Bucket list silver, handful of colonial coppers (Machin's Mills, Vermon Copper,GIII)

[Aureus]

Did an other successful week end hunt, a proof that doing lots of PR and constantly looking for new permissions does pay off sometimes.

My first find was one of my minor bucket list's relics. I always wanted to find a solid sterling spoon but never had a chance to get one. Couldn't believe my eyes when the first one I pulled this weekend turned out to be a Georgian tea spoon from 1803 On top of it all it has a beautiful hand engraved design and owner's initials.



The spoon wasn't in a great shape due to the plow damage but with a help from a friend I have managed to straighten it without breaking the relic.



I believe I got a positive ID of the London silversmith who made it.


Than I hit a very promising new site. I barely stepped on the field when I started noticing pottery and bricks spread all over the surface. Within a few minutes the first copper showed up and within an hour I had 9 of them laying in my pouch. The best part was that all the coppers were early ones and on top of that, the wast majority was in a good or event great condition.



The best preserved one was 1838 Banque du Peuple Un Sou (Halfpenny)


An other great Halfpenny was the Spread Eagle 1814 (my favorite design)


Got a great surprise, my second Machin's Mills 1787 in a very decent shape.


George III Halfpenny 1807 (my first one of this type)


1790's Conder Halfpenny


Issac Brook's Halfpenny 1812


And a Bouquet Halfpenny Bank of Montreal 1840's


The heart breaker of the day was one of only two worn coins which turned out to be my first Vermont Copper. Too bad it wasn't in a great shape like the others... I can only read VERMONT on one side and see a partial profile of George III


And no hunt can be considered complete without at least some militaria. Got a nice musket ramrod guide (my first complete one). It has an intriguing inscription engraved on its side.


Thanks for the comments.

 

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[Aureus]

Incredible new site!!! Love the Georgian spoon as well as the handful of coppers! Well done again man!

Thanks Isaac. I always wondered when I will find my first sterling spoon and in what condition it will be. Pretty good after all.

 

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[Aureus]

Outstanding dream hunt and recoveries ! Bravo !!

Thanks wagbert.

 

[Aureus]

Congrats to you sir.

That spoon is really sweet. Wow...

Thanks Tom. At first I thought it was copper as were the dozens I have found in the past. That sure was a pleasant surprise when I saw the hallmarks.

 

[Aureus]

A whole collection of coppers in one shot! The VIII mark on the ramrod guide is an assembly mark to keep the same parts with the same gun. Parts on old guns were hand fit and not usually interchangeable. Gary

Thanks for the info Gary. I found a few of them barring the mark, newer knew what they were but assembly mark was one of the possibilities I considered.

 

[Aureus]

Holy cow, nice collection of coppers from a single hunt. And that spoon is awesome, congrats!

Thanks cheffer.

 

[Aureus]

Aureus those are some fantastic saves. I really like the spoon and the research paid off with some interesting information. Thanks for sharing those beautiful pictures of your finds with us and congratulations on an excellent day of hunting.

Thanks Hawks. Had lots of fun detecting that day, no doubts about it and the spoon is one of my favorites relics for this year.

 

[Aureus]

Superb hunt! "Promising" doesn't adequately describe that site. Can't wait to see what else you find there. Well done.

Thanks Jeff. I did go back and was again pleasantly surprised. Will post in a few days.

 

[Aureus]

Congrats on your bucket list find, and on doing a great job straightening that spoon out. Those old coppers are unbelievable ! If I found all of those in one hunt, I'd think I was in heaven !

Thanks Trezurehunter. It was mind blowing to pull one early copper after an other. I did find more, will post soon.

 

[Aureus]

Wow ! That is an awesome hunt, great finds

Thanks digging440yrs

 

[Aureus]

Knockout Aureus, Simply knockout! Congrats!

I'm waving the banner guys!

Best wishes, and good luck!

Thanks Reanm8er. Good luck to you too.

 

[Aureus]

Great finds and congrats on the early silver relic! Definitely the find of the week for you. I hit similar sites to you here in northern VT (plowed fields in the spring and fall) and I always drool when I walk onto a new field and see the brick and pottery as you mention. Not all sites are hugely productive, but if you get permission on enough of them you discover there are gems still out there. Yours posted here is certainly one of them. If you found the 9 coppers in just 1 hour then imo there's got to be more! A VT Copper is my #1 bucket lister I've yet to find. Funny how many coppers I've dug through the years and not one of them is a VT - strange to me as a detectorist actually living in the Green Mtn. State! Oh well.

John

Thanks John. It's sometimes surprising how one pottery covered site is different from an other. As you have mentioned, not all sites are productive and I would add, not all are from the period that interests me personally. Often they are from late 19th early 20th centuries and hunting there can be a much greater challenge with little chance of an amazing find. I much rather hunt in an earlier sites as people recovered most of the iron before demolishing the house. This was one of those, very little junk. Some nails but very few pieces of large iron and of course, zero aluminum.
I'm sure being in VT you have a much better chance on finding early US coins especially a VT copper. Good luck on your hunts and I'm certain, one day you'll pull one from the ground.

 

[Aureus]

Outstanding hunt congrats..

Thanks park pirate

 

[Aureus]

Those are awesome early Canadian coppers,and your friend did a super job on that spoon it is really neat.

I wasn't sure the spoon could be fixed without damaging it, took a good hour to unbend it.

 

[Aureus]

Man, you are definitely on a roll! That spoon is killer, and the coppers are in exceptional condition. Congrats

Thanks DownNDirty. It's crazy how the condition of coppers can be different from one site to an other. I'm sure glad they turned up good from that particular one.

 

[Aureus]

That is a sick hunt!! Wow. Spoon is awesome, coppers are swesom, and that ramrod is really awesome. Those are strange markings like kill notches maybe?

Would be interesting if it was.

 

[Aureus]

WOW what an awesome hunt and congratulations on the great saves!

Thanks BLK HOLE

 

[Aureus]

Incredible weekend you had there! Love the spoon and the coppers. I'm ready to move to Canada!

From what I've heard Pennsylvania isn't bad neither.

 

[Aureus]

Wow that spon would be nice restored,do you show the permissions your finds lol Thats a banner weekend in my book

That spoon will probably go to the farmer unless I negotiate something with him.

 

[Aureus]

Incredible day there! Congrats on all those coppers and the spoon looks amazing too!

Thanks xcopperstax

 

[Aureus]

Congrats on finally finding a silver spoon! I had that moment earlier this summer. Very cool. But the coppers are crazy man! You could teach a course on the colonial / post colonial transition using your weekend finds as visuals. Awesome! Congrats!!!

Thanks pa-dirt_nc-sand. It's really surprising the variety of coppers found at some sites.