Erik in NJ
Silver Member
- Oct 4, 2010
- 4,037
- 3,043
- 🥇 Banner finds
- 1
- Detector(s) used
- Minelab Explorer SE Pro & CTX-3030
- Primary Interest:
- Metal Detecting
I don't know where to start on this one. This is one of those hunts that dreams are made of. I had to wait a couple days to post it since we were on vacation and I had to clean, research, and photograph everything.
We vacationed in a part of Cape Cod that contained some history I was walking around drooling at some of the historic properties as I had no permissions. Passing a newer house that had a nice wooded lot next to it (and some old houses across the street) I happened upon an old woman who was outside in her driveway and I introduced myself. We got to talking and she was incredibly nice and interesting to speak to. We spoke for about an hour regarding various things and I asked if I might be able to search the wooded lot for historic artifacts. She replied "Sure you can, but you won't find much other than broken glass and pottery."
A couple days later I returned with my gear and knocked on the door and said hello again to the woman, then I proceeded to detect the wooded lot. It started out slow, and only lasted about 3 hours, but turned into perhaps my best hunt ever.
I finally got a nice deep hit and dug into the sandy soil to recover a thin copper disc about the size of a nickel. I knew it was something old and secured it in my pouch.
Upon cleaning and IDing it it turned out to be a Swedish Karl XII 1/6 Ore (Type 2) coin that was issued from 1715 through 1718. I can only read "171x" but it's extremely rare to find a Swedish coin in the US and especially one that is just beyond the 17th century!! I would have been happy with just this one!
Next I get another super deep hit that my Explorer SE Pro is so good at. After digging at least 10 inches, out pops a green disc that turned out to be a King George II! I filled the plug and it seemed that there was something even deeper, but I was not getting a clear signal. I was sure something was there and finally right next to my original hole I dug a second green disc. I believe it to also be a King George but it's quite worn. The most salient feature is a modification of a small circle of dots on the coin giving it some Colonial character! This was a milestone for me as it was my first Colonial Copper coin spill!
Not to be outdone, about a foot away (and perhaps part of the same spill) I get another nice hit, though not as deep. At about 8 inches comes a coin (I initially thought it was a modern quarter as it had a strong rim) I have never seen before. It's about the size of a quarter and has a coat of arms on the obverse and what appeared to be Hindu or Arabic writing on the reverse inside a wreath of lilies.
This coin when cleaned turned out to be a very rare and incredibly interesting find for the US: An East India Company 2-Pice coin not from India, but from Penang, Malaysia with a date of 1828! The land composing what is now Singapore and Malaysia were once known as the Straights Settlements. The East India Company has a very rich and interesting part to play in British history and this is a rare and significant find. If only this coin coin talk!!
Having achieved four large coppers in about an hour and a half had my head spinning, but I pushed on to see what other secrets this land held.
The next signal was strong, but quite deep. My depth meter was almost maxed out. I dug down into the sandy soil about a foot and was rewarded with a HUGE copper disc--bigger than any coin I'd seen before. I thought perhaps it might be a British Cartwheel Penny, but it turned out to be something of an extremely rare find in this country and one that is even much rarer than a gold coin!!
After researching the huge disc bearing the head of a hooded Druid on the obverse and and the three large ornate script letter PMC on the obverse, it turned out what I had was a 1788 Colonial Parys Mine Company Anglesey (Druid) Penny "Conder Token." The Parys Mine Company was the first company to privately issue tokens in 1787 to pay workers while official copper coinage was in short supply. Many other companies followed suit and these token became known as "Conder" tokens.
You can ready about Conder Tokens here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conder_token
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Conder
I have seen one or two of the halfpenny versions of this token posted but never the larger PENNY variety before and especially never in the US! This coin is a MONSTER in size weighing in at 24 grams which is a few grams shy of 1 ounce of copper. The inscription around the circumference of the coin reads “WE PROMISE TO PAY THE BEARER ONE PENNY”. This huge coin even contained an early anti-counterfeit device which took the form of an edge inscription “ON DEMAND IN LONDON LIVERPOOL OR ANGLESEY .X.” The date on the token is 1788 and is still quite strong.
To round out the hunt I finally dug an 1831 US Large Cent that oddly has been holed right through the middle with a small hole. And finally an 1874 Indian Head Cent which is a nice find in and of itself. This gave me SIX (!!) large coppers and an 1870s IHC in less than 3 hours--by far a new record for me and perhaps one I will not achieve again. In addition the rare Swedish Karl XII 1/6 Ore, very rare the East India Company 2-Pice coin, and the ultra rare Druid Penny made for a truly unique and EPIC hunt and one I will never forget.
While I was detecting the old woman came out to see if I'd found anything. She was truly amazed that I had found these old copper coins and she was very happy for me. I hunted the property again finding some nice relics and a solid Sterling silver spoon (will be posted in a follow-up post), but no more copper coins. As I like to do whenever a property owner is kind to me, I gave her a nice bottle of Chardonnay on my last day as a thank you gift (I would have done this even if I had found nothing at all) and we had another nice talk. She invited me into her house to view her late husband's military decorations. Hopefully we will keep in touch and I feel as though our friendship was the best discovery of them all.
N.B. I have included reference coins for the Karl XII 1/6 Ore, the East India Company 2-Pice, and the Parys Mine Company "Druid" Penny token. I also added a group picture of the six coppers and the 1874 IHC, all as of yet only brushed with a dry toothbrush and rubbed between my fingers.
We vacationed in a part of Cape Cod that contained some history I was walking around drooling at some of the historic properties as I had no permissions. Passing a newer house that had a nice wooded lot next to it (and some old houses across the street) I happened upon an old woman who was outside in her driveway and I introduced myself. We got to talking and she was incredibly nice and interesting to speak to. We spoke for about an hour regarding various things and I asked if I might be able to search the wooded lot for historic artifacts. She replied "Sure you can, but you won't find much other than broken glass and pottery."
