1652 Massachusetts Pine Tree Threepence and more from virgin 1660 homesite!

[oxbowbarefoot]

What an incredible day at a 1660 virgin homesite in Massachusetts! My first find was a huge Brown Bess musket ball. Nice way to get the day started. My next target was the best find of the day, and one of my best finds ever, a 1652 Pine Tree Threepence! It's either a Noe 36 or a Noe 37 variety. Unfortunately the tree side is tough to make a definitive call. Either way, it's well over a $1000 coin��. Then came a sweet George I Farthing. Next find was an Abraham Lincoln related thing, not sure what it is yet. Right next to that was a colonial gold broach. After an early ox knob and a a bale seal came a great goulcher lock or dog lock off a musket or rifle. All in all, a fantastic day!

Thank you Dr. R.M. Gramly for the tip on the location!

Updates:
The Pine Tree Threepence is a Noe 36/Salmon 2-B, Rarity 4, only 75-200 known!
The "dog lock" was actually just part of an old cap gun, darn!
The Lincoln item is a ferrotype campaign button from the 1860 election

 

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[oxbowbarefoot]

So, under lighted magnification, I found a ultra tiny hand engraved inscription on the brooch. I don't know exactly what it says, but it looks like 1545 or 1845. Also, under magnification, the brooch almost looks like it is a very heavy gold plate or it has a mix or rose gold in it. It did pass the 22k acid test, but I might not have got under a layer of heavy plate. What do you guys think? I really can't tell but you can see what I mean in the pictures. This is under 60x magnification, not bad for pics from an iPhone through a $3 hand lense.

 

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[Silver Tree Chaser]

View attachment 1295858 So, under lighted magnification, I found a ultra tiny hand engraved inscription on the brooch. I don't know exactly what it says, but it looks like 1545 or 1845. Also, under magnification, the brooch almost looks like it is a very heavy gold plate or it has a mix or rose gold in it. It did pass the 22k acid test, but I might not have got under a layer of heavy plate. What do you guys think? I really can't tell but you can see what I mean in the pictures. This is under 60x magnification, not bad for pics from an iPhone through a $3 hand lense.





View attachment 1295857

Oxbow – It appears to me that the pendant has some delamination occurring that would certainly date it after the Colonial-Period; however, I’m no expert on the subject, but I did consult some jewelers with expertise when I found an 18th century gold cufflink a few years back. I was told that gold jewelry of the Colonial Period was made of nearly pure gold by melting down gold coins (I think some copper was added to prevent the piece from being to soft).

If it’s not what you hoped, you’ll have to make due with another boring Mass Silver coin. You have my sympathies.

 

[oxbowbarefoot]

Oxbow – It appears to me that the pendant has some delamination occurring that would certainly date it after the Colonial-Period; however, I’m no expert on the subject, but I did consult some jewelers with expertise when I found an 18th century gold cufflink a few years back. I was told that gold jewelry of the Colonial Period was made of nearly pure gold by melting down gold coins (I think some copper was added to prevent the piece from being to soft).

If it’s not what you hoped, you’ll have to make due with another boring Mass Silver coin. You have my sympathies.

I think I'm going to have to concede that the brooch probably is more recent than I originally hoped. The delamination is not visible under 10x, but it clearly is under 60x. I'll take your advice and just settle for the Threepence and handful of coppers. I'll dig a little deeper next time.

 

[Silver Tree Chaser]

Thanks for the thoughtful comments. The Threepence was found in a wooded lot adjacent to the 1660 homesite. The lawn is surrounded by woods on both sides and the concentration of early finds increased with proximity to the edge of the lawn. The Threepence was about 4 or 5 inches down. The soil at this site destroys coppers and keeps silver looking lustrous. The deepest finds from the site were a small or knob at about 12", and the William III at about 10". I found a silver Washington quarter at about 8 inches. I imagine root action has altered the sink rate for items. The Threepence is so thin, I can't imagine it ever making it too deep without heavy vegetation decaying on top.

If I can find my acid test I might check the brooch myself, otherwise I'll bring it to a jeweler sometime this week.

