New Site Investigations – 1850 Halfpenny

[ANTIQUARIAN]

The other day while driving along our newest toll highway east of Toronto I spotted a concrete well cap in a field, so yesterday morning I decided to check it out. I hiked a half mile from a side road through a field to get to it and all I found for my efforts was a horseshoe. The next site I wanted to investigate was a farm field where I’d seen archeologists sifting dirt last fall. The region where I live is planning on widening the road in this area, which is the reason for the Arkie dig. Walking onto the site, which is currently planted in soybeans, I could see evidence of at least three 2’ x 2’ test holes. I could only detect a small section of the area because I didn’t want to damage the crop which is ready to be harvested. Almost immediately I found four spoons, these were likely dropped by field workers sitting eating their lunches close to the entrance of the field. My next find was a flat button, then as I was making my way towards the exit, I found an 1850 Upper Canada Halfpenny.

Silver-plated spoon with markers mark visible...

"McGlashan-Clarke Co., Ltd. (McG.C.Co)
Founded by Lee McGlashan and Edward G. Clarke
Port Colborne then Niagara Falls, ON, Canada 1906-c. 1950
This company was the first manufacturer of silverplate in Canada.
It was also the primary manufacturer of dinnerware for Eaton's department stores in Canada, which it manufactured under the brand name 'Haddon Plate'."

The site has pottery and glass fragments sprinkled through the soil, consequently a return visit to search for a homestead is in order following the harvest.

Thanks very much for looking,
Dave

 

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[RVRoamer73]

Nice investigation on the area you found. The explanation on the spoons sounds like a likely happening. The half penny find is another reason to when the chance arises to get back in there to pull some more nice keepers. Congrats on your finds.

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Nice investigation on the area you found. The explanation on the spoons sounds like a likely happening. The half penny find is another reason to when the chance arises to get back in there to pull some more nice keepers. Congrats on your finds.

Thanks for your post Patriot.
I get the feeling as well based on the what I found yesterday, that this site has seen more activity then just farming.
My only hope is that a homestead is located on one of the high spots.
Dave

 

[Rookster]

Nice finds

 

[Trezurehunter]

Very nice Bank Token.

 

[xcopperstax]

That half penny looks pretty nice congrats!

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Nice finds

Thanks Rook.

Very nice Bank Token.

Thank you Trezurehunter!

That half penny looks pretty nice congrats!

Thanks very much for your post Sir.

 

[diggingthe1]

Sure is nice seeing the older things you find. I hope we have a warm fall for hunting!

 

[ToddsPoint]

The field looks like it is soy beans that are about ready. You shouldn't have too long of a wait. Our beans are not quite that far along so maybe another 2 weeks. Can't wait, bean fields are great to hunt. Gary

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Sure is nice seeing the older things you find. I hope we have a warm fall for hunting!

Thanks very much for your post and for your well wishes diggingthe1.
As I'm sure you're well aware, if we don't investigate our hunches we'll never know what we might have missed.

It sounds like you live in a town rich in history...

"In August 1899 the entire business district was destroyed in a five-hour fire. The town had about 18,000 residents at the time. As a result, many of the historic buildings date to 1899, including the St. Victor Roman Catholic church, the First Baptist Church of Victor, and the Victor Hotel."


Hope you didn't get any of that snow my friends up in Calgary, received this weekend.
Dave

The field looks like it is soy beans that are about ready. You shouldn't have too long of a wait. Our beans are not quite that far along so maybe another 2 weeks. Can't wait, bean fields are great to hunt. Gary

Good morning Gary,
Yes, the beans in our area are starting to come off. This morning I'm heading to Eastern Ontario on business, I'll drive by this site again on Friday to see if the beans have been harvested, If so, I'll detect it again on Sunday morning.
I'm meeting up with a buddy on Thursday morning south of Ottawa and weather permitting, we'll get onto some old settlement sites.

Best of luck to you this fall Gary,
Dave

 

[Hawks88]

Dave you always seem to sniff out some good stuff and you got some real nice ones this time. The half penny looks to be in great condition. Well done and congrats.

 

[montcalm]

Glad to see your post Dave with always some nice pict. Nice coin big boy to find

 

[silverfreak]

Nice hunt...good stuff! This place was more than a farm, for sure.

 

[Digger RJ]

Nice!!! Congrats!!!

 

[A2coins]

Great find my friend always wondered what a half penny was used for

 

[smallfoot]

Sure fire way of telling you to go back! Nice relics and the token is cool!

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Dave you always seem to sniff out some good stuff and you got some real nice ones this time. The half penny looks to be in great condition. Well done and congrats.

Thank you Hawks, I'm looking forward to getting back there in the next week or two.
Hope everything is going well for you in the Niagara Region.
Dave

Glad to see your post Dave with always some nice pict. Nice coin big boy to find

Merci Denis!
The Halfpenny was a nice surprise considering how small an area I had available to detect there.

Hope you're having a good year in Levis, you always made some great finds mon ami!
Dave

Nice hunt...good stuff! This place was more than a farm, for sure.

Thanks for your post Bryce.
I get that feeling as well. All of these finds came from an area 5' wide x 20' long.
I can just imagine what's hiding out there under the beans.
Dave

Nice!!! Congrats!!!

Thanks Randy!

Great find my friend always wondered what a half penny was used for

Thanks very much Tommy.
It obviously wasn't worth a whole lot, because I find a lot of these coins that were made from 1850 - 57.


Bank of Upper Canada, Halfpenny token, 1850

"The Bank of Upper Canada was established in 1821 in York (Toronto, Ontario) under a charter granted by the Province of Upper Canada in 1819. When Upper and Lower Canada were united in 1841 to form the Province of Canada, it was decided that only the bank that held the government accounts should have the right to issue copper tokens. This privilege was enjoyed by the Bank of Montreal until 1848. Following the passage of the Rebellion Losses Bill in 1849, rioting in Montreal led to the destruction of the legislative buildings and the capital of the province was transferred to Toronto. As a result, the right to issue tokens passed to the Bank of Upper Canada.

Between 1850 and 1857 the Bank of Upper Canada issued a series of handsome penny and halfpenny copper tokens. The obverse of a penny token issued in 1850 is shown and features a St. George and the dragon motif encircled by the legend BANK OF UPPER CANADA and the date. The St. George motif was designed by Benedetto Pistrucci for the British sovereign of 1817 and is considered to be the definitive representation of the theme. The One Penny token is about the size of a Canadian Silver Dollar; the Half Penny is about the size of our Canadian Half Dollar."

Sure fire way of telling you to go back! Nice relics and the token is cool!

Thanks very much smallfoot!
Yup, when you find that many relics in such a small area you just have to investigate further.
Dave