Hello TNet,
Well, last hunt I was out with my diggin buddy Shanegalang and he had a great day, raking in Spanish Silver #15 for the year for us.
His post and the video are here: http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/todays-finds/323381-15-spanish-silvers-year-so-far.html
But I'll post a photo on this thread of the 1806 Half Real:
Well, I had only dug 5 buttons that day and hunted hard to try and come up with something good before I left, but no luck...or so I thought.
The buttons stayed in my pouch for several days until I could get a chance to clean them up and investigate. One of the flat buttons is silvered, and looks like it had a circle in the center with some sort of a design at one time. I thought this one might turn out to be something, but not certain that it is anything significant.
I cleaned up the chunks of lead and was surprised to find a fired minieball hiding amongst the junque.
Then I started cleaning the flat buttons. Two were thin types, which I felt certain were quality marked British-made examples, as they almost always are. I was right. Nothing great there. Then the silver one I cleaned with aluminum jelly. Turned out fairly well. Then a ball button, and the back of a second ball button. Then I came to a domed one-piece. As I started to toothpick it, I thought I could see a design. I handed it to DiggerGirl, and she said "It's an eagle!" I took the button and put it under magnification and sure enough could see the tops of the eagle's legs, wings, and neck. The design is very faint for some reason--perhaps this button was poorly struck, or very worn.
The backmark is quite clear, but doesn't match anything I can find in Tice or Albert's books. It is L.HAYDEN & SCOVILL * The "N" in "HAYDEN" is backwards. The button is 19mm in diameter. Thanks to Kuger for the link and CannonballGuy for the info posted there. The button is an 1821-26 Artillery Button. The link is here: http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/what/267800-military-button-help.html
Here is a photo of my finds:
And the front and back of the one-piece, convex Eagle:
Best Wishes,
Buckles
Well, last hunt I was out with my diggin buddy Shanegalang and he had a great day, raking in Spanish Silver #15 for the year for us.
His post and the video are here: http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/todays-finds/323381-15-spanish-silvers-year-so-far.html
But I'll post a photo on this thread of the 1806 Half Real:
Well, I had only dug 5 buttons that day and hunted hard to try and come up with something good before I left, but no luck...or so I thought.
The buttons stayed in my pouch for several days until I could get a chance to clean them up and investigate. One of the flat buttons is silvered, and looks like it had a circle in the center with some sort of a design at one time. I thought this one might turn out to be something, but not certain that it is anything significant.
I cleaned up the chunks of lead and was surprised to find a fired minieball hiding amongst the junque.
Then I started cleaning the flat buttons. Two were thin types, which I felt certain were quality marked British-made examples, as they almost always are. I was right. Nothing great there. Then the silver one I cleaned with aluminum jelly. Turned out fairly well. Then a ball button, and the back of a second ball button. Then I came to a domed one-piece. As I started to toothpick it, I thought I could see a design. I handed it to DiggerGirl, and she said "It's an eagle!" I took the button and put it under magnification and sure enough could see the tops of the eagle's legs, wings, and neck. The design is very faint for some reason--perhaps this button was poorly struck, or very worn.
The backmark is quite clear, but doesn't match anything I can find in Tice or Albert's books. It is L.HAYDEN & SCOVILL * The "N" in "HAYDEN" is backwards. The button is 19mm in diameter. Thanks to Kuger for the link and CannonballGuy for the info posted there. The button is an 1821-26 Artillery Button. The link is here: http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/what/267800-military-button-help.html
Here is a photo of my finds:
And the front and back of the one-piece, convex Eagle:
Best Wishes,
Buckles
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I found the exact same button a number of years ago, worn, but in pretty decent shape. Congrats also for #15 Spanish silver for the year!!