Oxbow - Thanks for the details on recovery depths for the Mass Silver and other finds from the site. Your reply was more or less what I expected, but it's good to get confirmation on such important details. In regards to recent replies along with contributions from Ahab, I believe that site conditions is the biggest obstacle in the recovery of Mass Silver. I know plenty of 17th century sites, but the early colonial finds are too deep or site conditions are not conducive for productive searching. I recently got permissions to search a huge cellar hole dating back to the 1670’s. It took me five years to gain permission from the property owner. When I first located the site five years ago, the site it was untouched. Now after securing permission, I finally returned only to discover that bottle diggers and others had trespassed onto the site, ransacking the entire area even though the property owner had marked the site with NO TRESPASSING signs. Sadly, there are people out there without scruples and willing to take short cuts and any other measures to get what they want. Sorry — I had to vent. I’m thinking about sifting in the bottom of the cellar hole. Perhaps it will pay off? I tried detecting around the foundation and all the trenches left behind by all the digging, but there’s nothing but iron (and broken discarded bottles) all over the place. I’ve had a bit of luck digging the builder’s trench of one house site years ago, but I have not been able to duplicate that experience anywhere else.

 

[HEAVYMETALNUT]

amazing coin Jason! should be up on the banner.i'm voting!

 

[Ahab8]

Oxbow - Thanks for the details on recovery depths for the Mass Silver and other finds from the site. Your reply was more or less what I expected, but it's good to get confirmation on such important details. In regards to recent replies along with contributions from Ahab, I believe that site conditions is the biggest obstacle in the recovery of Mass Silver. I know plenty of 17th century sites, but the early colonial finds are too deep or site conditions are not conducive for productive searching. I recently got permissions to search a huge cellar hole dating back to the 1670’s. It took me five years to gain permission from the property owner. When I first located the site five years ago, the site it was untouched. Now after securing permission, I finally returned only to discover that bottle diggers and others had trespassed onto the site, ransacking the entire area even though the property owner had marked the site with NO TRESPASSING signs. Sadly, there are people out there without scruples and willing to take short cuts and any other measures to get what they want. Sorry — I had to vent. I’m thinking about sifting in the bottom of the cellar hole. Perhaps it will pay off? I tried detecting around the foundation and all the trenches left behind by all the digging, but there’s nothing but iron (and broken discarded bottles) all over the place. I’ve had a bit of luck digging the builder’s trench of one house site years ago, but I have not been able to duplicate that experience anywhere else.

You guys have no idea how often I wonder if there's a Mass silver just out of reach. The other stupid thing I do while I'm driving is ask myself how many Mass silvers are in the ground in whatever town I'm in. Ya I know I've got some mental issues lol....and I've been up since 3 am working in Manchester. I wish I had a built in alarm system that would alert me every time I'm within 800 feet of a Mass silver. Then I could just excavate the entire area until I found it. Ok I'm going to bed. Pretty sure I'm going to regret these delirious confessions. But just maybe you guys are as crazy as me

 

[oxbowbarefoot]

amazing coin Jason! should be up on the banner.i'm voting!

Thanks, Dave! That means a lot coming from someone with as much colonial experience as you!

 

[oxbowbarefoot]

You guys have no idea how often I wonder if there's a Mass silver just out of reach. The other stupid thing I do while I'm driving is ask myself how many Mass silvers are in the ground in whatever town I'm in. Ya I know I've got some mental issues lol....and I've been up since 3 am working in Manchester. I wish I had a built in alarm system that would alert me every time I'm within 800 feet of a Mass silver. Then I could just excavate the entire area until I found it. Ok I'm going to bed. Pretty sure I'm going to regret these delirious confessions. But just maybe you guys are as crazy as me

I daydream about having Magneto powers...

 

[The Seeker]

Now that is a great day of detecting! I'm sure the next time out there you will find a few more surprises......!!! Say Hi to Gramly from Western New York.....Congrats!

 

[Troller]

I'd be willing to bet quite a few of us have similar ways of systematically working sites. As the saying goes, luck favors the prepared!

As mentioned in a recent post my village has just passed a ordinance that allows detectorist to detect in village parks. The thing is they want you to map where you dig. They are after just an approximate area, however I have been using the trimble outdoors app to mark where I dig. The app is really useful for this because you can mark the location, include a snapshot of what you collected and enter field notes to your hearts desire. The added bonus is that it's free! The paid version has a huge variety of map overlays as well and you can track your path. You can also save your outing in the event that you have to leave and then pick up your search where you left off at a later date. I really recommend this app for field notes. Of course it can't replace the look and feel of a putting pen to paper in a journal but it's a nice tool to have for on the fly record keeping.

