🥇 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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[Trezurehunter]

Great finds Smokey ! I think I might have gone and gotten myself "hammered" after digging all those nice coins, and I don't even drink !

 

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[smokeythecat]

Yeah, I don't drink either. Gets me sick.

 

[smokeythecat]

Bump for a pal.

 

[jeff of pa]

Nice Finds Smokey !
I Fixed the Pics the wouldn't open.

Sometimes Double posting pics side by side
Or changing the title works to fix that issue.

Any-who Because you had so many great finds there was no particular 1
that could be chosen. that Hole is definitely a Banner Dig

 

[GeoW]

Banner.. and a banner for the Bald Eagle as well!

g

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Congratulations on achieving your 7th BANNER smokey!
I very much enjoyed reading about your finds.

The Deus is an amazing machine!

Dave

 

[smokeythecat]

Thanks Jeff of PA. The problem photos were from an I phone 8. I just got a new camera, the same one Worldtalker uses (we contacted each other and I went for it). Going to buy a squirrel feeder hopefully today.

GeoW, hopefully next time I can get a better eagle picture. When I was a kid, they were no where to be found, now there is a nest on my residential street.

Antiquarian, thank you. It is so exciting just getting this stuff out of the ground...and the lock, as stated before is absolutely a DOG LOCK which was earlier than the common use of the flintlock rifle.

 

[Calabash Digger]

That is very nice there.....

 

[63bkpkr]

Smokeythecat, what a special post! It gives an example of what can be accomplished when a person gives some attention to what they are seeing and then expending the energy and time to give it all their attention. It shows what trying can do! What a great read, thank you for sharing!...........63bkpkr

 

[ShovelinDave]

WOW...Sweet Jesus... and one more... Amazing!!! I get excited when I start finding flat buttons. I can only imagine your excitement in a small cache of hammered coins and other relics. Congratulations on yet another Banner Smokey. SD

 

[rock]

Great finds, congrats on the banner

 

[smokeythecat]

Thank you. It took four days to dig that little pit. First two, I was just "guessing". I had to fill it in both days. Day 3 I had permission to leave it open over night. Day 4 Tommybuckets came and helped. He's the one in the hole. The best items were found on day 2 and 3.

 

[PetesPockets55]

Fantastic dig. Congratulations on another epic Banner.

My apologies if it was discussed, as I didn't read through everything, but do you think this was a burn pit since I think I remember you saying there was charcoal(?) in the beginning?

 

[NJKLAGT]

Holy smokes, Smokey! Congratulations! What an amazing discovery.

It's always so strange when you find just one piece/shard of something. Because, if they were throwing out a broken cup or plate or bottle, which would be very sharp and a nightmare to step on, you'd think they'd do a better job at making sure every single piece made it into the hole. They must have had bad aim back then, haha. Those shards you found are such a tease!

 

[smokeythecat]

It was a small burn pit, but I'm 90% sure if we go in through either side, more of the pottery will be there.

 

[NJKLAGT]

Yeah, if the owner will let you, maybe you should dig like, a 15' x 15' square or something, using this hole as the center point. There's gotta be more!

 

[smokeythecat]

We will take it slow. When we left, we made absolutely sure no one would even know it was there, and even decorated it with sticks and leaves to make sure! It was so tastefully decorated!

 

[gold panner]

awesome finds! congrats

 

[Kona Koma]

Nice pictures and tremendous finds.

 

[yaxthri]

Holysmokes

I'd even say "smokey's holes"! Hahaha.

Fantastic finds for you Smokey and a well deserved banner, Congrats!