๐Ÿฅ‡ BANNER 1850 Charleston "Porter" slave Tag

SCJohn

Jr. Member
May 14, 2016
67
333
Charleston, sc
๐Ÿฅ‡ Banner finds
1
Detector(s) used
Garrett AT Pro, AT propointer
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
Evening Tnet . I don't post often as I don't get out much nowadays due to heavy workload and 2nd kid now almost 10 months old but on Friday I was able to carve out a few hours to get out. Decided to go to an area that I've been going to for years that has turned up some neat relics but nothing earth shattering but knowing that it dates to the late 1600 I always have hope that sooner or later something good would come up. Friday was that day and it's the 1 thing that I wanted to find since I started detecting. Working the some thick under brush and barely being able to stand I was having no luck other than iron signals when I got a peak 77 then 65 mixed with some iron grunting on the AT Pro. Decided to dig it since it was only the 2nd signal in an hour that had any potential I opened up the ground and swung over and still the same so got out the pin pointer. pulled a few nails out and figured it was a bust but swung over it and clear as a bell 77 and stayed consistent. so went back into the hole with the pin and the target was under a small root at 6 to 8 inches. I managed to work the sandy soil under it and felt something and out comes a small square piece of metal about 2 inches by 2 inches. I took a deep breathe and thought...No way is this what I think it is. At first I could not see anything on it so pulled out a tooth brush and after just a few wipes the dirt fell out of the hole on the top and I made out the word "Porter" and on the bottom it says 1850. I stopped right then and packed up and went home. So far all I did was tooth brush it and use a tooth pick to clean out the number on the tag - #606. According to some research these are super rare. I'm having it evaluated this week by a local expert. I'll update once I hear back and the plan at this point is to get a professional to preserve it. Thanks for reading and HH. 1850_Slave_Tag.JPG
 

Upvote 92

Megalodon

Silver Member
May 13, 2018
2,650
4,374
Maryland
Detector(s) used
White's MXT
Tesoro Cibola
Tesoro Golden Sabre Plus
Garrett ADS Master Hunter 7
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Congrats on that rare slave tag. Happy to be the first to vote for Banner status.
 

Oct 5, 2014
31,886
35,425
Massachusetts
๐Ÿฅ‡ Banner finds
1
๐Ÿ† Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
Garrett: AT Pro, AT Gold & Infinium; Minelab: Explorer SE, II; Simplex; Tesoro: Tejon & Outlaw; White's: V3i
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
Outstanding historical relic recovery! :notworthy:

Banner Vote!
 

A2coins

Gold Member
Dec 20, 2015
33,807
42,606
Ann Arbor
๐Ÿ† Honorable Mentions:
3
Detector(s) used
Equinox 800
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Banner for sure congrats on the new family member Well done
 

Tnmountains

Super Moderator
Staff member
Jan 27, 2009
18,716
11,709
South East Tennessee on Ga, Ala line
๐Ÿฅ‡ Banner finds
1
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Conquistador freq shift
Fisher F75
Garrett AT-Pro
Garet carrot
Neodymium magnets
5' Probe
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Historic find" Most people do not realize that actual authentic tags were ONLY issued in the city of Charleston, South Carolina.When in doubt, consult with the Charleston Museum". Did not find an exact match but am pretty sure you have a very special find.
Congratulations and be sure to post a cleaned up picture for us to see.
Great hunt belated congrats on the 10 month old/
 

OP
OP
S

SCJohn

Jr. Member
May 14, 2016
67
333
Charleston, sc
๐Ÿฅ‡ Banner finds
1
Detector(s) used
Garrett AT Pro, AT propointer
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
Thank you. This was something that I've only heard of someone finding once or twice in and around Charleston. Just knowing that a person's life was tied to this find makes it very humbling to say the least. Research says there may be less than 1000 of these ever made so the likely hood of finding one is so scarce it's almost unbelievable that I found it. Also makes me question other signals in the same area that I skipped over. Going back at some point in the next week to do a slow pass over the entire area again.
 

