Epic colonial hunt

[smokeythecat]

My Tesoro Cibola has been feeling neglected lately, after all it's just a turn and go machine. One frequency, no ground balance, no bells, no whistles, but it has found two gold coins in it's career! Well, it coerced me into getting it out of the back of the truck and back into the swing. We all have had a few places we would like to think had relics in them, but for one reason or another, never got around to digging there. Today that changed. This one little lot is in a very old neighborhood but has been infested with greenbriers in the 40 years I have been in the area. A few weeks ago, someone came and mowed the lot. Then they scraped it down with a dozer, I suppose they are going to build something there. It's out in the middle of nowhere, maybe it's just for sale, there were no for sale signs visible. Near a crossroads, it' has been inviting me there for awhile.

It's a small place. I got permission from someone on the site and spent about and hour and a half out.

Here are the results. This is the most colonial relics I have gotten in one day since forever. I also got couple horseshoes, misc. iron which I tossed, some bits and pieces of copper something or others and a few of those little brass tacks to put on furniture. No shoe buckle pieces which was kind of odd. There was oyster shell around and some broken black glass. I was in kind of a hurry, the landscaper will be here any minute now. Have to meet him to go over some upcoming work.

The Spanish pieces of 8 are #5 and #6 of my entire digging career. The soil is very good there, and there is detail on all of the coppers. The tombac buttons look like new! One blow hole French and Indian war period button, four colonial coppers, I haven't looked too carefully at them yet. The last picture is of the coppers.

Fun, fun, fun. Tomorrow Civil War detecting.
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[vferrari]

Smokey you have some killer hunts!!!

Two keys - get permissions galore (more than you can ever dream to detect) and then hunt, hunt, hunt. If I've learned anything from Smokey, that's it. Hope I can return the favor on permission tagalongs sometime. Just wow.

 

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[smokeythecat]

Hunt, hunt, hunt hunt hunt, hunt hunt. Rain, snow, 90 degrees, 30 degrees, blowing wind, blowing snow, frozen ground (bring a pick ax), muddy ground, parched ground (but not a lawn when dry), clear, dry and 70 degrees, any place, any time, alone, with others, with a club, without a club, summer, fall, winter, spring, just go out and do it!

And now a word from our sponsors...

And Hugh, go SLOW.

 

[Aureus]

Awesome finds! Great diversity of really nice coins. Congratulations!

 

[Showtime2385]

Very nice

 

[Kurios1]

Amazing old coins and relics Smokey. A day you'll never forget. Congratulations.

 

[smokeythecat]

Thank you all. We went to a colonial site today, it's probably 50 miles from this one, and we've dug there before. We started at 8:30 am with 2" of fresh snow on the ground. We ended about 1:00 pm. One modern nickel, two colonial buck shot, 3 pieces old scrap lead, 2 small flat buttons, a couple shotshell bases, bunch of aluminum, probably a few other things I haven't identified yet. This was between the three of us. Sometimes you get the coal mine sometimes you get the gold mine! Today was a more "normal" dig. The home runs rarely happen anymore. PCGS has my 1790's half cent in for preservation. I sure hope they can do something with it!

 

[pepperj]

Congrats on the two pieces of 8 and the coppers, a hunt to remember for a few moons to come. Congrats Smokey.

 

[treblehunter]

WAY TO GO SMOKEY! Your on fire, you can't do wrong. Iron Patch is awesome on the ID's. Ha, forgot the Large Cents in the truck, I love it. I'm still working on my house, just finished the painting, tomorrow I install carpet. I'm thinking about 3-4 days more work, then I can play. I'll shoot ya a text when I can plan something.
Congrats, Brad

 

[smokeythecat]

pa_dir nc_sand, yes I can see a little of the eye on the other side and the rays on the Nova. I'm thinking seriously of sending it to PCGS for restoration. I left a lot of the gunk on it, so maybe a pro can help it.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Sick. Just plain sick

 

[grasshopper]

Nice old finds! Sounds like you have a great site. Keep hitting it

 

[birdman]

Love slivers of Spanish silver

 

[Steve in PA]

Congrats on a great hunt. Two cut Spanish silver in one day doesn't happen very often, and the cuts from the 8 reales are even harder to find. I have found 7 cut pieces from 8 reales, and they all came from sites where provincial and British F & I War troops camped, and those places also produced blow hole buttons.

 

[Steve in PA]

You should send your soil to the Smithsonian because if after 300 or so years those coppers don't tarnish badly in the ground then I think that soil is worth more than gold! You have me motivated to get out digging this weekend. Keep posting your unbelievable finds!!!

Joey, the soil in around Antietam, both in Maryland and West Virginia has a lot of limestone and is very kind to coppers. I have dug a few coppers in that area and they came out beautiful. I'm not sure how far Smokey is from there, but I believe he digs a lot in Maryland.

 

[A2coins]

I live in the wrong state if i was finding stuff like that i could start my own show 24. 7. thanks for the great post amazing finds. banner in my book

 

[smokeythecat]

Area I was at does have limestone for sure and few hot rocks to boot.

 

[creade]

Awesome Spanish pieces I’d be on cloud nine with those that blowhole button is cool,A great hunt

 

[smokeythecat]

One note on the Nova. While I can see the "eye" on the one side, (I'm not especially good the post colonial coins), anyway, I got notice from PCGS this morning that my pre 1800 US Half Cent which I dug a few weeks ago is ungradable. They are sending it back with a har har har you've got to be kidding kind of note. So I doubt sending in this one would be worth it. Oh well. Phooey.

May thy the site again today if I get off early.

 

[DFW_THer]

holy crap!!! Great hunt, hope I get to see some of these beauties in Middle River.