Stunning Maine Militia Button (1820-1840) and Brass Miniature Cannon

Ahab8

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Oct 15, 2013
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Topsham, Maine
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Time has been limited this spring with more work than we can handle. The commercial construction industry is booming to say the least. I worked Memorial Day and decided I was taking yesterday off. I paddled out to an island that has treated me well in the past. I only had a few hours due to some very inclement weather forecasted for the afternoon. There's a colonial cellar hole in the center of the island which was either occupied for much longer than I thought or it was abandoned then reoccupied later. This day gave me 2 bucket listers. The first being a Maine Militia button dating from 1820-1840. When I first dug it I was thinking it may be civilian. But it was heavily gilted and I could clearly see a back mark. Then I remembered the 5 point design of the early Maine Militia button. A little lemon juice and I was shocked at the condition. Blown away by this button. The other good find is one that I am over the moon with. I've always wanted to dig a miniature brass cannon. I've always thought these were awesome. I admittedly am not positive of the history of these and what they date to. Any info is appreciated. I have found everything from big dandy buttons to pewter spoon handles to mid 1800s finds. So this cannon could date any time in there.
Another interesting find is this giant brass spike. My guess is for ship building. I've never seen one close to this size. It's massive. I'm excited to get back to this site as it's got a massive concentration of iron. There's going to be a ton of good finds masked by the iron. I will be using my magnet to remove lots of nails then snagging the goods below.
The last and most important part of this post is a picture of some incredible iron that my very good buddy OutdoorAdv processed for me. Brad is not only incredibly talented with detecting, sifting and preservation....he is also an awesome and generous friend. Thank you buddy for processing these pieces.
The fork is a favorite of mine. It's the only one that I've found. Bone handle I believe. One of the other favorites is the iron grapeshot that I found on a Rev War site. There's also a mystery in there. I thought for sure it was some sort of hatchet or belt axe when I dug it. Now I'm thinking it's not. But I have no idea what it could be. Thanks for looking guys and I apologize that I've been too busy to Che k out all of your great finds. I'll try to do better. Hunting for a mid 1600s site tomorrow. Prob strike out but you never know.
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Upvote 51

Blak bart

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Man.....your crushing it !! That cannon is absolutely kick arse !! Not to mention all the rest of the stuff. Awsome button. Awsome spot. I will wait to hit the banner button on the cannon until someone tells us about them but the thought instantly crossed my mind.

That aint even right to say im just gonna vote banner, just cause I never seen one and I think it so cool.
 

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Gridwalker306

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Holy moley! Congratulations on a truly gorgeous button. The toy cannon is a very good find too. I really wanted to dig one in England, but no luck. Off the top of my head I think they date from the early to mid 1700's (I could be off). Finding one in the US is pretty rare I think, and I'm thinking banner too.
 

BigWaveDave

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Hell of a button!.... that's gotta mean a lot to you...
Congrats on the excellent hunt!
 

OP
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Ahab8

Ahab8

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Oct 15, 2013
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Man.....your crushing it !! That cannon is absolutely kick arse !! Not to mention all the rest of the stuff. Awsome button. Awsome spot. I will wait to hit the banner button on the cannon until someone tells us about them but the thought instantly crossed my mind.

That aint even right to say im just gonna vote banner, just cause I never seen one and I think it so cool.

Bart thanks buddy. I didn't think anybody else would be as excited about the cannon as I am but you just might be lol. It was def on my bucket list and one I wasn't sure I would ever put in the case.
 

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Ahab8

Ahab8

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Oct 15, 2013
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Holy moley! Congratulations on a truly gorgeous button. The toy cannon is a very good find too. I really wanted to dig one in England, but no luck. Off the top of my head I think they date from the early to mid 1700's (I could be off). Finding one in the US is pretty rare I think, and I'm thinking banner too.

Thanks so much buddy. I'm thinking along the same lines on date. I hope you find one some day. It's certainly not an easy one to check off the list.
 

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Ahab8

Ahab8

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Hell of a button!.... that's gotta mean a lot to you...
Congrats on the excellent hunt!

It sure does Dave. It's a really cool part of the states history. To get one in this kind of condition really makes it special. Btw Dave your Red Sox keep killing me on my DraftKings lineups. They're not exactly crushing the ball lately. Can you ha e a chat with the team please????
 

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Ahab8

Ahab8

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Wow Abe!
Great job, your button is awesome!
I'm still looking for a cannon like yours, maybe this year!

Thanks bud. I hope you get yours this year. I'm pretty sure you've found about everything else in the dirt lol
 

Dirtwisher

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Great to see you get out and score, man! I've been wondering where you were! That button is ridiculous and the cannon a sure fire mantel piece decoration. Work getting in the way of detecting is a brutal reality to deal with, isn't it. We're not on this planet forever and the longer I have to go without doing the stuff I love the more it gets to me. Again - glad you got out there and it was rewarding.
 

Scrappy

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That militia button is incredible. I knew when you texted that nasty, muddy button porn pic that it would clean up well. Well it's better than amazing.

And about that cannon - FU Abe!!!!! I simply dream of finding a toy cannon someday. I'm super stoked for you bro and hope the steak continues...

All the best luck bruddah
 

Aureus

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Awesome finds as usual. Love that cannon and the button! Great to see you back!
 

Kurios1

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You have found Treasure Island for sure mate. Those are some crazy cool finds with the gorgeous Militia button and toy cannon. That huge brass spike is cool as heck too. Lots of wonderful relics and a few banner worthy finds. You certainly made up for lost time.:icon_salut:
 

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Ahab8

Ahab8

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Oct 15, 2013
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Ahab8

Ahab8

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Oct 15, 2013
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Great to see you get out and score, man! I've been wondering where you were! That button is ridiculous and the cannon a sure fire mantel piece decoration. Work getting in the way of detecting is a brutal reality to deal with, isn't it. We're not on this planet forever and the longer I have to go without doing the stuff I love the more it gets to me. Again - glad you got out there and it was rewarding.

Yeah man I ha e that chat a lot about finding the "balance" which I never seem to find. On top of work we have had one if the wettest springs I've ever seen. So when are you going to post another ultra rare Mass silver???? Lol
 

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Ahab8

Ahab8

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Oct 15, 2013
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That militia button is incredible. I knew when you texted that nasty, muddy button porn pic that it would clean up well. Well it's better than amazing.

And about that cannon - FU Abe!!!!! I simply dream of finding a toy cannon someday. I'm super stoked for you bro and hope the steak continues...

All the best luck bruddah

Thanks bro. Def psyched with the cannon. And it's nice to have a Maine military button in that condition. Anything that displays well is a bonus. Lots more hiding in that dirt
 

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Ahab8

Ahab8

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Awesome finds as usual. Love that cannon and the button! Great to see you back!

Thanks man. Hopefully I can become a more regular contributor again. In the meantime I'll watch you guys kill it.
 

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