🥇 BANNER Beyond Epic Colonial Hammered Coin Cache!

[smokeythecat]

Or, perhaps call it a spill. How many coins does it take to make a cache anyway? A friend of mine has a nice colonial site which has been totally hammered for years and years and years. At the end of the year I got a HUGE iron signal on the XP Deus, and decided to go for it and dig it. Well, it was a nearly intact colonial hoe. Now that's something you don't see every day. It was about 15" deep. I noticed some shells and charcoal in the hole, so covered it over and determined to come back and dig some more. I did that a couple weeks ago (I really lose track of time these days). In the hole was a little piece of exquisite yet broken late 17th century Venetian glass. The ground was so muddy, and the cat so out of shape, I recovered that and a couple buttons and called it a day and covered the hole back in and left.

View attachment 1674974 View attachment 1674975 These are finds from then and the piece of glass.

Well, the ol' cat was just itching with curiosity as to what was in the hole? There was a lot more metal there, for sure. So my buddy Tommy couldn't go Friday, so I went by myself and started digging the same dirt out...now for the third time. The owner came by and said hi, and the sight of me sitting in what amounted to a mud pit with a newly found piece of the glass had to have him laughing for hours. Well, the first thing out of the hole, didn't want to come out of the hole. I keep prying and banging and banging and prying and finally this big iron thing plopped out of the side and into the bottom.

View attachment 1674976 View attachment 1674978 View attachment IMG_1535.jpg A side plate with frizzen to an extremely old flintlock gun! Amazing! But Wait! There's more! I found a few buttons, late 17th to early 18th style, and a few tiny buttons (which were not buttons) with no shanks. It's coming, hang in there. The oyster shells were huge. Check it out. View attachment 1674979 View attachment IMG_1536.jpg View attachment 1674980 That's my HAND holding it! Bigger than my outstretched hand they be!

Then some pipe stems started falling out of the sidewall, along with some ceramics. I was actually looking for the ceramics, and glass, I wasn't expecting much else. View attachment 1674981 View attachment IMG_1540.jpg View attachment IMG_1541.jpg View attachment 1674982 Redware, Delftware, stoneware, and a piece to a pancake onion bottle.

View attachment IMG_1545.jpg View attachment IMG_1546.jpg

View attachment 1674983 View attachment IMG_1539.jpg At that point I'm excited. I noticed another icky button (not a button) and a grey lead disc pop out, and put them in a pouch. Again, not a lead disc. When I quit, leaving the huge hole open, I started cleaning up stuff.

I had SEVEN HAMMERED COLONIAL COINS, TWO IN SILVER! From one tiny (but huge to me) hole! I had six, then a last one came tumbling out. Including the one, shown below, the old German one, that's EIGHT in 2019.

So Tommy and I went back Saturday (yesterday). The glass and ceramics had disappeared. We started finding "rocks" in a place that should have not had them, and we also detected after we got tired of the hole. Hidden in all my "stuff" were three little square pieces of metal. One was just a square little piece of metal, the second, a late 17th century to early 18th century brass hand made nut and the third - I couldn't believe it! A Spanish 1/2 reale cob! The first one I ever found! Actually these are pretty much firsts of everything.

I got 1 broken buckle, a nice 1575-1700 buckle, and from another spot a couple hundred yards away while just detecting a complete tombac button and broken late 18th century shoe buckle.

OMG! Thank you Lord! If this isn't the best day detecting and digging I have ever had, I do not know what is.

And to boot, one of the rocks looks like a sharpening stone, and the roundish rock I think is an American Indian game ball or other stone. Your comments appreciated. I have a lot more iron, I do not THINK I have the hammer to the gun, but one of those larger pieces looks really odd.

View attachment IMG_1547.jpg View attachment IMG_1542.jpg View attachment IMG_1543.jpg

View attachment 1674993 View attachment IMG_1551.jpg


I hope nothing is upside down. Iphones are not picture friendly for me.

