Colonial Silver Knee Buckle, Capped Dime, Awesome LC, and more...

[OutdoorAdv]

Last weekend, I was able to get a full weekend of hunting in and it was great to spend a couple days outdoors finding some history. I had been having skunked water hunts the last month or so, so it was great to finally get my coil over a few keepers. I put in a lot of hours last weekend and was rewarded with a few really nice finds.... my favorite being something I always wanted to find, but never thought I would... a complete colonial SILVER knee buckle. And a close second was a well worn Capped Bust Dime with a date of 182? (something) and a really nice LC.



This buckle turned up after a day of spending 9 hours hunting with nothing but 1 flat button and a pack full of trash to show for my efforts. It was shaping up to be one of those days that TNet never hears about. And then this happened...



Finding a silver frame colonial buckle is something I had always wished would happen, so you all will have to excuse the amount of pictures that are about to follow... After the insitu picture above, I spent some time enjoy the find and taking pictures, before a little field cleaning with a bottle of water.




After 250+ years in the ground, the iron anchor chape, tongue and pin had deposited some areas of rust scale on top of the silver. Once home, I was able to remove most of the rust with a toothpick, however a few stubborn spots remain which I am leaving so I don't scratch the silver.



This is a "supermodel" of relics for me, so I had to do a photo shoot



I was really hoping there would be a makers mark or a hallmark... or any mark on it, but its blank. According to the Whitehead buckle book, if this is British made, it most likely falls between 1739 and 1790... I suppose it could also be American made as well. Either way, its most likely sometime in the second half of the 18th century.



Its been a good weekend of swinging when a Capped Bust Dime is your second best find. I don't dig much silver... in the 1000's of plugs I dig every year, I maybe see silver in them a few times. So it was a very rare event for me to dig two pieces of early silver in one weekend. This was a killer signal and when I popped the plug I saw a thin silver disk in the bottom of the hole. Because of how thin it was, I figured it was going to be a piece of Spanish. A field rinse with a water bottle revealed a well worn Capped Bust... which had me smiling for the rest of the day.



Once home, I gave it a better rinse. There is some light scratching on the reverse from the rocky soil it was in... probably caused when the dirt was moved around when I dug the plug. I can barely make out a 182? date on it... maybe a 4 or a 6. Funny thing, I still haven't dug a seated coin and this is my second capped silver, with the first being a half dollar a couple years ago.



And finally a beautiful 1833 LC.



And the three of my best find from the weekend.



Another interesting relic was this Smith's Bile Beans bottle that I found while digging. Its tiny and from the 1880s or 1890s and used to contain some laxative pills with a cork in the top.



A nice CW GS coat button turned up as well as the usual variety of flat buttons, tombac buttons and various relics.



There are a couple keeper iron relics that I don't have time to process just yet. Perhaps I will include them in a future post once everything is preserved.

Thanks for reading and happy hunting everyone.

 

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[toasted]

Congrats on the rare colonial silver find.

 

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[plymouthian12]

Congrats I'm dying to find a silver buckle

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

 

[Relicific]

After hunting for nine hours without any good finds most of us would of quit.
You didn't give up and were rewarded.
Great finds

 

[Terry Soloman]

Awesome..

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Congratualtions on the Caped Bust and killer old copper LC! Of course, there are so many other cool finds! Congratualtions!

 

[Patriot Relics]

Outstanding haul Brad, capped silver and a solid silver buckle is just nuts! Glad to see you back in the dirt buddy

 

[Mr. Digger]

Great finds. Congrats! Love the Colonial stuff.....

 

[HCW]

What a day!!!!!!!
I found the exact same key escutcheon.
Not that it's exactly pertinent, looking at those finds Wow!

 

[Bill D. (VA)]

That's quite an amazing assortment of finds for one hunt Brad - coins, buttons, spoon, drawer pull, lock plate and on and on. Some real quality stuff too, but like everyone else, I have to go with that buckle as the highlight. Never found a complete silver buckle frame .... EVER! I agree with your dating analysis too, so congrats on a nice piece of 1700s silver. Keep 'em coming, and I hope your repellent doesn't wear off anytime soon .

 

[Donnie B from VA]

WOW! That was a GREAT weekend! Congrats on the solid silver, bucket lister, knee buckle! Great read too!

 

[Silvermonkey]

Looks like you put in a lot of time, and were rewarded for your efforts. The silver knee buckle is lovely...and so our your other finds. Congratulations!

 

[pepperj]

You did it again for putting some quality finds in the mitt. Congrats! Three winners and not sure which one I like the best.
Our tick population is down this year, but with so much rain they've probably drowned.

 

[Stef45]

Awesome finds Brad! Silver buckle is high on my list for sure and early American Silver is always the best! Congrats

 

[mikefromIllinois]

Super finds, great story, and really enjoy those in-situ pictures. Congrats.

 

[CASPER-2]

 

[Ahab8]

Let's BANNER this buckle. We never see complete silver buckle frames. I know how jealous I am of that thing. When I get a phone call for a find it usually deserves to be up top. This is no exception

 

[DFW_THer]

Superb recoveries. Thanks for the good pictures.

 

[OutdoorAdv]

If your goal was making killer finds that I only find on my bucket list you my friend are killing it! Silver buckle is incredibly high on my list. And of course capped silver is as well. Really happy for you pal!!!!

Thanks a ton Abe! You know I'm pumped when I tell you I just found something better than capped silver. Once you get into those more modern sites, you'll find that capped. haha

nice diggem ups treazahs

Thank you Port Ewen!

I agree with your date range & ID. The books assumptions are true for most cases (so not hard & fast) but there are still plenty that fall out-side of the Laws of the time. It was often down to the honesty of the Maker.
Lots of other goodies there.

