KGII Copper, Buttons and a pewter colonial toy plate

[OutdoorAdv]

I spent about 7 hours in the field today and while the finds were hard to come by, I managed to squeeze a few more keepers out. The big white thing at the top is a big piece of melted lead.





I dug another of these pewter toy colonial plates today. Until this afternoon, I guessed that these were bases to a candle holder or something. However there's no solder marks or anything that would suggest it was attached to something larger. I shared a picture of this plate from today with Bill D and he identified it as most likely a child's toy from the 18th c. A quick google search backed this up. Really cool.. I would have never guessed these were colonial toys, the equivalent to doll house dinnerware! I have a picture of all three pieces I have dug here at the bottom of this post. The other two have been pictured in previous posts from this year and I didn't really mention them since I didnt know what they were. Its GREAT to have an ID on these and its a pretty cool ID at that.



Got a couple cool buttons. The brass button has a iron back. It appears to have XXX etched on the front of it. I'm going to guess that googling "XXX button" will not help me ID that. Haha

One of my flat buttons is a cuff button and has a eagle on the entire back of it. Pretty cool. I've dug a few flat buttons that have a small eagle on the top of the back, but never a small cuff one with a big eagle on it.



It had been a slow day with a hand full of buttons. I was digging a target that was deep and scratchy and wouldn't be surprised if it was a button or a nail. Because it was such a bad signal and very deep, it pinpointed way off when I dug my plug. I was very surprised to pop this out of the bottom corner at 9"... I thought it was a button, but quickly noticed it was a KGII... then I flipped it over and saw that I trashed it with my digger. It doesn't happen often, but it always sucks when it does happen. This copper is worn smooth, but its at least identifiable.



This is the 3rd pewter toy dinnerware piece I have dug in the same general area. They are hard to come by, as they are a low tone and very deep... so the one from today had a bit of an iron grunt until I got it to the surface.

 

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[goldbmine]

Dollhouse dinner ware, great description! So cool to look at! To bad on the copper but we all do it

 

[OutdoorAdv]

Dollhouse dinner ware, great description! So cool to look at! To bad on the copper but we all do it

Thanks man. I really hate it when it happens... I seem to extract toasted copper after toasted copper, gouge free... but I get one I can ID and I nail it. Ha. I told myself it could have been worse... I could have done that to a nice relic or a old silver.

 

[Gaspipe]

good squeezing

 

[Showtime2385]

Those finds are Sweet, Good job!

 

[Loco-Digger]

Love the toy dinner wares. You found some nice keepers in that field. Sorry about the mishap. It happens to all of us, thankfully my last 2 were on Lincoln pennies.

 

[CRUSADER]

Yes, they are pewter kids toys, but I would date them to the 19th C, not 18th. I had a broken up tea pot the other day.

 

[Bill D. (VA)]

Yes, they are pewter kids toys, but I would date them to the 19th C, not 18th. I had a broken up tea pot the other day.

Cru - the reason I thought this piece was 18th century was that years ago I dug a similar one (pictured below) that was found at a site that did not produce any artifacts past about 1770. Brad's looked very similar to mine, plus he's dug both 18th and 19th century stuff at his site so I thought it might be earlier than what you're saying. Do you have any links you could share to verify 19th century? Thanks.

 

[OutdoorAdv]

Yes, they are pewter kids toys, but I would date them to the 19th C, not 18th. I had a broken up tea pot the other day.

Cru, great to finally have these things IDed. Any tips on how to date these? The Hume book on Colonial America Artifacts basically says that most colonial toys were small versions of actual items, and this sort of item was made from earthen ware through white metals. Its vague. This site has produced a variety of items from the 18th and 19th C... if they were 19th century, I would guess they would be early 19th c. If you have a picture of your tea pot handy, feel free to post it... would be cool to see the other toy finds here.

 

[OutdoorAdv]

Cru - the reason I thought this piece was 18th century was that years ago I dug a similar one (pictured below) that was found at a site that did not produce any artifacts past about 1770. Brad's looked very similar to mine, plus he's dug both 18th and 19th century stuff at his site so I thought it might be earlier than what you're saying. Do you have any links you could share to verify 19th century? Thanks.

View attachment 1238975

View attachment 1238976

Bill, Thank you for sharing yours and thanks a ton for the ID. These were "candle stick" holders until yesterday... and the toy ID is a much cooler item. ha I would have never guessed that's what these were. Ours look very similar. While I have found a lot of 18th c stuff from this site, the majority falls into the early 19th c, so I suppose from this site they could be later... but I really hope that my toy plates are from the 1700's. They look old to me!

 

[OutdoorAdv]

good squeezing

Thanks Gaspipe! I keep squeezing this place and while its slowed way down, a few things pop up from time to time.

Those finds are Sweet, Good job!

Thank you Showtime!

Love the toy dinner wares. You found some nice keepers in that field. Sorry about the mishap. It happens to all of us, thankfully my last 2 were on Lincoln pennies.

