Early Eagle Button, Pewter Spoon, Knee Buckle and much more...

[OutdoorAdv]

After some more research, I decided to spend the weekend hitting some hard hit sites. There were no obvious signals left, so I resorted to working the iron and trying to swing where I typically wouldn't... with the hopes that a coil might have not passed over that soil before. Over the course of Saturday and Sunday, my GPS had me hiking 12 miles which doesn't include the miles I walked while detecting! On Saturday I hiked out with about 40lbs of iron in my pack and on Sunday, about 10lbs. It's hard work, but I was rewarded with a few really nice keepers. Most importantly, I got to spend the weekend outdoors and enjoy some cooler weather.

The group shot! Some of my favorites are the early one piece eagle button, the pewter spoon, knee (hat?) buckle frame, crotal bell, brass wedding ring and early suspender buckles. Whats not pictured is most of the iron keepers that I will work through electrolysis. Somehow a couple rose heads made it into my keeper pouch, but I have a whole mess more that I will tumble.



This is perhaps my favorite button yet and I still have no clue what it is! Its a flat, one piece brass cuff button, cast with an applied shank. I currently have a post open in the "what is it" forum (http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/what/515931-button-experts-early-military-1-piece-brass-cuff.html) so if I get a proper ID on it, I will update this thread. I believe it might be a very early "US Officials Diplomatic Service Button" or something similar.



The backmark is a circle of stars much like the front. You can clearly see the mold seam across the middle



I dig a lot of pewter spoon parts. Bowls, handles, bowls with partial handles... but this is my first complete early pewter spoon from end to end. Still on the lookout for a rattail spoon, but I'm getting closer.



I was very happy with this knee buckle frame. Pins are lengthwise with a nice floral pattern.



This is only my second crotal bell and its huge! Unfortunately its cracked and missing the ball, so there is no ring left in it. When I dug my first one the property owners liked it so much I gave it to them.



A very toasty 1804 DBLC turned up and a beat up CW era coat sized 2 piece General Service button. To the right is a very early brass (wedding) band. It has a solder seam where it was connected together. I've dug 3 or 4 of these brass ones at early sites in the past.







Thanks for looking and happy hunting everyone!

 

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[btjbtj]

Outdoor--awesome post--thanks for the enjoyable read. The big spoon on the bottom of the first photo looks an awful lot like a CW mess kit spoon we found a month or so ago. Congrats! -Lisa & John

 

[relic nut]

Wow, great hunt and nice post! That Eagle button is awesome.

HH RN

 

[Evolution]

Nice array of finds. Looks like you got some digging done. Congrats!

 

[joeyfresh]

Outstanding digs Brad. That eagle button is in incredible shape and hopefully someone will have an ID for you. That's a lot of hiking you did and hopefully you carried a large camel pack with you.

 

[Isaac]

Nice finds! I love the early one piece eagle. I'd say VERY early 1800s diplomatic button. Are you sure the LC is 1804? If so, it's a key date... again. LOL. We should get out again sometime soon now that the weather is cooperating.

 

[metalev4]

Really nice early recoveries Brad. That eagle is a stunner. Hope you are back in there soon. Tough to find those spoons intact, nice hunt.

 

[trapperart]

Very nice assortment of old finds congrats I think the button is special

 

[Ahab8]

Man I'm in love with that button. Stylistically as you know it matches OD7 in Alberts book. The only difference is the number of stars. So like we talked about it was likely made soon after Vt became a state. I wish I could find an exact match but in many ways it's better that we can't. It's obviously not a common button and who knows....possibly quite scarce since in 1792 there would have been 15 stars. I'll try to find more info but that is a really great find. And hey if you can't find a rat tail spoon I'm happy to send you one of the many I have lol. Another great hunt that came from putting in the effort. That's what's always rewarded in this hobby

 

[Trezurehunter]

Looks like some nice finds. I like that button and crotal bell.

 

[against the wind]

That was an incredibly full weekend's worth of digging. Maybe a full week's worth for some.
I really like the variety of finds.
Rat tail spoon, rare 1804 LC, buttons, wedding band, crotal bell, buckle, etc. Not to mention the iron you packed.out of there. Maybe you should invest in a mule. Lol
Congratulations

 

[OutdoorAdv]

Thanks a ton everyone!

It certainly was a nice weekend of hunting... a ton of work, but always rewarding in many ways.

