Silver & Sporting Buttons from the Farm!

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Silver & 'Sporting' Buttons from the Farm!


I've been impatiently waiting to get permission to detect this site all year and last Thursday I finally got the go ahead! This farm sits on a property that has been expropriated by our provincial government for the expansion of a new highway east of Toronto. On Thursday I met with a representative from the Ministry of Transport Ontario (MTO) and he told me that the archeological assessment of the site had been completed and I was free to detect. Unfortunately it rained last Thursday and the weather had turned bitterly cold for the past three day making it hard to dig the frozen ground. But the weather warmed up sufficiently overnight and I was able to hunt the site for 2hrs today.

My first interesting find was the mid-19thc Hammond Turner & Sons sporting button, this 2-piece button has a silver wash on its face and a brass core. This was followed by the 1963 nickel & 1964 silver dime coin spill. The last button I found was a good 6" down, but looks relatively modern to me, maybe from the early 1900's? Call me crazy, but I don't mind digging old iron on farms, it gives me a better sense of what life was like 150 years ago. I also found a broken 'Bennington Door Knob', it still has the a portion of the brass fitting inside it, otherwise my detector would never have found it! I decided to explore the barn out back of the farmhouse and found a complete horse bridle lying on the ground. The bridle has a brass plaque with the horses name still on it 'Waltz to Remember'.

With a little online research I was able to find that . . .

'Waltz to Remember' was born on May 18, 1987 in ON (Ontario)
Breeder: D.G. McClelland

Sired by: ( Briartic - Queens Waltz, by Tudor Minstrel)
Never Raced
Thanks for looking and I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving Weekend!
Dave

PS. I also included a pic of the doorknocker which I thought was really cool!

 

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[mangum]

That's an awesome button! I also found a Hammond Turner & Sons sporting button a couple weeks ago (although your is nicer!)

 

[treblehunter]

Nice, that is a beautiful spot you are detecting, how long do you have access?

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

That's an awesome button! I also found a Hammond Turner & Sons sporting button a couple weeks ago (although your is nicer!)

Thanks very much for sharing the picture of your button mangum!
Here's a link to the Hammond website that shows your button, though I can't find mine on there.

Hammond Turner Button Gallery - Sporting6

Best of luck to you my friend,
Dave

Nice, that is a beautiful spot you are detecting, how long do you have access?

Thanks for your post TH!
I pretty much have access until the house is demolished, which will likely be in the spring of 2014.
Dave

 

[Greylock]

I like those sporting buttons. I've only found one, a stag and doe, but would love to find a few more

 

[Zodiacdiverdave]

Fantastic button Dave, it's in really good shape. Nice save on the silver too.
Hope you don't get too much snow today with this storm.
ZDD

 

[ModernMiner]

Great looking property and awesome recoveries.
-MM-

 

[Msbeepbeep]

Great finds! Hope the ground stays soft and the weather good for you! Looks like you may find a ton of good stuff there! HH!

 

[Steve in PA]

Nice Sportsman's button Dave!

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

I like those sporting buttons. I've only found one, a stag and doe, but would love to find a few more

This is my third 'Sporting Button' find in the past 3 years, all of them were made by Hammond Turner & Sons! I currently have one I found last year in the tumbler trying to bring out more of the detail. I'm checking it every 3 hrs and will post before and after pics tomorrow in the 'Restorations Forum'.

Thanks for your post,
Dave

Fantastic button Dave, it's in really good shape. Nice save on the silver too.
Hope you don't get too much snow today with this storm.
ZDD

Thanks very much Dave!
I was obviously surprised that more silver or LC's didn't turn up, but I'm not complaining!
Keep warm buddy, it's getting cold here,
Dave

Great looking property and awesome recoveries.
-MM-

Thanks very much Doug!
Best of luck to you my friend.
Dave

Great finds! Hope the ground stays soft and the weather good for you! Looks like you may find a ton of good stuff there! HH!

I sure hope so Msbeepbeep! We received around 3" of snow here last night, but the ground is still not completely frozen, so i'm thinking I might head back on Friday!
Have a great Thanksgiving,
Dave

Nice Sportsman's button Dave!

Thanks Steve!
Have a great Thanksgiving this weekend,
Dave

 

[HISPAN]

very nice pics and finds ...greetings !

 

[jewelerguy]

cool finds. love the sporting button

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

very nice pics and finds ...greetings !

Thank you very much H!
Hope all is well with you and your family,
Dave

cool finds. love the sporting button

Thanks JG!
It sure beats digging pull-tabs!
Dave

 

[CRUSADER]

That is a nice button, I like the early sporting types, although I like almost any with a pattern on...

 

[wvwildman]

nice finds congrats HH

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

That is a nice button, I like the early sporting types, although I like almost any with a pattern on...

Thanks very much for your post Cru!
Of all the Hammond Turner buttons I've found (3), this one is in the best condition by far.

The company obviously made quality products, unlike the stuff that's made today!

All my best to you and your father,
Dave

nice finds congrats HH

Thanks buddy, best of luck to you as well!
Dave

 

[PeteWmass]

sporting buttons are really neat...wish I could dig some...I have a pretty early looking watch-winder with a sporting motif.....somewhere...

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

sporting buttons are really neat...wish I could dig some...I have a pretty early looking watch-winder with a sporting motif.....somewhere...

Thanks very much for your post Pete!
Now that's one thing I would love to find one day is a watch-winder!
I've found a couple of complete pocket watches and lots of watch bodies, but never a winder.

Best of luck to you Pete,
Dave

 

[Gunrunner61]

Love the finds you made ,especially the halter................hh

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Love the finds you made ,especially the halter................hh

You know what Gunrunner, you're the only person so far to comment on the horse halter!
I think it's a beautiful piece too, especially since I cleaned it up and oiled it.

Best of luck to you,
Dave