🥇 BANNER Incredible early 1600s sword basket hilt recovered + 1580s jetton and more!!

[Bill D. (VA)]

This weekend I was finally able to escape the seemingly perpetual cabin fever mode I'd been in lately after only getting out for one short hunt over the last 5 weeks. I started things off by hooking up with my good friend Joey to make the long trek back to the county that produced the Lord Baltimore sixpence. Joey had recently discovered that the owner of the Lord Baltimore tract was also in control of another nearby land patent site, and we tried to contact him for the go-ahead. But we went by his house 3 different times during the day but could never catch him home. So we were forced to hit an old site, and managed to get into a couple of small, new ones, and didn't get into the production we had hoped for, but we did manage a few keepers. We hope to go back soon and secure permission for the first site as it has high potential based on Joey's research.

I decided to play hooky from church on Sunday, and met up with my buddy Dan for our first hunt since the end of January. Our first stop was at an old site, but one where Dan had ran into a little 1600s hotspot in the woods not long ago. We pounded the area, but in spite of a large field of small iron and brick, we could not pull out any real keepers. We then moved on to another previously hunted site, the one that produced the rattlesnake and stars button on our last hunt there, but things were a bit slow there as well. We then made our way to an adjacent field where we had researched a small 200 acre land patent dating all the way back to 1619, and one that we'd been eyeing for quite some time. After a long walk we came to the narrow peninsula and started noticing brick frags scattered about. We turned our machines on, and I hadn't walked 5 feet when I heard the first signal. It was rather low on the scale, and I wasn't expecting much, but I was shocked when a 1580s Hans Krauwinkle jetton popped out. This is my 4th jetton, and all have come from the very earliest sites so this provided for a little bit of excitement. Dan also made a nice find, but I'll leave that for him to post. At that point we had high hopes for a hammered coin to appear, but the targets were surprisingly few and far between. About halfway into hunting that spot I heard a large, deep iron signal that had the potential to be an indicator for an early trash pit. About 12-18" down I encountered a large iron object, and was expecting it to be a colonial hoe. When I reached down to pull it out I could tell it was obviously not a hoe, but more of a coconut shaped artifact. Dan came over and at first we were puzzled, but then he quickly suggested it just might be a very early sword basket hilt, and after we knocked a little more of the dirt off and saw the intricate designs cut into it we were convinced that's what I had just unearthed. A similar one was recovered from Jamestown a few years ago, and I saw several others like it on the web. From the info I gathered it could date anywhere from the late 1500s to the mid-1600s, and was part of a broad or backsword (single edge blade). Definitely a rare, museum quality piece, and one of the coolest things I've ever dug. I have it in the electrolysis tank now, and hopefully it'll clean up before it falls apart. But its pretty substantial so its got a good chance to survive.

Later we secured another permission for what appeared to be a killer spot - a high flat plateau along a well-know early colonial creek, but it was totally devoid of any period artifacts. At the end of the day we wanted to check out one last spot that we've been wanting to get into, but we found out the owner had moved and the house was vacant. We still decided to make a quick drive back to check out the field, but the soybeans had never been cut. But then we we got involved in an unpleasant situation, and I'll leave that for Dan to explain in his post. When we finally resolved the issue we both agreed it was time to call it a day.

 

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[ReidMan]

Wow great fine doesn't get much better then that. Reid

 

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[Coinhawk]

When I get home tonight I'll post some pictures.

Sorry for not replying sooner.

Here are a few links to basket hilt backswords. Granted most of these are modern interpretations, but attributes of the basket is what I would draw your attention to. Note the size of the basket, but more importantly the overall shape (shaped sort of like an apple). Other swords that evolved baskets (like rapiers) never had a basket that looked quite like the backswords/claymores.

This is probably the best example of what I mean.


Another version, this one a modern interpretation.


Note the shape.


Another good one.

Here is an ornate rapier that also has a basket but you can see how different it is than what you found. Granted this is a modern interpretation, but it is modelled after the standard basketed rapier.

I hope this helps. I look forward to seeing whether your hilt gets cleaned up or preserved as is.

And I have to ask... where any further efforts made to try to locate the blade? It's possible due to the age of the sword that the blade completely corroded away but that's a "recheck the hole" find if I've ever seen one.

 

[Bill D. (VA)]

Sorry for not replying sooner.

Here are a few links to basket hilt backswords. Granted most of these are modern interpretations, but attributes of the basket is what I would draw your attention to. Note the size of the basket, but more importantly the overall shape (shaped sort of like an apple). Other swords that evolved baskets (like rapiers) never had a basket that looked quite like the backswords/claymores.

This is probably the best example of what I mean.


Another version, this one a modern interpretation.


Note the shape.


Another good one.

Here is an ornate rapier that also has a basket but you can see how different it is than what you found. Granted this is a modern interpretation, but it is modelled after the standard basketed rapier.

I hope this helps. I look forward to seeing whether your hilt gets cleaned up or preserved as is.

And I have to ask... where any further efforts made to try to locate the blade? It's possible due to the age of the sword that the blade completely corroded away but that's a "recheck the hole" find if I've ever seen one.