Here is the DBLC. I initially saw an "04", but it could easily be an "00" or an "06". So far two people saw an "00" and two saw an "04"... I was one of the "04" people, but I can easily see if being either of the other two. It doesnt really matter though since its so far gone its really just a copper disk

 

[OutdoorAdv]

Man I'm in love with that button. Stylistically as you know it matches OD7 in Alberts book. The only difference is the number of stars. So like we talked about it was likely made soon after Vt became a state. I wish I could find an exact match but in many ways it's better that we can't. It's obviously not a common button and who knows....possibly quite scarce since in 1792 there would have been 15 stars. I'll try to find more info but that is a really great find. And hey if you can't find a rat tail spoon I'm happy to send you one of the many I have lol. Another great hunt that came from putting in the effort. That's what's always rewarded in this hobby

It doesn't count if I don't dig it One day I'm going to find a rat tail spoon... I know they exist, I saw you pull one from the dirt! I'm very happy with this one though after dozens of partial pieces. I'm thinking I might have to branch out in my search for an ID on this button. It doesn't appear to be in the books... cant decide what I'd prefer; a rare button no one knows what it is, or a button that I can get an ID on!

 

[Bill D. (VA)]

Outstanding hunt Brad!! You really dug a large and diverse group of early relics with some outstanding individual recoveries. Aside from that awesome button, I really like that crude pewter spoon. From your pic it almost appears that the bowl and stem were cast separately and joined together after-the-fact - very unusual if that's the case. That buckle, ring and huge croatal bell are also nice finds. And that large round brass item with the perforations is a strainer, and I've found a number of these over the years at colonial sites. Again, excellent outing, and hope you can get a positive and specific ID on that button.

 

[diggervet]

really cool find! congratulations!

 

[OutdoorAdv]

Outstanding hunt Brad!! You really dug a large and diverse group of early relics with some outstanding individual recoveries. Aside from that awesome button, I really like that crude pewter spoon. From your pic it almost appears that the bowl and stem were cast separately and joined together after-the-fact - very unusual if that's the case. That buckle, ring and huge croatal bell are also nice finds. And that large round brass item with the perforations is a strainer, and I've found a number of these over the years at colonial sites. Again, excellent outing, and hope you can get a positive and specific ID on that button.

That pewter spoon was my first non-ferrous target about 20 min in on Sunday. It was 9" deep and I was fairly certain it was going to be big iron! It was a jumpy signal with grunts and turns out there was a button and some nails in the hole. I brushed off the bowl and saw it wasnt iron so I removed some big rocks and widened the plug. Its awesome to kick off a hunt with a find like that... my day was already made! But then 10 minutes later the eagle button flipped out of the dirt a few feet away. The spoon is very heavy and you're right, the attachment between the neck and bowl is interesting for sure. That strainer is actually iron and I plan on zapping it... I thought it was really cool looking. Somehow it made it into my non-ferrous pile, so I included it in the picture. I have an iron spoon bowl and some other cool pieces of iron as well.

 

[Scrappy]

Man I'm in love with that button. Stylistically as you know it matches OD7 in Alberts book. The only difference is the number of stars. So like we talked about it was likely made soon after Vt became a state. I wish I could find an exact match but in many ways it's better that we can't. It's obviously not a common button and who knows....possibly quite scarce since in 1792 there would have been 15 stars. I'll try to find more info but that is a really great find. And hey if you can't find a rat tail spoon I'm happy to send you one of the many I have lol. Another great hunt that came from putting in the effort. That's what's always rewarded in this hobby

Oh you dirty mofo - I was going to mention the stars! Lol. Although the stars don't always match up with production dates (13 stars appeared many times long after) I don't see why 14 stars would be used unless it corresponded to the date Vermont entered the union. And even then perhaps only a diplomat would have the need for a button with the exact amount of stars/states. To me it adds up to a diplomats button IMHO, and could be a unique example.

Therefore I'm going to vote banner Brad. And not an LB either.

If everyone is stumped including that ferrous fella in the Great White North, it must be something special. And the condition is remarkable. All that aside, it's one of the cooler buttons I've seen in a while.

Great finds besides that bro. You killed it!

