In the 1700's club! 1795 Flowing Hair Half Dime! and my first GS Button!

Stef45

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I was planning on posting the rest of the finds from the last couple weeks today anyway and yesterday I go out and dig one of my best finds yet! Went back to the honey hole colonial site with VMI and after he scored that awesome silver Trade Pin, I got a whisper of a signal. Came in at 17 on the Safari which to me sounded like a small button like some of the buttons we have dug recently in the same area. It is nearly impossible to pinpoint due to all the iron in the ground. Pinpointer was going nuts in the hole and then i looked in the dirt from the bottom of the hole and saw something round! It looked like silver and i could barely make out a bust, so i poured some water on it and saw a bust facing right and i ran over to VMI thinking it was French, British, or Spanish. VMI noticed with some more water the stars at the top. Turns out it was a 1795 (we think 95, but could be 94) Flowing Hair Half Dime! Rare old American Silver! Its a heartbreaker however because of the chunk missing. Looks like i might have done it but we couldn't find the chuck that is missing, so who knows could have been like that before. We will continue to look for it. Pretty pumped either way.

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The rest of the finds include; My first General Service button! Looks like its in pretty good shape too. A bunch of flat buttons. One of them has some interesting writing around the shank that i haven't been able to make out yet but it looks different than they usual "superior, gilt, etc", Another piece of shell edge, Another cartridge that we think might be a Sharps, 3 Buckles, I think the handle of a pewter spoon, An unusual reed from maybe a harmonica but it was dug close to quite a bit of the CW relics that we have dug in the past, Bunch of sheathes, and Whatzits. Thanks for looking! Hope you enjoyed my most rare find so far in my just over a year's worth of digging. Good luck out there!

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Scrappy

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Great find! That's a strange break you have there. Perhaps I'm not seeing things right but it may be a counterfeit?


Great set of finds overall!!
 

Ahab8

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Omg that's a killer find buddy. Shame about the chunk missing but it's a lifetime find bro
 

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Stef45

Stef45

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Great find! That's a strange break you have there. Perhaps I'm not seeing things right but it may be a counterfeit?


Great set of finds overall!!

Not sure. Like i said I might have hit it with the shovel. But it could be just what the ground has done to it over the 220+ years its been in the ground.
 

Patriot Relics

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Great find! That's a strange break you have there. Perhaps I'm not seeing things right but it may be a counterfeit?


Great set of finds overall!!
Hadn't thought about the possibly of a counterfeit, Steve but that may explain the lower silver content (per the low hit on the Safari)
 

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Stef45

Stef45

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Omg that's a killer find buddy. Shame about the chunk missing but it's a lifetime find bro


Thanks Ahab! Yeah you can imagine the emotional roller coaster it was to have found it but then realize that its damaged that bad. But i'lll take it! Oldest coin for me so far!
 

toasted

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Awesome. Wonder if the very dark patina will come off. It looks very copperish to me.
 

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Stef45

Stef45

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Nice job with the post Nick and welcome to the 1700s Club. Any 18th century American coin is a rare find, but a flowing hair half dime is nuts.


Thanks bud! Cant wait to get back out there and find more!
 

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Stef45

Stef45

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Awesome. Wonder if the dark very patina will come off


Yeah all i've used is a little bit of water so far. Trying to find the best way to go forward on this one. Thanks!
 

Argentium

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The break does look sort of layered or shredded , if it is a counterfeit, it would be early and no doubt scarce ! Great find - I think I've seen one Flowing Hair silver posted here in nearly 9 years !
 

Scrappy

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Thanks Ahab! Yeah you can imagine the emotional roller coaster it was to have found it but then realize that its damaged that bad. But i'lll take it! Oldest coin for me so far!

I could have very well ruined my coin today with a shovel. I had (almost) zero regard thinking it was deep iron and tore right in. Point is, it happens. But great find again!
 

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Stef45

Stef45

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The break does look sort of layered or shredded , if it is a counterfeit, it would be early and no doubt scarce ! Great find - I think I've seen one Flowing Hair silver posted here in nearly 9 years !

Good question. Not sure how id describe it...its not an even cut thats for sure. Thanks, I appreciate it
 

flatbutton

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You guys had a killer hunt! The coin is a sweet find even with the chunk missing!
 

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Stef45

Stef45

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You guys had a killer hunt! The coin is a sweet find even with the chunk missing!

Thank you! Yeah we have been really hitting a lot of relics lately. We just opened up a whole other section as well. Gonna take us awhile to pic through the trash tho.
 

Argentium

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Stef , I'm wondering if an acid test could be done , rubbing an edge on a streak plate - to ascertain the silver content (obviously I would defer to the experience of the early coin experts here )
 

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Stef45

Stef45

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Stef , I'm wondering if an acid test could be done , rubbing an edge on a streak plate - to ascertain the silver content (obviously I would defer to the experience of the early coin experts here )

Yeah been talking about doing that w/ VMI. Might be worth it
 

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Whoa! That is seriously cool...
 

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