Thanks for taking the time to post all those links. Some very cool examples for sure. However, all of those hilts seem to have a lot more open space than mine and don't seem to match up all that well. Do you agree? And to answer your question, yes, we intend to go back to that site at some point, but not expecting much as there were very few targets. But who knows - maybe the blade or pommel will show up. Thanks again.

 

[Coinhawk]

Thanks for taking the time to post all those links. Some very cool examples for sure. However, all of those hilts seem to have a lot more open space than mine and don't seem to match up all that well. Do you agree?

Honestly I would defer to you, since you held it and could turn it over in your hands. The last picture of it in your first post is the front of the hilt, and the small slot is where the handle/tang would have fit through. It's possible from the size the hole it was a rapier or very ornate small sword (which is a type of sword, not a "small" sword), but I still think we're looking at a basket hilt backsword, based on the photos. But it's hard to tell the scale. Would you say the hilt is (including the corrosion) the size of a cantalope, a grapefruit, a softball, etc? It once cleaned it is just barely larger than your bare hand fitting inside to grip where the handle would have been, then it could be a rapier or saber afterall.

It sounds like you are working on getting it into the right hands for review and possible cleaning, so that's good. Once that happens, a more realistic attempt to ID the sword can come. I'd guess you're looking at something from the 1600s though.

If I'm purely speculating/day dreaming, I could believe that someone - maybe a Hessian (Germans loved their backswords) or a Frenchman brought their family heirloom over to the new world to fight in the American Revolutionary War, and fell in battle; or the sword broke in battle, so it was left where it lay in a field.

If you don't already know (and to keep where it is to yourself, no need to confirm or deny this), you could research the field you found it in to see what if any battles may have occured there. You may need to dig pretty deep because there were many skirmishes that never made the larger history books that covered the Rev War.

And to answer your question, yes, we intend to go back to that site at some point, but not expecting much as there were very few targets. But who knows - maybe the blade or pommel will show up. Thanks again.

Good Hunting, Bill! I'll be watching for updates with great interest.

 

[Bill D. (VA)]

Honestly I would defer to you, since you held it and could turn it over in your hands. The last picture of it in your first post is the front of the hilt, and the small slot is where the handle/tang would have fit through. It's possible from the size the hole it was a rapier or very ornate small sword (which is a type of sword, not a "small" sword), but I still think we're looking at a basket hilt backsword, based on the photos. But it's hard to tell the scale. Would you say the hilt is (including the corrosion) the size of a cantalope, a grapefruit, a softball, etc? It once cleaned it is just barely larger than your bare hand fitting inside to grip where the handle would have been, then it could be a rapier or saber afterall.

It sounds like you are working on getting it into the right hands for review and possible cleaning, so that's good. Once that happens, a more realistic attempt to ID the sword can come. I'd guess you're looking at something from the 1600s though.

If I'm purely speculating/day dreaming, I could believe that someone - maybe a Hessian (Germans loved their backswords) or a Frenchman brought their family heirloom over to the new world to fight in the American Revolutionary War, and fell in battle; or the sword broke in battle, so it was left where it lay in a field.

If you don't already know (and to keep where it is to yourself, no need to confirm or deny this), you could research the field you found it in to see what if any battles may have occured there. You may need to dig pretty deep because there were many skirmishes that never made the larger history books that covered the Rev War.



Good Hunting, Bill! I'll be watching for updates with great interest.

Sorry, but I had someone working on my PC and couldn't get back with you. The hilt is fairly large. In my original post I mentioned that while trying to pry it out of the ground with my hands it felt like the size and shape of a coconut. Turns out that was a fairly accurate description. I'm attaching 3 pics below, and the approx dimensions are 5.5" long, 4.5" wide, and about 4.5" tall. I can easily fit my balled up fist into it with plenty of room to spare.

This artifact came from a researched site (a very early 1600s land patent), and based on finding the 1580s jetton just a few feet from where the hilt came from this has to be a pre-1650 site. So I do not believe this is from a Rev War era sword. In fact, it has similarities to one dug at Jamestown a few years ago. I hope I have some success finding someone to either give me professional guidance on how to finish cleaning this item, or be willing to take it on themselves. I have yet to hear back from the TAMU Conservation Research Lab, and it looks like that's my only viable option at this point. It's soaking in rainwater for the time being, but I don't want to let it linger there very long. Hopefully this will all work out in the end. Thanks again for your interest.

 

[Coinhawk]

Based on those pics I'm more confident this is a 1600s backsword.

I didn't mean to imply it was a RevWar era sword, the pictures say it is much earlier. I was merely speculating that it was brought over - as an already old sword, maybe a family heirloom or something - and used by a soldier in that war. It would help explain how it got here in the new world.

I'll leave you alone now, but thanks again for all the info! Great find.

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Congrats on an amazing find Bill!
Kudos to you for having the perseverance to keep hunting and for digging such a deep iron target!

I think it cleaned up beautifully too!
Dave

 

[Bill D. (VA)]

Congrats on an amazing find Bill!
Kudos to you for having the perseverance to keep hunting and for digging such a deep iron target!