The coins again: View attachment IMG_1531.jpg German 17th Century token or jetton and Charles I Shilling

View attachment 1675001 And since the other one won't load again, Two Charles I rose farthings, one Charles I Sixpence and a 1702-1728 Spanish 1/2 Reale cob, minted in Mexico City. Plus Another copper Charles I something or other.

I can't believe I dug the whole thing. I gave the shilling and token/jetton to Tommy. We only got 1 coin Saturday. Same hole.

SEVEN HAMMERED COINS IN TOTAL, ONE HOLE! View attachment IMG_1540.jpg View attachment IMG_1539.jpg View attachment IMG_1541.jpg View attachment IMG_1535.jpg View attachment IMG_1536.jpg View attachment IMG_1542.jpg View attachment IMG_1547.jpg View attachment IMG_1466.jpg View attachment IMG_1543.jpg

 

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[ARC]

One word...

Stellar.

Well done and then some.

 

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[GopherDaGold]

Congratulations on an epic hunt!

 

[smokeythecat]

Tommy in da' hole! And a friend!

 

[MetalArchSC]

You found this “spill” in Maryland?..... Geez and I moved here.

 

[smokeythecat]

The oldest stuff is in the original 13 colonies primarily along waterways, especially larger ones and in maritime Canada and along the St. Lawrence River. This place has been hit for over 40 years! Even the neighbors dug it!

 

[MrBlueSkyNM]

Holy smokey cats! What an amazing day you had! Congratulations!

 

[CRUSADER]

BIG CONGRATS on that days digs!

 

[Auriemma]

Smokey... You hit the motherlode. One or two is a nice day. But Crikey man! All that out of one hole? Banner!

 

[smokeythecat]

Auriemma, it ain't over, as they say. I think we will start at the edges of the hole, dig another one right next to it, cut a shelf to work from and see which direction it goes. There HAS to be more there. Like the rest of the glass, Westerwald, etc.

 

[tinpan]

Hi , Whats the diameter bore on the Cuttie shards ? 4/64 5/64 6/64 7/64 8/64 9/64 . Your the Archaeologist you should know this. Please let me know. Sorry and the diameter of each piece. Do have a 'Hamlton Tester ? Tp

Do know any of English Navvie Dock Folk Songs I do even the 350 year old ones TP

 

[smokeythecat]

I'll check the bore on the pipe stems. I have some drill bits here...somewhere. Today I'm cleaning up the iron.

 

[landmagnet]

Just amazing !!

 

[dansalata]

wow....congrats!!!stuff dreams are made of...

 

[smokeythecat]

Tinpan, the most common pipe stem bore is 6/64" with the 2nd most common 5/64". In this batch I had no other sizes.

The lock is starting to come around. The lock itself is absolutely flat, no curve to it whatsoever.

View attachment IMG_1554.jpg View attachment IMG_1555.jpg The top of the frizzen is dead flat across it, no curve at all. Length is bout 6.5" or 165 mm. Anyone have an idea what it went to. It LOOKS English to me, sort of but that flat lock and Squared top frizzen makes me think otherwise, and a flintlock, or perhaps a dog lock, not an earlier style. It will clean up more, plus I am going to soak it in water for several weeks to see if there is any salt in it as it was found next to a salt water estuary.

 

[Rubka888]

Whoa, that is crazy! What great finds! Getting hammered in the US! Banner

 

[Steve in PA]

Nice bunch of early relics and coins
I remember when I dug my first cob about 25 years ago. I thought it was a flattened musket ball at first. Turned out to be a thick chunky 2 reale cob.

 

[smokeythecat]

The big shilling size greyish thing from Sunday from house #2 I thought for sure was a shilling or reale, but was a lead disc!

 

[Silvermonkey]

Thank you for sharing this great story, and all of the wonderful pics. Its hard to imagine such an amazing dig. Wow.... Speechless....Congratulations.

 

[smokeythecat]

I cleaned up the lock some more. I think it's a dog lock due to the positioning of the screws. View attachment IMG_1556.jpg

 

[A2coins]

Holy smokes Banner that's it Im gonna send you a cape Well done your killing it lately