 

[OutdoorAdv]

Outdoor--awesome post--thanks for the enjoyable read. The big spoon on the bottom of the first photo looks an awful lot like a CW mess kit spoon we found a month or so ago. Congrats! -Lisa & John

Thanks Lisa! It could certainly be one of those spoons... those stamped brass ones are certainly Civil War era. It has a makers mark stamp on the back of the neck that I haven't really looked at yet. -Brad

Wow, great hunt and nice post! That Eagle button is awesome.

HH RN

Thanks Relic Nut! I had to change up my avatar picture to make it the eagle. Its definitely my new favorite button... now I just wish I could find out what it is. ha

Nice array of finds. Looks like you got some digging done. Congrats!

Thanks Evolution. Lots of digging for sure! It was perfect weather though and just a great weekend of hunting.

Outstanding digs Brad. That eagle button is in incredible shape and hopefully someone will have an ID for you. That's a lot of hiking you did and hopefully you carried a large camel pack with you.

Thanks man! I sure lucked out on the condition of that eagle button. I dug a hand full of brass buttons as the same site as the eagle and they were all pretty rough. I had plenty of water... and food. As I drink the water, the weight of the water is replaced with iron. So even with loads of water going in, I hike out with a pack twice as heavy.

Nice finds! I love the early one piece eagle. I'd say VERY early 1800s diplomatic button. Are you sure the LC is 1804? If so, it's a key date... again. LOL. We should get out again sometime soon now that the weather is cooperating.

Thanks Isaac! I posted a picture, but I'm not really sure of the date. It's seems its a split on either a 00 or 04... either way its a ugly copper. haha

Really nice early recoveries Brad. That eagle is a stunner. Hope you are back in there soon. Tough to find those spoons intact, nice hunt.

Thanks man! I have no clue how many pewter fragments I've dug, but it's too many to count. I was thrilled to pull that spoon from the dirt.

 

[OutdoorAdv]

Very nice assortment of old finds congrats I think the button is special

Thanks trapperart! It certainly seems like that button might be something special. If I can get an ID on it, I will be sure to update this post.

Looks like some nice finds. I like that button and crotal bell.

Thanks Trezurehunter! That bell made me smile... It was deep and I pulled a bunch of the loose dirt from the plug and it came up in my hand. Some people seem to find those bells all the time, but they have remained pretty elusive for me. They are some of my absolute favorite relics though so hopefully I can get my coil over a few more of them.

That was an incredibly full weekend's worth of digging. Maybe a full week's worth for some.
I really like the variety of finds.
Rat tail spoon, rare 1804 LC, buttons, wedding band, crotal bell, buckle, etc. Not to mention the iron you packed.out of there. Maybe you should invest in a mule. Lol
Congratulations

Thank you Against The Wind! I lasted about 7 hours on Sat and about 10 hours on Sun... my feet, knees, legs.... everything hurt. If I get a mule, I have enough shoes for him already I really liked that wedding band too, although it was only brass. One day it would be awesome to pull an early silver one though. Although the brass ones are not the prettiest relics, they are really cool to me because of their purpose.

 

[OutdoorAdv]

Oh you dirty mofo - I was going to mention the stars! Lol. Although the stars don't always match up with production dates (13 stars appeared many times long after) I don't see why 14 stars would be used unless it corresponded to the date Vermont entered the union. And even then perhaps only a diplomat would have the need for a button with the exact amount of stars/states. To me it adds up to a diplomats button IMHO, and could be a unique example.

Therefore I'm going to vote banner Brad. And not an LB either.

If everyone is stumped including that ferrous fella in the Great White North, it must be something special. And the condition is remarkable. All that aside, it's one of the cooler buttons I've seen in a while.

Great finds besides that bro. You killed it!

Thanks man! I REALLY appreciate the banner vote, but as with all my finds, I wish to respectively opt any of my finds out of the Banner Process. I don't like to participate in the politics of the whole process and I seem much happier when I just enjoy my finds and the stories that they represent... rather than wondering why something did or didn't make it up top.

I gave you props in the What-Is-It post for the button on the 14 stars part. Thanks for pointing that out. I counted 13 when I was in the field, but I was so excited my vision was probably blurred. ha I didn't realize there was 14 until you pointed it out later in the evening. I sure hope we can get an ID on that button. Half of the things I find I have no clue what they are... typically its a piece of brass something or another. But this button I really want to learn its story and find out what sort person wore it... a patriot? a politician? a soldier? a diplomat?