Silver Tree Chaser
Bronze Member
Colonial Finds-Stuart Crystal Cufflink, Silver Bodkin, Spanish & Lib. Seated Silver
I recovered these finds over the past few weeks. I’ve found my share of better finds over the years, but they never came easy. Such finds came very slowly and with lots of effort; however, my searching over the past year has been very rewarding. I’m enjoying every minute of it. I’m hopeful that the steady flow of recoveries continues. Here is what I found –
I initially thought it was tinfoil when spotting the flash of silver in the grass roots, but it was a Stuart Crystal cufflink from the mid-18th Century in the dark soil. It’s a silver cufflink with crystal stones over delicate gold wire thin as hair. I can hardly believe that they weren’t done in by a plow, as I’ve found small 17th Century spur buckles broken in half and 1/3 fragments on this site. The stones are crystal clear – not a scratch on them.
Twenty minutes after digging the cufflink, I found this bodkin – a silver needle. I’ve read about bodkins, most being recovered over in England. They were usually inscribed and had a secondary hole for wearing a decorative tassel for use as a hair pin. This find is a very plain, no-thrills bodkin, but I’ll take it.
The same site also produced this lead dice cube, which was no doubt made from a musket ball. I’ve recovered lots of musket balls on this site, as British Redcoats were camped in the area during the Revolutionary War. I’ve also found fishing sinkers, buzzers, etc. made from musket balls nearby at this site.
I’ve got a few good silver coins from two other sites that I’m working. Here’s a 1776 Spanish one-real as dug and after being treated. I like the date of 1776; I found it a few days before July 4th. I also got an 1850 half dime on the same evening when the cufflink and bodkin was found, though the coin came from a different site. It appears that both coins had some contact with a plow, but I’m still very happy to have found such old coins.
Here’s some nipple buttons, a trifid spoon handle fragment, and a small leather mount. These finds certainly date the site to the 17th Century. The single button in the next photo is in great shape for being made of pewter.
I hope you enjoyed the photos. Thanks for looking. Happy Hunting.
I recovered these finds over the past few weeks. I’ve found my share of better finds over the years, but they never came easy. Such finds came very slowly and with lots of effort; however, my searching over the past year has been very rewarding. I’m enjoying every minute of it. I’m hopeful that the steady flow of recoveries continues. Here is what I found –
I initially thought it was tinfoil when spotting the flash of silver in the grass roots, but it was a Stuart Crystal cufflink from the mid-18th Century in the dark soil. It’s a silver cufflink with crystal stones over delicate gold wire thin as hair. I can hardly believe that they weren’t done in by a plow, as I’ve found small 17th Century spur buckles broken in half and 1/3 fragments on this site. The stones are crystal clear – not a scratch on them.
Twenty minutes after digging the cufflink, I found this bodkin – a silver needle. I’ve read about bodkins, most being recovered over in England. They were usually inscribed and had a secondary hole for wearing a decorative tassel for use as a hair pin. This find is a very plain, no-thrills bodkin, but I’ll take it.
The same site also produced this lead dice cube, which was no doubt made from a musket ball. I’ve recovered lots of musket balls on this site, as British Redcoats were camped in the area during the Revolutionary War. I’ve also found fishing sinkers, buzzers, etc. made from musket balls nearby at this site.
I’ve got a few good silver coins from two other sites that I’m working. Here’s a 1776 Spanish one-real as dug and after being treated. I like the date of 1776; I found it a few days before July 4th. I also got an 1850 half dime on the same evening when the cufflink and bodkin was found, though the coin came from a different site. It appears that both coins had some contact with a plow, but I’m still very happy to have found such old coins.
Here’s some nipple buttons, a trifid spoon handle fragment, and a small leather mount. These finds certainly date the site to the 17th Century. The single button in the next photo is in great shape for being made of pewter.
I hope you enjoyed the photos. Thanks for looking. Happy Hunting.
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