PS. I think I only have one complete 17th C silver Buckle, most my others are plated or broken.

Thank you Cru! I was really hoping I would find a maker mark on that thing. I really lucked out with finding a complete silver one.

Well Brad, it looks like you toughed out the heat to hit three more home runs-well done friend! I agree that the silver knee buckle is hands down the star, and any time you dig a capped bust is a special moment. Oh, and let's don't forget that near-pristine large cent-it's a killer! I'm still waiting on my first large cent, must be some bad mojo or something.

Also I really like the in situ pic of the buckle.

Thanks Glenn! The Capped and LC were not far apart and once I cleaned off the LC at home, I started to like it more than the dime. haha Its not often a copper turns up in that condition. With all the stuff you find, I cant believe you haven't dug a LC yet... It must be like how I cant find anything seated. Weird how this hobby works.

That buckle is incredible and at the top end of my list. Great condition largie, and the Capped is beautiful. Nice outing buddy, I know you worked hard for it and I'm stoked you nailed it!

Thanks a ton man I was a grumpy dude, covered in mosquito's and having a rough day before that buckle turned up. Sometimes hard work doesn't always equal good finds for me, but last weekend sure panned out.

Nicely done! Love your finds!

Thank you Rebel!

Glad to see you had an excellent dig session and found your silver buckle, it's spectacular! The bust and LC are really sweet, as are the rest of your finds. Big congrats

Thanks a ton man! I couldn't be happier with that group of finds. I'm going to have to clear out some top shelf room in one of my displays for the buckle and the dime... a good problem to have

Very well done Brad. That silver buckle is really something special. Congrats sir.

Thanks a ton man... you guys find the shiny stuff way more often than I do. I mostly dig crusty relics, so I get really excited when I see something shiny in the dirt.

 

[OutdoorAdv]

I for one think that the buckle should go up top, far more GW buttons and gold coins found then a 1600s silver buckle. Here's my vote

Thank you Art! I truly appreciate the vote. They certainly are seldom seen... it wasnt even on my radar because it seemed like such a far fetched thing to find.

Great hunt and excellent post!

Thanks PA Dirt NC Sand!

Lots of great comments already, but my congrats to you as well -- great finds!

Thank you Javadroid!

Wow that knee buckle is beautiful! A post with a silver knee buckle, capped bust, and amazing large cent! How do I pick my favorite? I'm going to have to go with the knee buckle, that thing is fantastic congrats

Thanks Chris! That's my favorite as well.

Beautiful finds! Congratulations!

Thank you Anton!

Congrats on the rare colonial silver find.

Thanks man... its my first piece of colonial silver that isn't a Spanish coin.

Congrats I'm dying to find a silver buckle

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

Thank you plymouthian12!

After hunting for nine hours without any good finds most of us would of quit.
You didn't give up and were rewarded.
Great finds

Oh man... I'm not immune to that... I was one grumpy dude before that buckle turned up and I was about done for the day. I also tell myself when things are slow or not going my way, that a poor attitude has a lot to do with not finding much. So I make an effort to try and be optimistic and push on. I've had many hunts that I went home skunked and grumpy and it doesn't put me in the right mindset to get back out there and try harder. My most successful hunts have been when I find a few things early on and it puts me in a good mood for the rest of the day to put in the hard work... so finding this buckle at the end of a really bad day was the exception for me and it actually taught me a thing or two about staying positive when I'm spent.

Thanks a ton Relicific

 

[OutdoorAdv]

Awesome..

Thank you Terry!

Congratualtions on the Caped Bust and killer old copper LC! Of course, there are so many other cool finds! Congratualtions!

Thank you Professor! I really appreciate it.

Outstanding haul Brad, capped silver and a solid silver buckle is just nuts! Glad to see you back in the dirt buddy

Thanks a ton Jon... hope you're back in the dirt soon man. I really appreciate it man... I couldn't ask for a better weekend of hunting.

Great finds. Congrats! Love the Colonial stuff.....

Thank you Mr. Digger!

What a day!!!!!!!
I found the exact same key escutcheon.
Not that it's exactly pertinent, looking at those finds Wow!

Thank you HCW! Escutcheon's are always cool to find... keys are some of my favorites too.

That's quite an amazing assortment of finds for one hunt Brad - coins, buttons, spoon, drawer pull, lock plate and on and on. Some real quality stuff too, but like everyone else, I have to go with that buckle as the highlight. Never found a complete silver buckle frame .... EVER! I agree with your dating analysis too, so congrats on a nice piece of 1700s silver. Keep 'em coming, and I hope your repellent doesn't wear off anytime soon .

Thanks a ton Bill! ... But I've never found a partial silver buckle frame I really appreciate it man... you know how excited I was to see that buckle turn up and it was the last thing I was expecting. I certainly wont forget that day or the sight of seeing that buckle laying in the dirt.

I owe the tick repellent suggestion to Abe.... I had never heard of Permethrin until Abe told me about it this spring.... I'm surprised because I do a lot of hiking and never knew this stuff existed. Its a pretreatment that you put on your clothes days before you wear them. I have been waist deep in grass this year and watched multiple ticks fall right off my clothes while they are in mid stride on the climb up. The stuff is amazing. I treat my socks, pants, shirt and hat. I tuck my pants into my socks... so its only a Permethrin highway for them if they want to try and get to some blood. Since I started using it, I haven't had one tick on me and I no longer worry about ticks... I even walk through brush I typically wouldn't dare to this time of year. It costs me about $5 in fluid to treat a set of clothes (socks, pants, shirt and hat), but it last for multiple washes and over a month... so its less than $1 a hunt to have a "tick free insurance policy"

WOW! That was a GREAT weekend! Congrats on the solid silver, bucket lister, knee buckle! Great read too!

Thanks Donnie. I really appreciate it man.