 

[oxbowbarefoot]

As mentioned in a recent post my village has just passed a ordinance that allows detectorist to detect in village parks. The thing is they want you to map where you dig. They are after just an approximate area, however I have been using the trimble outdoors app to mark where I dig. The app is really useful for this because you can mark the location, include a snapshot of what you collected and enter field notes to your hearts desire. The added bonus is that it's free! The paid version has a huge variety of map overlays as well and you can track your path. You can also save your outing in the event that you have to leave and then pick up your search where you left off at a later date. I really recommend this app for field notes. Of course it can't replace the look and feel of a putting pen to paper in a journal but it's a nice tool to have for on the fly record keeping.

That's a pretty cool program. It's nice when governing authorities are amenable to compromise. I'll have to check out that app as well.

Now that is a great day of detecting! I'm sure the next time out there you will find a few more surprises......!!! Say Hi to Gramly from Western New York.....Congrats!

Seeker, I'll definitely say hello to RMG for you. We usually speak weekly.

 

[Charl]

Wow! Wow! And one more, Wow, for good measure....

 

[Scrappy]

Banner banner Bo banner
Banana fanna fo fanner
Bee bi bo banner! Baaaaaaaanner!!

 

[Kindle Farmers]

The Treasure Hunting class voted unanimously to nominate Jason's 3-pence for the Banner!

 

[HomeGuardDan]

Killer...I vote Banner in a heart beat!

 

[oxbowbarefoot]

The Treasure Hunting class voted unanimously to nominate Jason's 3-pence for the Banner!

I promise that I didn't bribe them with better grades . Seriously though, you guys will make start making some great finds once we are able to get rid of the snow! Here's to 4th quarter Treasure Hunting class (that's root beer)

 

[oxbowbarefoot]

Killer...I vote Banner in a heart beat!

Thanks, Dan!

 

[Ahab8]

Hey Ox that's an AMAZING coin! Silver coin in fact with a date of 1652! Would that be like Mass Bay Colony related? If so that's one of the most incredible pieces of history from an incredibly early time in New England's history. You may not realize this but New England and Massachusettes history stretch back into the early 1600s. In 1620 the Mayflower landed and a small colony was settled. That silver coin is actually the very first ever minted in what's now known as America. Could a coin possibly be any cooler or older or more incredibly rich in history than that? I think not my friend. Well I'm glad I could share this knowledge with you so yourself and others know just how truly incredible this silver coin from the 1600s truly is. you have a wonderful Friday buddy.

 

[Dirtwisher]

Abe - I think a lot of people learned something there! Maybe enough to put it up top where an old purse with some 2 cent stamps in it was last year ;-). Just maybe.

 

[Scrappy]

Hey Ox that's an AMAZING coin! Silver coin in fact with a date of 1652! Would that be like Mass Bay Colony related? If so that's one of the most incredible pieces of history from an incredibly early time in New England's history. You may not realize this but New England and Massachusettes history stretch back into the early 1600s. In 1620 the Mayflower landed and a small colony was settled. That silver coin is actually the very first ever minted in what's now known as America. Could a coin possibly be any cooler or older or more incredibly rich in history than that? I think not my friend. Well I'm glad I could share this knowledge with you so yourself and others know just how truly incredible this silver coin from the 1600s truly is. you have a wonderful Friday buddy.

Agreed. On our side of the pond it's easy for folks to forget, or not think about, how difficult it is to find any 1600's coins - much less a silver one. Now I've found 6 1600's coins, 5 copper and one silver. A cob, which is extremely difficult to find in itself.

Now look at a Massachusetts Silver of any kind. That's much (500x?) rarer that my incredibly difficult to find cob. Now Oxbow's coin is rare for even a Massachusetts silver, which makes it much-rarer-than-a-regular-mass-silver-which-is-500-times-rarer -than-my-incredibly-difficult-to-find-cob-in-which-its-rare-to-find-any-1600's-coin...Phew!

The number is so high that I don't think people can fathom the amount. Like our national debt.

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