OP
OP
S

SCJohn

Jr. Member
May 14, 2016
67
333
Charleston, sc
๐Ÿฅ‡ Banner finds
1
Detector(s) used
Garrett AT Pro, AT propointer
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
Thanks for the Banner Vote Meg. My 1st ever.
 

Johncoho

Silver Member
Feb 14, 2014
2,854
7,264
Martinsburg, Pa. in the summer and Apache Junction
๐Ÿ† Honorable Mentions:
2
Detector(s) used
Whites Spectrum XLT, Garrett AT Pro, Macro pinpointer, Garrett carrot pinpointer,
Lesch digger, Nel Tornado coil for ATPro, Garret ATMax with Nel Tornado coil
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
great find and banner all day for me. Just voted Banner.
 

the_mad_cladder

Hero Member
Jan 2, 2015
846
2,381
North Carolina
๐Ÿ† Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
XP Deus with all the coils, MI-6 pinpointer, Ace350 and Garrett pro pointer.
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Wow! Thatโ€™s an awesome find. Iโ€™m voting banner now for sure.
 

gunsil

Silver Member
Dec 27, 2012
3,863
6,204
lower hudson valley, N.Y.
Detector(s) used
safari, ATPro, infinium, old Garrett BFO, Excal, Nox 800
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I voted BANNER!! These are super rare relics and have been faked for the collector market. Finding a real one like this is a fantastic rare find. Dang, that is a GOOD ONE!!
 

Calabash Digger

Gold Member
Apr 18, 2016
5,300
11,756
๐Ÿฅ‡ Banner finds
2
Detector(s) used
XP DEUS II ,XP DEUS, EQUINOX 800, EXCALIBUR II,
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Congrats! I have been looking for one of those...
 

GB1

Gold Member
Jul 12, 2017
7,428
21,863
East TX
๐Ÿฅ‡ Banner finds
1
Detector(s) used
Teknectics eurotek pro
bounty hunter time ranger
bounty hunter quick draw 2
used a teroso compadre.
Primary Interest:
Other
BANNER! really great find
 

dirtlooter

Gold Member
Jun 5, 2014
8,889
13,497
mid western ARK
๐Ÿ† Honorable Mentions:
3
Detector(s) used
XP Deus with 9"LF and 9" HF Coils and 600 Equinox with stock and 6" coils
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
While some may not like what it represents and rightly so, it is part of our history and should be stored and valued as the historical rare piece that it is. awesome find and BANNER worthy
 

xcopperstax

Silver Member
Sep 3, 2018
2,508
4,870
Massachusetts
Detector(s) used
Garrett AT Max
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Thank you. This was something that I've only heard of someone finding once or twice in and around Charleston. Just knowing that a person's life was tied to this find makes it very humbling to say the least. Research says there may be less than 1000 of these ever made so the likely hood of finding one is so scarce it's almost unbelievable that I found it. Also makes me question other signals in the same area that I skipped over. Going back at some point in the next week to do a slow pass over the entire area again.

That's a historically heavy find... one has to ponder what the original wearer went through. Pretty amazing that there may have been only 1000. Perhaps you could link that tag to an actual person and find out their history! Who knows they may have descendants who are alive today.
 

cudamark

Gold Member
Top Banner Poster
Mar 16, 2011
13,223
14,551
San Diego
๐Ÿฅ‡ Banner finds
1
๐Ÿ† Honorable Mentions:
3
Detector(s) used
XP Deus 2, Equinox 800/900, Fisher Impulse AQ, E-Trac, 3 Excal 1000's, White's TM808, VibraProbe, 15" NEL Attack, Mi6, Steath 920ix and 720i scoops, TRX, etc....
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Wow! Talk about a bucket lister! :icon_thumright:
 

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Top