My TOP 10 + 2 Ole Coppers

[Don in SJ]

I was not sure what to pick, the most valuable ones, the prettiest ones or do a combination of the two. So I do have my top valuable ones shown and some of the prettier ones, at least for being ground found coppers they are pretty.
Will do a Top 10 +2 Silver post in upcoming days.

#12 is not my oldest copper but it is the oldest great conditioned one.

#11 is a nice example of a Regal King George II Halfpenny.

#10 a very pretty late year Large Cent I found this year.

#9 a beautiful example of a Counterfeit King George II Irish Halfpenny.

#8 is a great shape Half Cent that is one of the Spiked Chin varieties.

#7 is a common Vermont Copper but it is in decent shape for displaying.

#6 a very clear strike early year Large Cent that is one of the scarcer varieties.

#5 is a very rare counterfeit King George III halfpenny that currently is being studied by an expert.

#4 a beautiful late die state of a New Jersey Copper.

#3 this 1796 Liberty Cap came out of the sugar sand in this condition, if only more could be like this one.

#2 a valuable variety of the 1794 Large Cent, perhaps the most valuable coin I have ever found.

#1 I still remember the day I was hunting a tilled field in the light rain and saw this coin lying on the surface at the same time the coil swept over it and gave that sweet sound. Not too many 1793 Half Cents are ever found, especially compared to 1793 Large Cents which are more common. (But not for me)


Hope the photos were good enough to make you all want to get out and find a goodie.

Don

 

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[Evolution]

Absolutely amazing Don. I love those coins. Nice post.

 

[Derek752]

Don...Killer Finds As Always !!

I cant wait for next years top 10 !!

 

[COUNTRY GIRL]

I can't even pick a favorite! Got me getting out this weekend. I hope the snow melts . It's supposed to warm up, I should be good. Great group of copper, I can't wait to see the silver!

 

[Colonial KirkPA]

You are my metal detecting hero, Don.

BDD...Kirk

 

[stevesno]

Don, You have every reason to be proud of that collection. Here in Missouri we only find those coins in history books....Steve

 

[Colonial Zoyboy]

Yo, Don, those coppas are unbelievable. Do you still hunt the fields of SJ?

Bone Dry Detecting...zoyster

 

[Thomas007]

WOW

Nice top 12.

Great condition and lovely too

May the wind be at your back!

Sanat

 

[Iron Patch]

Awesome coins and great condition. I think most people would be happy with just one.

Can't wait to see the silver!

 

[Colonial KirkPA]

I'm still waiting on that top 10, but for Don in SJ's gold coins. :P

HH!

BDD...Kirk

 

[bookfisher]

What can I say? Simply the Best! You Are The Man! I'll say it again, I do not think anyone has a finer collection of early dug coppers than you. My hat's off to you! I think Western & Eastern Treasures should profile your collection in one of their issues.

 

[Don in SJ]

My #2 coin on that list was a super find on a cold winter day. My son and I were hunting a homestead that basically had stumped us for old coins, yet it was very old, but full or iron everywhere. Well, on this particular day we did good. Not long into the hunt my son calls me over and shows me a piece of what looked like Aluminum foil, but later one after many hours of research and eye straining, the thin circular disc he found was identified as a silver 1595 French Douzain!!

Not too long after my son found the Douzain, I started hunting the area on the other side of the old dirt road, opposite from where the homestead was. I was almost immediately greeted with the nice sound of a large copper and it was a decent KGIII copper.

The other side of the road was rather hard to hunt, unlike the homestead area it was full of greenbriar and though the KGIII copper was found in open area next to a fallen log, my next signal was buried amongst a thick growth of greenbriar.

I learned a few years ago to carry pruning shears with me for root cutting and for trimming back green briar to make digging "less painful" After cutting enough back I got a great clear signal now of a big copper coin.

The recovery was uneventful and my eagle eyed son right away knew I had a early year Large Cent with Edge Lettering. ( I sure could not tell without my reading specs).

The coin turned out to be a very scarce variety of the 1794 Large Cent, a Sheldon 19a variety, one of the Head of 1793 and Edge Design on 1793! I was told by some EAC Large Cent collectors that only about 25-30 were known to exist and even though my was a ground found with some corrosion that it would be worth quite a bit due to supply and demand.

I have thought about getting it slabbed but have been advised not too, since there is some disagreement amongst collectors on slabbing a coin that is old. Especially when edge lettering determines the variety as does mine. I was also told they were a weak striked coin and even though mine looks weak in strike it actually is about the 15th best known.

Here are some photos of the recovery of that coin and I am showing an auction page where one went for $8000 a few years ago, and not much better than mine, but not a grounder either. I will not give out the appraised values I have gotten, but it is more than the 1793 Half Cent.

Like many aspects of our hobby, one coin of a particular year can be worth thousands, while another one of the same year can be worth less than a hundred dollars, that is one reason why it is so important to have an older coin carefully cleaned so it can be attributed by variety.


Don

 

[ModernMiner]

Don,
What a great post. Fantastic collection of coins, history, and story. I can't imagine finding just one of those coins. I'll keep trying though.
-Doug-

 

[Colonial KirkPA]

Don, as of this metal datectin' moment, your 1794 coppa recovery is currently our background picture.

Bone Dry Detecting...KirkPA

 

[vpone]

hey don,

this post was truly inspirational - thanks for taking the time to put it together, i am new into hunting these old colonial sites, but it is so nice to know that some of these old coppers can come out of the ground still looking so good !

thanks again !

vp

 

[Bavaria Mike]

Don, those coins are just awesome, I can hardly compete with them however, our coppers are much thinner here and the silver coins of the era were extremely debased. Thanks for the pictures and congrats! HH, Mike

 

[BigNuggets]

Great Diggins

 

[colonial relic hunter]

Wow just amazing Don! The condition of these coins a truly amazing too. Here in western Pa.these days we only get the smoothies!! But on a occasionally we do get lucky! Don Congrats on these wonderful coins.

Bill(pa)

 

[ridge_runner]

What can I say other than WOW!!!! OK, I guess Amazing would work.

Thanks for the post and letting us see your best!

HH,

RR

 

[Elad]

My god...

Inspired me, you have!! I just found my first LC last weekend... now I MUST go find more!!

Amazing finds, thanks for sharing!