DownNDirty
Bronze Member
Since deer season ended on January 1 I have been hitting a bunch of new permission fields hard and boy has it (and all of the research) been paying off. All of the fields are strategically located on or close to a creek that was settled in the 1750s.
On January 3 I located an 18th century home site and found a KG II half penny (see my last post). Since then I have hunted other fields four times and found three other 18th century sites.
VMI Digger (Jon) joined me on the first hunt and it was indeed a good one. By the time he arrived I had already found several flat buttons and a very nice engraved silver cuff link, so I knew I was close to a site.
Not long after Jon arrived he sniffed out the home site and was digging relics left and right. He made one find in particular that is pretty special, but I'll leave it to him to post his finds when he gets back from "parts unknown." I wasn't doing so badly myself. I found a total of twelve flat buttons that day and the quality of some was pretty nice including an engraved octagonal dandy button.
The CTX also produced two coppers for me. One was a cut 1774 King George III half penny; unfortunately the other large copper was worn smooth.
My other finds included part of a shoe buckle, a thimble and part of a harness strap guide.
My finds for the day
The next day I worked another field that the owner's son referred to as the "muster field." He said that a house was there a long time ago and it was used as a muster site during the civil war. I managed to detect about one fourth of the field and unfortunately did not find any Civil War relics (yet) but I did locate another 18th century home site. The finds were few, but interesting nonetheless. At the site I found these three pewter charms(?) that I assume were hung on a necklace; two are identical.
The other interesting relic is this small whattheheckisit. It has what appears to be a tree in the center with some letters around the rim on one side, and the number 19 on the other. If anyone has a clue as to what it might be please let me know.
My finds from day two
A few days later I scouted yet another field close to the creek. After a lot of walking and coil-swinging I hit pay dirt again-another 1700s home site. In addition to a few flat buttons and part of a saddle strap guide I dug a nice brass cuff link and this one is also engraved.
Toward the end of the day I returned to the field where I had found the two coppers and gridded the home site. Shortly after I got there I dug a fancy cuff-sized button with a lot of gilt still on it and a piece of a trigger guard.
As the sun was setting I was finishing the last row of the grid when I got a nice 12-41 signal on the CTX. Last target of the day, and then I'll pack it up and go home. With that kind of signal I was hoping for a coin and pulled out a large copper that looked like a KG II to me. Sweet! What a way to end the day. However, after looking at it closely I could tell it was different. A quick Google search confirmed my suspicion-it was a 1787 Connecticut copper! State coppers are really rare finds in SC, and this was definitely my first. I bet that coin has an interesting story behind it.
Here are the finds for day three
Finally, last Saturday I took a buddy with me and revisited a couple of the sites. It was a slow day but we managed a few flat buttons and this piece of a fancy buckle or brooch
Late in the day I took him to another site where I had found 18th and 19th century relics last year; my sole find there was a nice mid-1800s saw medallion.
I have been on quite a roll lately and I hope it continues. I'm headed to another (new to me) field Saturday in a prime location and I'm hoping to add another site to my map.
On January 3 I located an 18th century home site and found a KG II half penny (see my last post). Since then I have hunted other fields four times and found three other 18th century sites.
VMI Digger (Jon) joined me on the first hunt and it was indeed a good one. By the time he arrived I had already found several flat buttons and a very nice engraved silver cuff link, so I knew I was close to a site.
Not long after Jon arrived he sniffed out the home site and was digging relics left and right. He made one find in particular that is pretty special, but I'll leave it to him to post his finds when he gets back from "parts unknown." I wasn't doing so badly myself. I found a total of twelve flat buttons that day and the quality of some was pretty nice including an engraved octagonal dandy button.
The CTX also produced two coppers for me. One was a cut 1774 King George III half penny; unfortunately the other large copper was worn smooth.
My other finds included part of a shoe buckle, a thimble and part of a harness strap guide.
My finds for the day
The next day I worked another field that the owner's son referred to as the "muster field." He said that a house was there a long time ago and it was used as a muster site during the civil war. I managed to detect about one fourth of the field and unfortunately did not find any Civil War relics (yet) but I did locate another 18th century home site. The finds were few, but interesting nonetheless. At the site I found these three pewter charms(?) that I assume were hung on a necklace; two are identical.
The other interesting relic is this small whattheheckisit. It has what appears to be a tree in the center with some letters around the rim on one side, and the number 19 on the other. If anyone has a clue as to what it might be please let me know.
My finds from day two
A few days later I scouted yet another field close to the creek. After a lot of walking and coil-swinging I hit pay dirt again-another 1700s home site. In addition to a few flat buttons and part of a saddle strap guide I dug a nice brass cuff link and this one is also engraved.
Toward the end of the day I returned to the field where I had found the two coppers and gridded the home site. Shortly after I got there I dug a fancy cuff-sized button with a lot of gilt still on it and a piece of a trigger guard.
As the sun was setting I was finishing the last row of the grid when I got a nice 12-41 signal on the CTX. Last target of the day, and then I'll pack it up and go home. With that kind of signal I was hoping for a coin and pulled out a large copper that looked like a KG II to me. Sweet! What a way to end the day. However, after looking at it closely I could tell it was different. A quick Google search confirmed my suspicion-it was a 1787 Connecticut copper! State coppers are really rare finds in SC, and this was definitely my first. I bet that coin has an interesting story behind it.
Here are the finds for day three
Finally, last Saturday I took a buddy with me and revisited a couple of the sites. It was a slow day but we managed a few flat buttons and this piece of a fancy buckle or brooch
Late in the day I took him to another site where I had found 18th and 19th century relics last year; my sole find there was a nice mid-1800s saw medallion.
I have been on quite a roll lately and I hope it continues. I'm headed to another (new to me) field Saturday in a prime location and I'm hoping to add another site to my map.
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