🥇 BANNER Revolutionary War USA Relic? No Idea, but I Know It's Old!

[FreeBirdTim]

Deep in the woods today near the spot where I found a Rev War era stirrup. Got a low 70's signal 6 inches down and thought I had dug a flat button. Wiped it off and noticed that one side had grooves on it instead of a shank. Then I turned it over and saw a USA logo on it! Looks similar to the Rev War button logo, but not quite the same. It's 1" in diameter and appears to be brass.

Did some research online, but I drew a blank. No idea what this is or how old. Hoping it's Rev War, but it could be later than that. What the heck did I find?

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

A History of Mining on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska - Grab it through Amazon!

[pepperj]

Congrats on the amazing copper, hope it's the real deal.

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Minelab PRO-FIND 35 Waterproof Pinpointer Metal Detector for Experts with Tone ID & Adjustable Sensitivity - Grab it through Amazon!

[G.A.P.metal]

Outstanding find !

 

[against the wind]

Get that bad boy to PCGS for cleaning, grading, and encapsulation.
Congrats on a super find.

 

[terpfan]

Based on where the coin was found and its condition, I have a feeling this is the real deal. What a super exciting recovery, the first bar cent I've seen posted. Congratulations.

 

[Yak1366]

Awesome Find!! Congrats!!!

 

[huntsman53]

Thanks for the quick ID! I never would have guessed that it was a coin from 1785! I was thinking maybe it was a decorative piece mounted to something, due to the grooves on the back.

I won't mess with it any more, but it is flaking a little on the edges now that it's dry. My luck to find a rare coin and it's toasted. Still a great find, though.

Rinse it with water, pat dry in a soft towel, then let it soak in Mineral Oil for a while to stabilize it until you can send it off the PCGS to have it authenticated. If authentic, then have it conserved, certified and graded. Congrats of what appears to be one of the rarest U.S. coins ever minted. Make sure to dry as much Mineral Oil off of the coin before sending it to PCGS. They won't mind the Mineral Oil on it as they see this method used all the time to stabilize coins. However, they won't like having the coin drip Mineral Oil all over when it is removed from the packing.

 

[Silver Tree Chaser]

Let's get this started. Voting banner now! I don't recall a Bar Cent ever being posted on T-Net. Being a fellow Rhode Islander, I've often taken the time to see what you've been posting. This is a great find. Don't overly concern yourself with the condition of the coin, rarity on a coin like this trumps condition. Congratulations!

 

[smokeythecat]

Do not clean the thing. If it's an original it is worth a LOT. Reproductions have been made for over a century, your best bet is to take it to a knowledgeable coin dealer and let them look at it. Do NOT accept any offers on it at this time. And if you REALLY want to freak out people, the big Whitman coin show in Baltimore is next weekend or the following. The net will have the correct date. It's free, not too far from NJ and you might consider letting a real expert look at it. They will all be there.

 

[coinman123]

Based on where the coin was found and its condition, I have a feeling this is the real deal. What a super exciting recovery, the first bar cent I've seen posted. Congratulations.

Same thoughts here. It looks just like all the real ones I have seen, it has the right corrosion for a coin of that age, and the most important thing for me is where it was found. If it were found at an elementary school for example, I would right away say that it is possibly a reproduction brought in for show and tell at school, though the level of corrosion would not be right for any copper that has been underground for mere decades. The condition of this find is consistent with that of most copper and brass items I find that date from the 1700's and early 1800's, which makes me doubt that it is a reproduction from the late 1800's or early 1900's. You have the find of a lifetime right there!

 

[Scrappy]

Holy Schnikies Tim! You got yourself a dynamite find. Never heard of one dug before

 

[FreeBirdTim]

Thanks, guys! Not sure if it's the real deal, but hard to imagine an 1860 counterfeit at this spot. Why did they counterfeit it back then anyway? Was it rare even back in 1860? I would think they did it to con coin collectors and not just release them to the general public. I'll have to dig deeper into the history of this coin...

 

[Carolina Tom]

Big congrats on a very rare find. Wow.

I bet we will see that up top shortly.

 

[SilverDreams]

All I can say is wow! Congrats on the amazing find!

 

[kingskid1611]

I am at a loss for words........

 

[Silver Tree Chaser]

Same thoughts here. It looks just like all the real ones I have seen, it has the right corrosion for a coin of that age, and the most important thing for me is where it was found. If it were found at an elementary school for example, I would right away say that it is possibly a reproduction brought in for show and tell at school, though the level of corrosion would not be right for any copper that has been underground for mere decades. The condition of this find is consistent with that of most copper and brass items I find that date from the 1700's and early 1800's, which makes me doubt that it is a reproduction from the late 1800's or early 1900's. You have the find of a lifetime right there!

Coinman123 - Well stated. There's no reason to doubt that this Bar Cent is genuine. Here's a link for auction results on a Bar Cent from just a few months ago.
8K for specimen in XF-45 condition.

https://www.greatcollections.com/Coin/519878/Bar-Cent-PCGS-XF-45-BN

 

[Patriot Relics]

Holy &$#$ never thought I'd see a bar cent dug... Banner vote inbound. That's absolutely incredible

 

[Calabash Digger]

WOW! .

 

[Gene Mean]

Wow! That is beautiful. Way to start 2018 off with a huge bang.

 

[Tnmountains]

I imagine the age of the coin would change the weight due to condition but I would have to weigh it for grins. Regardless it is a super rare dug coin.

 

[King Canslaw]

I like it. Banner vote.