Hello All,
Got out with Shangderthal for a three day dig. Work schedules had beaten us down until we just said screw it and took time off. Glad we did! Enjoy the video!
First off I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that Shangison dug a Seated on a solo hunt right before our three day adventure. This Seated was shy and didn't hold still for its photo to be taken, and that's why it's blurry
1854-O Half Dime.
My prelude to the three day dig was going out in the field (breaking my rule about bringing a backup detector always) and finding out that my F75 wouldn't ground balance and was going haywire!
So that day I did nothing but eyeball, since I was too far away from home and didn't want it to be a wasted trip. Was upset that the detector broke--furious! The old Fisher 1266-X I own has never had a problem since it was purchased in 1991. This F75 hasn't lasted 5 years. 
So I'm using my wife's detector right now and the F75 is at First TX and useless.
I did find a few things though--including this nice cobalt blue laudanum bottle and the neat red glass "paste jewel"
Anyhow, back to our three day marathon dig...
Things started off slowly on day 1 with flat buttons, musketballs, and Shang got a nice intact jew's harp.
Eventually eyeballed a a "Russian Blue" trade bead--his first one ever.
Then he dug an anchor button which is either an early Navy button or a Jacksonian Button. He also dug a nice decorative civilian "flower button."
I was lucky enough to dig a couple of pocket watch winders. The spade shaped one appears to have a man's bust on it and two crossed flags on one side.
I also dug this whatzit. It says E. COUDRAY A PARIS on both sides, and it appears to be something to do with an antebellum perfume bottle (lead seal of some sort--were perfume bottles sealed??).
I also dug this interesting pewter piece that appears to be a bird's nest full of eggs. No clue what this is either! Help is appreciated!
We dug a lot of targets on Day 1, but it was slow and gradual--button here, musketball there, brass or lead... When day 2 started it was my turn to find a trade bead.
Then out of the blue I dug a BEAUTIFUL 1840-O half dime!
Would be super nice to find the rare variety of this year and mintmark sometime (1840-O w/drapery)--especially if it were in this condition!
Then toward the end of the day, I dug a worn half real--1782!!
I took no more than 15 steps--and lo and behold I dug another one, right in a pile of fire ants!! The second one was worn smooth, but colonial silver is colonial silver! (sorry, no photo of it in the dirt--the ants were all over me!)
Between picking up around 100 clay pipe stem fragments, I eyeballed my first Native American artifact ever found in Louisiana. (There isn't workable stone down here--just lots of silt and mud--so the native peoples must have traded for stone to make tools, and the stone must have come from a long distance away). This appears to be a hafted tool or point of some sort!
Day 3 started well before dawn and by 5:45am we were in the field. I literally got out of the truck, turned on my detector, took three steps, and flopped out a Spanish Silver! ANOTHER 1782!!
That's a way to start a morning! As we say down here, anything else I could dig the whole day would be lagniappe!!
Things got pretty normal after that... flat button...musketball... the usual.
Then I dug a three piece button that I thought might be a Jacksonian button--BUT I strongly suspected it was a Henry Clay campaign button!
My hunch was right! It was my SECOND Henry Clay button from the 1844 presidential election (dug my first one three years ago).
Then right at the closing bell, Shanguloid flopped out a Spanish silver of his own!! 1807 Half Real!
Was quite a hunt--and the finds filled up nearly an entire case each!
**MORE PHOTOS IN FIRST REPLY BELOW**
Got out with Shangderthal for a three day dig. Work schedules had beaten us down until we just said screw it and took time off. Glad we did! Enjoy the video!
First off I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that Shangison dug a Seated on a solo hunt right before our three day adventure. This Seated was shy and didn't hold still for its photo to be taken, and that's why it's blurry
1854-O Half Dime.
My prelude to the three day dig was going out in the field (breaking my rule about bringing a backup detector always) and finding out that my F75 wouldn't ground balance and was going haywire!
So that day I did nothing but eyeball, since I was too far away from home and didn't want it to be a wasted trip. Was upset that the detector broke--furious! The old Fisher 1266-X I own has never had a problem since it was purchased in 1991. This F75 hasn't lasted 5 years. So I'm using my wife's detector right now and the F75 is at First TX and useless. I did find a few things though--including this nice cobalt blue laudanum bottle and the neat red glass "paste jewel"
Anyhow, back to our three day marathon dig...
Things started off slowly on day 1 with flat buttons, musketballs, and Shang got a nice intact jew's harp.
Eventually eyeballed a a "Russian Blue" trade bead--his first one ever.
Then he dug an anchor button which is either an early Navy button or a Jacksonian Button. He also dug a nice decorative civilian "flower button."
I was lucky enough to dig a couple of pocket watch winders. The spade shaped one appears to have a man's bust on it and two crossed flags on one side.
I also dug this whatzit. It says E. COUDRAY A PARIS on both sides, and it appears to be something to do with an antebellum perfume bottle (lead seal of some sort--were perfume bottles sealed??).
I also dug this interesting pewter piece that appears to be a bird's nest full of eggs. No clue what this is either! Help is appreciated!
We dug a lot of targets on Day 1, but it was slow and gradual--button here, musketball there, brass or lead... When day 2 started it was my turn to find a trade bead.
Then out of the blue I dug a BEAUTIFUL 1840-O half dime!
Would be super nice to find the rare variety of this year and mintmark sometime (1840-O w/drapery)--especially if it were in this condition!
Then toward the end of the day, I dug a worn half real--1782!!
I took no more than 15 steps--and lo and behold I dug another one, right in a pile of fire ants!! The second one was worn smooth, but colonial silver is colonial silver! (sorry, no photo of it in the dirt--the ants were all over me!)
Between picking up around 100 clay pipe stem fragments, I eyeballed my first Native American artifact ever found in Louisiana. (There isn't workable stone down here--just lots of silt and mud--so the native peoples must have traded for stone to make tools, and the stone must have come from a long distance away). This appears to be a hafted tool or point of some sort!
Day 3 started well before dawn and by 5:45am we were in the field. I literally got out of the truck, turned on my detector, took three steps, and flopped out a Spanish Silver!
ANOTHER 1782!!
That's a way to start a morning! As we say down here, anything else I could dig the whole day would be lagniappe!!
Things got pretty normal after that... flat button...musketball... the usual.
Then I dug a three piece button that I thought might be a Jacksonian button--BUT I strongly suspected it was a Henry Clay campaign button!
My hunch was right! It was my SECOND Henry Clay button from the 1844 presidential election (dug my first one three years ago).
Then right at the closing bell, Shanguloid flopped out a Spanish silver of his own!! 1807 Half Real!
Was quite a hunt--and the finds filled up nearly an entire case each!
**MORE PHOTOS IN FIRST REPLY BELOW**
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