🥇 BANNER 1700's Luckenbooth TRADE Silver!

Patriot Relics

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Feb 6, 2014
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Hey guys,

Headed back out to an old colonial permission, turned honey hole recently with Stef45. Weather hasn't been great, but we did manage a get in a few hours before the rain ran us off. Every time I walk away from hunting here, I start researching new sites as we assuming it must be pounded out. Countless hours gridding with both the CTX and Deus have almost certainly cleared the good stuff...not quite. Instead of walking in grids, I decided to change the angle of the coil by walking in a concentric circle on the main iron patch. Today's weapon of choice was the mighty XP Deus and my first target was the mythical whisper signal. 99% of the time these top of the right horseshoe targets are deep iron (OutdoorAdv can probably speak better to this), but every now and then its a deep non-ferrous target. Dug the plug, but still no target...with all the iron there is no chance of a clean pin point so I widened the plug and dug a bit deeper. At the point were the sandy top soil met the hard clay (12-13 inches) my pin pointer finally rang out. Never thought I'd see one of these in person...1700s Luckenbooth trade silver brooch!

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A bit of history on these- A Luckenbooth brooch is a Scottish heart-shaped brooch. Luckenbooth is traditionally given to a bride by her groom on her wedding day as a symbol of love (heart) and loyalty (crown). They were also attached to either the bedclothes or the clothing of a newborn child as it was believed to ease child birth and insure good breast milk. These brooches often have a crown above one heart, or two intertwined hearts with Scottish motifs like the St. Andrew's Cross or the thistle. The crown is designed after that of Mary Queen of Scots. She gave a Luckenbooth brooch to her betroth decorated with her monogram and a thistle. The thistle is the national emblem of Scotland along with the Latin motto, Nemo me impune Laecessit ("No one provokes me with impunity"). Silver was the usual material, although gold heart brooches were made for wealthy people. Some brooches were engraved with initials, dates or mottoes. Inexpensive glass paste "gems" or stones (described in ancient advertisements as Cairngorm stones) were sometimes used on silver brooches. Its name is believed to have come from the "Locked Booths" where these brooches were sold on The Royal Mile in Edinburgh. Locked booths were shops in Edinburgh from St Giles to Canon gate which became the city's first Jewellery shops in the 16th century (luckenbooth was a Scots word for a lockable stall or workshop). They were demolished in 1817.

By the mid 18th century luckenbooth tokens also featured heavily as trade silver items to the indigenous peoples of North America, particularly the Six Nations and Iroquois Indians. As a result, Iroquois created their own "Iroquois brooch" and luckenbooth became a common decorative symbol in 18th and early 19th century native clothing.


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This silver brooch is without a doubt my favorite civilian relic recovered to date.

Not far from the brooch, I got another whisper target- at about the same depth at the clay layer. 1781 1/2 Real Spanish (this time with the CTX)

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As if these 2 silver weren't enough I also checked the 1857 flying eagle cent off the bucket list

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Also pulled a crusty 1873 IHP

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As far as other relics go, recovered a few nice flat buttons- 1 with silver wash and another with a flower design

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Few other unmarked flats

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Also dug a pewter spoon

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Pair of 18th century leather bosses

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Along the perimeter of the property I started digging a ton of camp lead- also these tent rivets (one still has the leather intact)

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This one is a bit of a mystery- maybe early stained glass fragment (green class with lead in back)

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Also a nice iron buckle destined for the electrolysis tank

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Suspect this button is turn of the century- cloth covered with iron back

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All in all another hunt for the record books for me- trade silver brooch, Spanish, and a Flying Eagle cent has set the bar high for the rest of 2017. As always thanks for looking and good luck out there

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Patriot Relics

Patriot Relics

Silver Member
Feb 6, 2014
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Lowcountry, South Carolina / Richmond, Virginia
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sutphin

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THATS IT NO MORE DETECTING FOR YOU SIR, GET IN THE BAD BOY CHAIR AND STAY THERE .HOW DARE YOU POST A FIND LIKE THIS WITH A BANNER. MY FRIEND ITS NOT NORMAL BEHAVIOR . MAN NICE STUFF.
 

