Colonial Iron, a bit of a pit, and a LC

[OutdoorAdv]

Got out Sat for a half day and once again, the iron stole the show! The day started slow using my T2 w/5" coil to try and snipe iffy signals from the iron. After an hour I had all iron... lots of nails, the scissors\shears, and a buckle. I found an older section of the pit and decided to open up a 2" x 2" area. Out came the key and the 2 prong fork (too bad its broken), and a few rose head nails and a broken pewter spoon bowl. There was lots of pottery pieces in this section. Frustrated, I switched to me Deus and moved to another area and got a slamm'in signal, popped the plug and 6" down was the 1817 LC. I didnt find this coin because of the Deus, it was not masked and well withing the capabilities of all my other detectors. I had covered this area over and over, but somehow my swings left a gap where this coin was.

A few hours, lots of iron and a couple buttons (drilled shank spun tombac) later and I returned to the LC area to dig some iron and found some more of a pit with three broken bottles in it. I collected all the shards and isolated them in a separate section of my pack so I could glue a bit back together to display. I know NOTHING about bottles, but the bases have pontails and the shapes looked like early-mid 1800's snuff bottles??

The group shot






This iron was a big deal for me. I like iron if you cant tell by all my posts and electrolysis! I had always wanted to find one of these and finally did. It was (no joke) shoulder deep. With iron that deep I was pretty sure it was big and almost gave up after pulling a few big rocks out, but was really glad I didn't.


It was nice to get a LC that was somewhat presentable. This was one solid coin. I was very proud of myself since this was the first coin I was able to tell the variety on all by myself. I noticed an odd distance between the 1 and 8, and I was able to find that its a 1817 Newcomb-11 (1817 Large Cent - Newcomb 11) It's common, but cool that I could actually figure out a variety for once.



Has a nice green color too it too.



Like a true relic hunter, after cleaning it and taking pictures, I sprinkled it with the dirt dust I took off of it! Coin collectors might not like this, but I like displaying these looking like what they are... dug coins! No harm and the dust can wipe right back off. There's something about a green coin, with the dirt contrast, that I think looks incredible. So I was happy to dirty this one back up to toss into my case.



I have a couple more trips in my before the new years, so if things go well, there will be more posts.

Happy hunting and Merry Christmas everyone.

 

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[Steve in PA]

Nice work preserving the iron, and I really like the final look of your large cent.

 

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[jwarner51]

Cool, good luck man.. Some of my best finds ever have been iron. My electrolysis post is more of an "electrolysis 401" to modify an existing setup. I started with something much more simple. Lots of YouTube videos on how to get started in case you don't already have a setup. Simple iron or stainless steel anodes are easier to come by.

Brad

Okay I read it and I've used electrolysis before just not on iron. It seems really simple to do especially for someone who is often building stuff. Thanks for your help and sorry for overunnning this post with my questions! You have some great finds keep it up.

 

[OutdoorAdv]

There's absolutely, positively nothing wrong with digging iron. Iron describes a persons lifestyle generations ago, more then coins can.

Thank you plateau hiker! It really is great to dig... Some of my best finds are iron.

Nice work preserving the iron, and I really like the final look of your large cent.

Thanks Steve! That one sure did come out nice.

 

[doninbrewster]

Love the way the LC came out after you put the dirt dust back on. How did you get it to adhere?

 

[Old Dude]

Thank you for sharing your electrolysis methods. If ever I find a post-worthy piece, I will make use of it! I really like your idea of " dusting " that LC. I would trade all my toasted ones for just one nice one like that. Merry Christmas!

 

[OutdoorAdv]

Thank you for sharing your electrolysis methods. If ever I find a post-worthy piece, I will make use of it! I really like your idea of " dusting " that LC. I would trade all my toasted ones for just one nice one like that. Merry Christmas!

Love the way the LC came out after you put the dirt dust back on. How did you get it to adhere?

Thanks guys! If a coin is solid with a smooth surface (not toasted and rough), I will sometimes use "Coin Care" by Betterbuilt Chemicals. Its like a very light oil. I apply it with a q-tip to get the last of the dirt off the coin. It doesn't change the color of the coin at all. I use it on brass\copper relics sometimes too. Anyway, after it was still damp with the Coin Care, I sprinkled on the dust from the dirt that I removed from it. Then lightly rubbed it with my finger.


This is the only other thing I did this with. After I removed the dirt from this bit boss, it was all the same color and you couldn't really see the US. So I did the same thing with the Coin Care and the dirt I removed from it. It looks much nicer with the dirt back on it.