I think it cleaned up beautifully too!
Dave

Dave - my buddy Dan and I are always on the lookout for those deep iron targets as that's how we find most trash pits at the sites we hunt. Those large, deep pieces of iron have their own detector signature which makes them fairly easy to ID. Many times it ends up being a big piece of junk, but sometimes we find colonial hoes, flat irons, cannonballs, and occasionally a nice surprise like the basket hilt. And usually where we find the big iron there's early pottery, glass, clay pipes, and other artifacts. At that point we bring out the sifters and try to recover it all.

 

[Mach1Pilot]

This is an incredible find.... I'm going to put it back at the top of the page for a bit.

Bill - I sent you a PM as to a possible contact for conserving the artifact. It sure deserves to be preserved, and I'm glad to hear you wish to use whatever is the best method available today.

 

[Bill D. (VA)]

This is an incredible find.... I'm going to put it back at the top of the page for a bit.

Bill - I sent you a PM as to a possible contact for conserving the artifact. It sure deserves to be preserved, and I'm glad to hear you wish to use whatever is the best method available today.

Thanks Keith for the PM and the contact info. However, just yesterday I received some sound advice from someone that's extremely knowledgeable and experienced in iron restoration. He commented that since the hilt is constructed of wrought iron consisting of multiple layers, most if not all of the conventional chemical treatments (like lye/zinc) would likely be detrimental and could cause future damage to the item down the road. And I can't proceed with electrolysis any further either. So I'm going to have to be very careful and try to remove a few more small spots of corrosion with a dental pick and dremel, but much of that will have to remain when I seal it as the item is too fragile to take any chances. Sometimes that's just all you can do. I'll probably spray it liberally with WD-40 like I usually do, then wipe dry before starting the multiple coats of polyurethane. That's going to be about the best I can do, and hopefully it will be enough to preserve the hilt for many years to come. Thanks again for the help.

 

[reddirtwillie]

This weekend I was finally able to escape the seemingly perpetual cabin fever mode I'd been in lately after only getting out for one short hunt over the last 5 weeks. I started things off by hooking up with my good friend Joey to make the long trek back to the county that produced the Lord Baltimore sixpence. Joey had recently discovered that the owner of the Lord Baltimore tract was also in control of another nearby land patent site, and we tried to contact him for the go-ahead. But we went by his house 3 different times during the day but could never catch him home. So we were forced to hit an old site, and managed to get into a couple of small, new ones, and didn't get into the production we had hoped for, but we did manage a few keepers. We hope to go back soon and secure permission for the first site as it has high potential based on Joey's research.

I decided to play hooky from church on Sunday, and met up with my buddy Dan for our first hunt since the end of January. Our first stop was at an old site, but one where Dan had ran into a little 1600s hotspot in the woods not long ago. We pounded the area, but in spite of a large field of small iron and brick, we could not pull out any real keepers. We then moved on to another previously hunted site, the one that produced the rattlesnake and stars button on our last hunt there, but things were a bit slow there as well. We then made our way to an adjacent field where we had researched a small 200 acre land patent dating all the way back to 1619, and one that we'd been eyeing for quite some time. After a long walk we came to the narrow peninsula and started noticing brick frags scattered about. We turned our machines on, and I hadn't walked 5 feet when I heard the first signal. It was rather low on the scale, and I wasn't expecting much, but I was shocked when a 1580s Hans Krauwinkle jetton popped out. This is my 4th jetton, and all have come from the very earliest sites so this provided for a little bit of excitement. Dan also made a nice find, but I'll leave that for him to post. At that point we had high hopes for a hammered coin to appear, but the targets were surprisingly few and far between. About halfway into hunting that spot I heard a large, deep iron signal that had the potential to be an indicator for an early trash pit. About 12-18" down I encountered a large iron object, and was expecting it to be a colonial hoe. When I reached down to pull it out I could tell it was obviously not a hoe, but more of a coconut shaped artifact. Dan came over and at first we were puzzled, but then he quickly suggested it just might be a very early sword basket hilt, and after we knocked a little more of the dirt off and saw the intricate designs cut into it we were convinced that's what I had just unearthed. A similar one was recovered from Jamestown a few years ago, and I saw several others like it on the web. From the info I gathered it could date anywhere from the late 1500s to the mid-1600s, and was part of a broad or backsword (single edge blade). Definitely a rare, museum quality piece, and one of the coolest things I've ever dug. I have it in the electrolysis tank now, and hopefully it'll clean up before it falls apart. But its pretty substantial so its got a good chance to survive.

Later we secured another permission for what appeared to be a killer spot - a high flat plateau along a well-know early colonial creek, but it was totally devoid of any period artifacts. At the end of the day we wanted to check out one last spot that we've been wanting to get into, but we found out the owner had moved and the house was vacant. We still decided to make a quick drive back to check out the field, but the soybeans had never been cut. But then we we got involved in an unpleasant situation, and I'll leave that for Dan to explain in his post. When we finally resolved the issue we both agreed it was time to call it a day.

Incredible!