Relicific

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Feb 2, 2017
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Love those finds
Congrats
 

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Patriot Relics

Patriot Relics

Silver Member
Feb 6, 2014
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5,567
Lowcountry, South Carolina / Richmond, Virginia
🥇 Banner finds
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Detector(s) used
CTX-3030, Deus XP II
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THATS IT NO MORE DETECTING FOR YOU SIR, GET IN THE BAD BOY CHAIR AND STAY THERE .HOW DARE YOU POST A FIND LIKE THIS WITH A BANNER. MY FRIEND ITS NOT NORMAL BEHAVIOR . MAN NICE STUFF.

Haha, you can bet I'll be back on that dirt this weekend
 

saftgeek

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Mar 2, 2007
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Dream hunt - no doubt!
 

Ahab8

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Hey pal a hearty congrats on your Luckenbooth being up top. Very well deserved BANNER
 

Relicific

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Feb 2, 2017
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Awesome trade silver find.
Congrats
 

Cosmo3

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Feb 8, 2017
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Kickass finds mate. The brooch is awesome. Great job, unearthing History, one dig at a time.
 

OP
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Patriot Relics

Patriot Relics

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Feb 6, 2014
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Lowcountry, South Carolina / Richmond, Virginia
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Hey pal a hearty congrats on your Luckenbooth being up top. Very well deserved BANNER

Thanks Abe, actually ended up emailing the Scottish National museum and they were able to confirm Scottish silversmith and narrow down the manufacture date to mid to late 18th century based on the style (emulating with silver working the earlier versions with paste stones)
 

OP
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Patriot Relics

Patriot Relics

Silver Member
Feb 6, 2014
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5,567
Lowcountry, South Carolina / Richmond, Virginia
🥇 Banner finds
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Awesome trade silver find.
Congrats

Thanks relicific, after speaking with the Scottish cultural curator, this piece likely did not originate as trade silver (although certainly could have been traded) but was more likely a personal hierloom... as evidenced from the period hinge repair. Certainly had some use
 

IndianaBonesMD

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Mar 12, 2017
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Nice finds all around.
Great info on the brooch, very cool.
 

Ahab8

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Oct 15, 2013
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Thanks Abe, actually ended up emailing the Scottish National museum and they were able to confirm Scottish silversmith and narrow down the manufacture date to mid to late 18th century based on the style (emulating with silver working the earlier versions with paste stones)

Hmmmm that's awesome man. Maybe I should reach out about mine. I know what time frame the other finds were from but it would be cool to nail down a closer date if possible
 

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Patriot Relics

Patriot Relics

Silver Member
Feb 6, 2014
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Lowcountry, South Carolina / Richmond, Virginia
🥇 Banner finds
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Hmmmm that's awesome man. Maybe I should reach out about mine. I know what time frame the other finds were from but it would be cool to nail down a closer date if possible

For sure, initially they said it would be a while to get a reply from the expert on staff given a large collection project, but made an exception :laughing7:
 

ANTIQUARIAN

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Congrats on making your third BANNER find Jon! :occasion14:
I loved reading the history behind your find and seeing all the close-up pics of the other finds from the site!

Dave
 

A2coins

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Dec 20, 2015
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Can you take a pic of the treasure chest those came in!!!!!!
 

OP
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Patriot Relics

Patriot Relics

Silver Member
Feb 6, 2014
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5,567
Lowcountry, South Carolina / Richmond, Virginia
🥇 Banner finds
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Detector(s) used
CTX-3030, Deus XP II
Primary Interest:
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Congrats on making your third BANNER find Jon! :occasion14:
I loved reading the history behind your find and seeing all the close-up pics of the other finds from the site!

Dave

Thanks Dave, while the banner is icing on the cake- the dig itself has a special place in the display knowing the history behind these brooches.
 

DirtStalker

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Sep 26, 2014
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Can you take a pic of the treasure chest those came in!!!!!!

You know he keeps that treasure chest hidden in the mud way up an aligator infested swamp. He just sneaks out to pull a Banner piece from it when we are not looking.
 

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