Large Cent spill and old silver

[Jason H.]

A friend invited me to detect their front yard months ago, but I was pessimistic and put it off until last Friday. I was hoping for a few Civil War relics. Stepping into the woods, my first signal was a solid 83. After digging through layers of leaves and dirt, a green disc showed up. By its size, I figured it was a Large Cent. That surprised me, because I was really expecting just a lot of trash. Scanning the hole, there was another signal- a second green disc. After recovering that, there was still a good signal. This time, it was two green discs stuck together! I scrubbed the surrounding area with my coil, but didn't find anything else. The multitude of briers limited the area I could search, so after finding some melted lead and iron I moved to the front yard. My first signal there was an 1852 three cent piece- a first for me! Soon after that a 1943 Mercury dime emerged, also a first (I've mainly hunted Civil War/colonial sites).

A partially melted bullet and part of a pocket knife also showed up in front yard. So there may have been a small encampment there during the war, but I'm guessing there was also a home site. The "huntable" land is not very large, but it will be worth a return trip or two.

The green discs turned out to be Large Cents indeed. Two of them are too toasty to get the exact dates on, but I can see the head profiles. The two that were stuck together are easily identified in the photo- they were much better preserved. The one on the left is 1820, the other one appears to say 1835.

HH,
Jason

 

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[goldbmine]

Very cool Jason! Love that 3 center!

 

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[basque-man]

Awesome finds!!!!! Congrats on the spill!!!!

 

[relic lover]

Thank you! Yes, Virginia has plenty of history to be discovered. I've found about 10 pieces of Spanish silver from the 1600s and 1700s (not at this site), but this was my first Mercury dime. Ha!

Nice pocket spill there! You must hunt like me I had a bunch of seated and Flying Eagles before I ever found my first (and only)Mercury dime.

 

[Jason H.]

Nice pocket spill there! You must hunt like me I had a bunch of seated and Flying Eagles before I ever found my first (and only)Mercury dime.

Thanks everyone! Yeah, relic lover, a lot of it is just where you hunt. I've found seated coins but never a Barber of any denomination. I was actually pretty happy to find the Mercury dime, but the highlights of the day were the penny spill and the trime.

 

[Steve in PA]

Jason, even though those large cents are corroded, it's always a thrill to dig them, even more so 4 of them in the same hole.

 

[Captain Caveman]

Congratz on an AWESOME hunt! I would definitely be making some return trips!!!

 

[wagbert]

Hello,
Well, metal detecting in an area with a multitude of briers is better than detecting where there is a multitude of bears! As I quickly scanned your post, that is what I first read, and I was thinking that you are one brave soul, but then I thought..."in someone's yard"? It was a good thing you didn't have to keep looking over your shoulder as you dug all of those old coins. The 3ct silver is quite a find in itself. That spill of Largies had to be a thrilling find. I am glad for you that you found them. That is a very uncommon occurrence any time any where. It looks to me like a couple of them, maybe all four, could be cleaned up a little. I'm sure there are some people here who can give you some tips on improving dug coppers without ruining them. Large Cents always get me a little excited. Thank you for sharing your finds with us!
Phil

 

[Showtime2385]

Very nice

 

[RichieRich]

super sweet, what is the one with the Star of David

 

[Bass]

Congratulations. What a great haul! You should go back again

 

[pepperj]

Nice spill, but that's one great looking silver! and one that would make my season. Congrats on the great day of hunting
I have found one worn totally smooth, so one like your's would be sweet.

 

[treblehunter]

Sweet, I would love that hunt, congrats!

 

[Jason H.]

Jason, even though those large cents are corroded, it's always a thrill to dig them, even more so 4 of them in the same hole.

It really was a thrill- and a surprise.

 

[Jason H.]

Hello,
Well, metal detecting in an area with a multitude of briers is better than detecting where there is a multitude of bears! As I quickly scanned your post, that is what I first read, and I was thinking that you are one brave soul, but then I thought..."in someone's yard"? It was a good thing you didn't have to keep looking over your shoulder as you dug all of those old coins. The 3ct silver is quite a find in itself. That spill of Largies had to be a thrilling find. I am glad for you that you found them. That is a very uncommon occurrence any time any where. It looks to me like a couple of them, maybe all four, could be cleaned up a little. I'm sure there are some people here who can give you some tips on improving dug coppers without ruining them. Large Cents always get me a little excited. Thank you for sharing your finds with us!
Phil

Thank you! Trust me, if there was just one bear in sight, I'd be in the house on the double quick! The coins are great, but not worth that kind of trouble. As for cleaning them, so far all I've done is use a toothpick to chip off the encrustation. The details are so toasty that I'm concerned that doing much more would remove what little is there.

 

[Jason H.]

super sweet, what is the one with the Star of David

That's the silver three cent piece. It does resemble the Star of David.

 

[Jason H.]

Congratulations. What a great haul! You should go back again

I went back for a few hours yesterday and found another coin spill of about 8 or 9 coins- all modern! Also found some 19th century stuff, so I'll keep looking...