A couple days later I returned with my gear and knocked on the door and said hello again to the woman, then I proceeded to detect the wooded lot. It started out slow, and only lasted about 3 hours, but turned into perhaps my best hunt ever.
I finally got a nice deep hit and dug into the sandy soil to recover a thin copper disc about the size of a nickel. I knew it was something old and secured it in my pouch.
Upon cleaning and IDing it it turned out to be a Swedish Karl XII 1/6 Ore (Type 2) coin that was issued from 1715 through 1718. I can only read "171x" but it's extremely rare to find a Swedish coin in the US and especially one that is just beyond the 17th century!! I would have been happy with just this one!
Next I get another super deep hit that my Explorer SE Pro is so good at. After digging at least 10 inches, out pops a green disc that turned out to be a King George II! I filled the plug and it seemed that there was something even deeper, but I was not getting a clear signal. I was sure something was there and finally right next to my original hole I dug a second green disc. I believe it to also be a King George but it's quite worn. The most salient feature is a modification of a small circle of dots on the coin giving it some Colonial character! This was a milestone for me as it was my first Colonial Copper coin spill!
Not to be outdone, about a foot away (and perhaps part of the same spill) I get another nice hit, though not as deep. At about 8 inches comes a coin (I initially thought it was a modern quarter as it had a strong rim) I have never seen before. It's about the size of a quarter and has a coat of arms on the obverse and what appeared to be Hindu or Arabic writing on the reverse inside a wreath of lilies.
This coin when cleaned turned out to be a very rare and incredibly interesting find for the US: An East India Company 2-Pice coin not from India, but from Penang, Malaysia with a date of 1828! The land composing what is now Singapore and Malaysia were once known as the Straights Settlements. The East India Company has a very rich and interesting part to play in British history and this is a rare and significant find. If only this coin coin talk!!
Having achieved four large coppers in about an hour and a half had my head spinning, but I pushed on to see what other secrets this land held.
The next signal was strong, but quite deep. My depth meter was almost maxed out. I dug down into the sandy soil about a foot and was rewarded with a HUGE copper disc--bigger than any coin I'd seen before. I thought perhaps it might be a British Cartwheel Penny, but it turned out to be something of an extremely rare find in this country and one that is even much rarer than a gold coin!!
After researching the huge disc bearing the head of a hooded Druid on the obverse and and the three large ornate script letter PMC on the obverse, it turned out what I had was a 1788 Colonial Parys Mine Company Anglesey (Druid) Penny "Conder Token." The Parys Mine Company was the first company to privately issue tokens in 1787 to pay workers while official copper coinage was in short supply. Many other companies followed suit and these token became known as "Conder" tokens.
You can ready about Conder Tokens here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conder_token
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Conder
I have seen one or two of the halfpenny versions of this token posted but never the larger PENNY variety before and especially never in the US! This coin is a MONSTER in size weighing in at 24 grams which is a few grams shy of 1 ounce of copper. The inscription around the circumference of the coin reads “WE PROMISE TO PAY THE BEARER ONE PENNY”. This huge coin even contained an early anti-counterfeit device which took the form of an edge inscription “ON DEMAND IN LONDON LIVERPOOL OR ANGLESEY .X.” The date on the token is 1788 and is still quite strong.
To round out the hunt I finally dug an 1831 US Large Cent that oddly has been holed right through the middle with a small hole. And finally an 1874 Indian Head Cent which is a nice find in and of itself. This gave me SIX (!!) large coppers and an 1870s IHC in less than 3 hours--by far a new record for me and perhaps one I will not achieve again. In addition the rare Swedish Karl XII 1/6 Ore, very rare the East India Company 2-Pice coin, and the ultra rare Druid Penny made for a truly unique and EPIC hunt and one I will never forget.
While I was detecting the old woman came out to see if I'd found anything. She was truly amazed that I had found these old copper coins and she was very happy for me. I hunted the property again finding some nice relics and a solid Sterling silver spoon (will be posted in a follow-up post), but no more copper coins. As I like to do whenever a property owner is kind to me, I gave her a nice bottle of Chardonnay on my last day as a thank you gift (I would have done this even if I had found nothing at all) and we had another nice talk. She invited me into her house to view her late husband's military decorations. Hopefully we will keep in touch and I feel as though our friendship was the best discovery of them all.
N.B. I have included reference coins for the Karl XII 1/6 Ore, the East India Company 2-Pice, and the Parys Mine Company "Druid" Penny token. I also added a group picture of the six coppers and the 1874 IHC, all as of yet only brushed with a dry toothbrush and rubbed between my fingers.
Attachments
-
Karl XII Sixth Ore (obverse).jpg -
Karl XII 1715 1718 Sixth Ore Type 2.JPG -
KG II.jpg -
KG.jpg -
East India Company 2 Pice (obverse).jpg -
East India Company 2 Pice (reverse).jpg -
East India Co Double Pice (obverse).JPG -
East India Co Double Pice (reverse).JPG -
Parys Mines Co Anglesey Penny (obverse).jpg -
Parys Mines Co Anglesey Penny (reverse).jpg -
Parys Mines Co Anglesey Penny (in hand).jpg -
Parys Mines Co Anglesey Penny (in situ).jpg -
Parys Mines Co Anglesey Penny (weight).jpg -
Anglesey Parys Mines Druid Penny 1788.jpg -
LC 1831 (obverse).jpg -
Parys Mines Co Anglesey Penny (edge).jpg -
Coppers.jpg
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