1740 1/2 Reale/button

[Darby]

After work day at the hunt club, jdsly and I decided to brave the heat and go detect for awhile. After passing on our first site because it's wide open with no shade, we headed back to one of our sites we've pounded back in the woods. Hot and buggy but worth the effort. Got a decent signal that turned into a really good 81 after moving some dirt. Dug a little more in some really hard concrete like clay and out pops this beauty. Thought it was a little silver coin but after cleaning it up a bit turned out to be a 1740 reale that looks to have been turned into a button or something! Super excited to find my second reale but even like it more seeing how it was used for something other than just a coin. Thanks for looking and hope everyone has a great weekend! I know I have!

 

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[digging440yrs]

Nice find !!

 

[Mr. Digger]

Awesome! Congrats! Wonder if that convert to button was recent or 200 years ago. Cool!

 

[Pacivilwarluke]

Awesome find! Personalized relics are often the coolest great dig!

 

[pepperj]

Very cool find, I'm guessing it might of been a cuff link.

 

[cjon455]

oh man that's cool, super old and unique! 1740 is pretty darn old in my books!!

congrats on the 275 year old coin/button!!

 

[RJ55]

Cool find,congratulations.

 

[deershed]

That's super cool!!

 

[Erik in NJ]

Very cool find, I'm guessing it might of been a cuff link.

Since it doesn't have two holes punched through it (I have a dandy button they did that to), I would have to agree that this was from a cufflink, soldered on, and fell off. Might be a 20th C loss as I believe making cufflinks out of old coins is relatively recent. I have several pairs myself including one pair with Spanish 1/2 reals recovered from a famous shipwreck.

 

[CASPER-2]

 

[CRUSADER]

Very cool find, I'm guessing it might of been a cuff link.

Agreed, more likely a cuff link than button.

Nice find.

 

[462]

Nice find!
I think it's probably a period coin button. Here is a site with some good info on them Patriotic & Commemorative Buttons.

 

[sutphin]

MAN DARBY THATS A NICE COIN AND REMBER TO STAY HYDRATED MY FREIND.

 

[Ahab8]

Darby that's such a cool and unique find. Cufflink most definitely. Here's one I found. Congrats bud

 

[Darby]

Thanks everyone for the comments! Yep cjon that's pretty old to me too. Actually it's my oldest coin so far! Appreciate the link 462. Good info. And that's a super nice one you found Ahab. Congrats to you also!

 

[Darby]

MAN DARBY THATS A NICE COIN AND REMBER TO STAY HYDRATED MY FREIND.

Thanks sutphin! Jdsly always brings us a cooler with drinks. He's like a Boy Scout, always prepared!

 

[jdsly]

Yup, cool coin/cufflink Darby! I was as excited as you were to see that come from the ground, especially in an area we've hit pretty hard. Maybe still more to find.

 

[Darby]

Yup, cool coin/cufflink Darby! I was as excited as you were to see that come from the ground, especially in an area we've hit pretty hard. Maybe still more to find.

Yep I think there is more there. Just need to brave the heat and bugs again and also now the poison ivy... I'm covered with it!!

 

[Steve in PA]

That is definitely an 18th century cufflink made from a half real. They later cut the loop off and it circulated as money until it was lost. You can tell it circulated by the wear on the nubs that remained after the loop was cut off. I have found three half reals like that. One, a 1764, still has the loop, the others, a 1755 and a 1781 have the marks left where the loop was soldered on, but you can tell they were circulated after the loop was cut off. Here are pictures of the 1764 and the 1781.

That is a cool relic that could tell a story. The owner was probably down on his luck and had to spend his cufflink.

 

[Darby]

That is definitely an 18th century cufflink made from a half real. They later cut the loop off and it circulated as money until it was lost. You can tell it circulated by the wear on the nubs that remained after the loop was cut off. I have found three half reals like that. One, a 1764, still has the loop, the others, a 1755 and a 1781 have the marks left where the loop was soldered on, but you can tell they were circulated after the loop was cut off. Here are pictures of the 1764 and the 1781.

That is a cool relic that could tell a story. The owner was probably down on his luck and had to spend his cufflink.

Good info Steve. Thanks. I've only found a few coins so was super excited to find this one. Makes it even cooler, in my opinion, that out was used as a cufflink. And now to think it was put back into circulation makes it even better! Thanks again for the info!