Thanks Loco! The patchbox cover was way off center and much deeper than this kg. If it was going to happen (which it eventually will), I think I hit the right one... but I really wish it was a lincoln. ha

 

[Vino]

Glad you were able to get a few keepers from that site.
I know you dug alot of crappy signals to get them..
I've seen that cuff button with the eagle on the back before.
I always wanted one.
Hey glad you gave George a scar instead of a Chain cent. Lol.
I found 2 tea cups to go with your plates.. haha
Glad you got out and saved some keepers.
Here is a pic of the cups.

 

[OutdoorAdv]

Glad you were able to get a few keepers from that site.
I know you dug alot of crappy signals to get them..
I've seen that cuff button with the eagle on the back before.
I always wanted one.
Hey glad you gave George a scar instead of a Chain cent. Lol.
I found 2 tea cups to go with your plates.. haha
Glad you got out and saved some keepers.
Here is a pic of the cups.
View attachment 1238986

Perfect! We can go shopping for some display case black velour and throw a tea party after. I'll bring the plates. hahaha

I had no idea so many fellow hunters have been finding this stuff. I'll certainly know how to ID this stuff for future finds. Those tea cups are cool. (that just sounds weird saying that. haha) I wonder if my machine would be able to pick up something as small as a cup at the 6" depth these plates have been at. Its not too deep, but they really don't come in strong. The only reason I got this plate yesterday was switching to "Deus Fast" and hitting the side of the trash pit... and the signal was not a good one either.

I cringe thinking what type of relic or coin that could have been. If I scarred a chain cent I think I would be too embarrassed to post it on here.

 

[treblehunter]

Wow, they are so cool those plates, I love the ornate designs of those days!
Great hunt, nice spot.

 

[OutdoorAdv]

Glad you were able to get a few keepers from that site.
I know you dug alot of crappy signals to get them..
I've seen that cuff button with the eagle on the back before.
I always wanted one.
Hey glad you gave George a scar instead of a Chain cent. Lol.
I found 2 tea cups to go with your plates.. haha
Glad you got out and saved some keepers.
Here is a pic of the cups.

Forgot to say that you were right, I did dig a ton of crap to get these. ha I don't often post the iron unless its good (I did get some rose heads and a nice hand forged spike), but the only "good" signals from yesterday was the crown stamped flat button, the huge hunk of lead and some copper sheet that's not pictured. The rest of them were really bad signals and could have been iron... the best sound is when you pull a shovel full of dirt from deep in the bottom of a hole, wave the Deus over it, and get a slamming signal.

I snapped a couple pictures of my other eagle back marked flat buttons. Typically, the coat buttons I find with eagles on the back have them small and at the top like these. I had never seen a cuff button like this one with a big eagle on it. It was a nice surprise too since I didn't see the eagle until I tooth picked and dry brushed it at home. Do you remember where you saw a similar cuff button? Would be nice to find more info on it if possible.

Wow, they are so cool those plates, I love the ornate designs of those days!
Great hunt, nice spot.

Thanks man. It is pretty cool how intricate and well made things used to be. If this scarred KG was in the same condition as your LC I would have never forgiven myself. ha

 

[The Patriot]

Awesome relics right there...always found pieces but never kid's toys made of pewter..

 

[nsdq]

All most enough for a tea party.. cool finds

 

[CRUSADER]

Glad you were able to get a few keepers from that site.
I know you dug alot of crappy signals to get them..
I've seen that cuff button with the eagle on the back before.
I always wanted one.
Hey glad you gave George a scar instead of a Chain cent. Lol.
I found 2 tea cups to go with your plates.. haha
Glad you got out and saved some keepers.
Here is a pic of the cups.

Funny because I got one today as well, a little broken tea cup.

 

[Ahab8]

Another killer hunt buddy. You are on a tear and I hope it continues.

 

[OutdoorAdv]

Awesome relics right there...always found pieces but never kid's toys made of pewter..

Thanks Patriot! I was fortunate to find two unbroken. Had they not showed up, I think the broken one would just be a wild guess as to what it was.

All most enough for a tea party.. cool finds

No kidding! I think we could all pool our doll house dinnerware finds and throw a tea party. ha

Thanks nsdq.

Another killer hunt buddy. You are on a tear and I hope it continues.

Thanks Abe! Hope all is well up there buddy and the cold hasn't ended your season just yet. My posts on here would have people believe that every time I go out, I have a killer hunt... in reality, I only post the good ones. haha Last weekend I got out twice and spent about 10 total hours at two diff spots with the only good find being a old brass key, and a backpack of trash. Those trips at other permissions always push me back to this site because it seems no matter how hard I hit this place.... if I keep hitting it, things will turn up.

This is the stuff from those two trips last weekend along with my finds from yesterday. This would be about 16 hours at 3 different sites.




I found the post where I found the first two pewter plate and bowl. That was my 3rd trip to that place... little did I know what was in store for me there and that the place would remain "unbelievable" for quite some time. http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/t...nbelievable-site-now-more-believable-now.html

Hopefully when winter drives me indoors I can research another unbelievable site for 2016.