Don in SJ
Silver Member
- May 20, 2005
- 4,931
- 832
- Detector(s) used
- MINELAB SE Pro
- Primary Interest:
- All Treasure Hunting
The weather in South Jersey was cool this morning and for the first time in awhile that I had a chance to go out detecting, so off I went this morning. I wanted to detect at a place with very little underbrush/grass to prevent the ticks from having a field day and had just the right place in mind!
An isolated old (mid 1700s) sawmill site that I hunted twice before this year, but found no buttons or old coins, but did get three buckles, (1700s) so I knew there was still a chance for some more 1700 era relics.
I hunted for over an hour and almost no signals at all, the site is white sugar sand so digging was no problem, but lack of targets was for sure. I was about ready to think this might be a hunt with nothing to bring home when I finally got a good high tone signal on the XS and I knew it was a coin, but was it an old one or a drop by a hunter.
To my delight, despite the copper only being about 4 inches down in the loose sand, it was an oldies. I recognized right away by the ribbon design on the one side and what appeared to be a smooth reverse side that it was another typically worn down, long in use, William III Halfpenny (1695-1701). Now my hunt seemed to be a very nice one indeed.
I did a thorough slow scan in the immediate are of where the William III was found and got another reading, that was much deeper but was not a coin. It was a very nice mid 1700s two piece, what we call "blowhole" button, and a rather large one at that! (22.5mm).
Now this was very close two where I dug a 1700s knee buckle a couple of months ago, so I knew I was in an area to really go slow. Well, it paid off, I got a reading that was a bit junky but by its depth I was sure it was going to be another old relic. It was, a very nice flower design cufflink! But the shank was not broken so that meant the link holding the two cufflinks together broke so there was a possibility of the other half being close by. Yes, it was, about two feet away I got the identical type of signal and now had my complete set of cufflinks. I spent some time hoping to find the joining link but to no avail.
To finish off the hunt, for then next 15 minutes I did a thorough search pattern around all the bushes and trees near where the relics were and did not get anymore diggable readings until I started to head back to the truck. About 20 feet from the area where I got the previous finds, I got another good target, not sure what it was going to be by the reading and tone but was pleasantly surprised to see a unbroken and made of high quality pewter, a Demitasse type Spoon! This spoon is tiny but I consider it along with the cufflinks the find of the day and possibly one of my best spoons ever found. It appears to be complete, I am not sure of the age of it but based on the appearance and the other relics found it must be also mid to late 1700s. My find of the day...........
So overall, all the finds appear to be Rev War era or earlier, unless a visitor lost something later, but the sawmill site was abandoned in the late 1700s for a bigger one on a nearby stream, thus the lack of many targets.
The site is fairly large but a semi-desert like area, if anybody ever seen the NJ Pinebarrens, and the white sandy areas, with scrubby underbush, well that was this site......... A very enjoyable two hour hunt today, good for the month now!
An isolated old (mid 1700s) sawmill site that I hunted twice before this year, but found no buttons or old coins, but did get three buckles, (1700s) so I knew there was still a chance for some more 1700 era relics.
I hunted for over an hour and almost no signals at all, the site is white sugar sand so digging was no problem, but lack of targets was for sure. I was about ready to think this might be a hunt with nothing to bring home when I finally got a good high tone signal on the XS and I knew it was a coin, but was it an old one or a drop by a hunter.
To my delight, despite the copper only being about 4 inches down in the loose sand, it was an oldies. I recognized right away by the ribbon design on the one side and what appeared to be a smooth reverse side that it was another typically worn down, long in use, William III Halfpenny (1695-1701). Now my hunt seemed to be a very nice one indeed.
I did a thorough slow scan in the immediate are of where the William III was found and got another reading, that was much deeper but was not a coin. It was a very nice mid 1700s two piece, what we call "blowhole" button, and a rather large one at that! (22.5mm).
Now this was very close two where I dug a 1700s knee buckle a couple of months ago, so I knew I was in an area to really go slow. Well, it paid off, I got a reading that was a bit junky but by its depth I was sure it was going to be another old relic. It was, a very nice flower design cufflink! But the shank was not broken so that meant the link holding the two cufflinks together broke so there was a possibility of the other half being close by. Yes, it was, about two feet away I got the identical type of signal and now had my complete set of cufflinks. I spent some time hoping to find the joining link but to no avail.
To finish off the hunt, for then next 15 minutes I did a thorough search pattern around all the bushes and trees near where the relics were and did not get anymore diggable readings until I started to head back to the truck. About 20 feet from the area where I got the previous finds, I got another good target, not sure what it was going to be by the reading and tone but was pleasantly surprised to see a unbroken and made of high quality pewter, a Demitasse type Spoon! This spoon is tiny but I consider it along with the cufflinks the find of the day and possibly one of my best spoons ever found. It appears to be complete, I am not sure of the age of it but based on the appearance and the other relics found it must be also mid to late 1700s. My find of the day...........
So overall, all the finds appear to be Rev War era or earlier, unless a visitor lost something later, but the sawmill site was abandoned in the late 1700s for a bigger one on a nearby stream, thus the lack of many targets.
The site is fairly large but a semi-desert like area, if anybody ever seen the NJ Pinebarrens, and the white sandy areas, with scrubby underbush, well that was this site......... A very enjoyable two hour hunt today, good for the month now!
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