonballguy take a look he will help you out !
 

steelheadwill

Gold Member
Jan 2, 2010
6,689
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New Castle NH.
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Grats on the Spanish!! Tea Party and First Overt act of the Revolution occurred in 1774,
Paul Revere's lesser known first rum fueled ride.
NH militia seized Fort William & Mary, procuring arms and powder that were sorely needed.
Get the story here:Seacoast NH History - Revolution Era - Ft. William & Mary

Keep them goodies comin, my first few months were some of my best :) HH to ya :thumbsup:
 

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BlackFish108

Tenderfoot
Mar 14, 2013
7
9
Greenwich CT
Detector(s) used
Whites VX3 W/ standard 950 coil but waiting on my new 10" D2
White's M6- regular coil plus 6X9 shooter
White's Classic III W/ BlueMax 950 coil
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Thank you all so much! I seriously think that i would not have found this coin if it were not for Treasurenet. I scour the posts for anything helpful/useful and man, have you guys cleared up some of my issues (my many...many issues).
I must be doing something right as i just plucked this one out yesterday at a different site (even with my 950 on) IMG_0513.JPG IMG_0514.JPG

Thanks a lot for the tips golden, I'll definitely try to get as close to the edges of the foundation as possible and hopefully we'll get our lines out to do a proper grid. For once i actually have a tip for gridding! Try taking a picture of the grid after you've laid your lines down if you have a smart phone. Then (if you phone allows for it) edit the photo to mark where your finds are... or just use physical plastic flags...I always love the complicated methods :)

I just picked up my new D2 10", tested it with sliver barber (wrapped in cling wrap) 12" down and was able to get a nice 3 bar line up with a great tone, something my 950 could not do (in fact it was chatty around the 8" mark with the 950). Anyway, thanks to you all!
 

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