🥇 BANNER 1850 Charleston "Porter" slave Tag

SCJohn

Jr. Member
Joined
May 14, 2016
Messages
67
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333
Golden Thread
1
Location
Charleston, sc
🥇 Banner finds
1
Detector(s) used
Garrett AT Pro, AT propointer
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
Evening Tnet . I don't post often as I don't get out much nowadays due to heavy workload and 2nd kid now almost 10 months old but on Friday I was able to carve out a few hours to get out. Decided to go to an area that I've been going to for years that has turned up some neat relics but nothing earth shattering but knowing that it dates to the late 1600 I always have hope that sooner or later something good would come up. Friday was that day and it's the 1 thing that I wanted to find since I started detecting. Working the some thick under brush and barely being able to stand I was having no luck other than iron signals when I got a peak 77 then 65 mixed with some iron grunting on the AT Pro. Decided to dig it since it was only the 2nd signal in an hour that had any potential I opened up the ground and swung over and still the same so got out the pin pointer. pulled a few nails out and figured it was a bust but swung over it and clear as a bell 77 and stayed consistent. so went back into the hole with the pin and the target was under a small root at 6 to 8 inches. I managed to work the sandy soil under it and felt something and out comes a small square piece of metal about 2 inches by 2 inches. I took a deep breathe and thought...No way is this what I think it is. At first I could not see anything on it so pulled out a tooth brush and after just a few wipes the dirt fell out of the hole on the top and I made out the word "Porter" and on the bottom it says 1850. I stopped right then and packed up and went home. So far all I did was tooth brush it and use a tooth pick to clean out the number on the tag - #606. According to some research these are super rare. I'm having it evaluated this week by a local expert. I'll update once I hear back and the plan at this point is to get a professional to preserve it. Thanks for reading and HH. 1850_Slave_Tag.webp
 

Upvote 92
You should get a better pic of it. I don't see any other reason for it not being in banners section.
 

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Finding Something That Made the Banner Before is Not a Qualification .
its a Hindrance .

Uniqueness is Better.

However , Congrats John on the Banner !

I wish you would have Supplied a Better Pic. At this point Too Late !

I always say what's good for the goose is good for the gander .. but you're the boss.
 

I don't think there is any other find quite like a slave tag. I imagine that the world around you would go completely silent when uncovering one of these.

Congratulations!
 

Congrats on banner
 

Congratulations on the banner! The slave tag is awesome and deserves a trip across the top!
 

Amazing find. Congrats! [emoji16][emoji106]
 

Hard not to think about the history of your piece.....great find!
 

Congrats on the banner find, digging long forgotten history is the best part of this great hobby :icon_thumleft:
 

Finding Something That Made the Banner Before is Not a Qualification .
its a Hindrance .

Uniqueness is Better.

However , Congrats John on the Banner !

I wish you would have Supplied a Better Pic. At this point Too Late !

Wish I had a better picture also. Still waiting to have the conservator clean it and seal it. Debating on what to do with it after . Because of what it represents it will likely get donated to either the Charleston Museum or another local heritage group. Thanks to all for the votes.
 

What a remarkable relic recovery. Digging up lost history is why we love the hobby. Congrats on the Banner. SD
 

Evening Tnet . I don't post often as I don't get out much nowadays due to heavy workload and 2nd kid now almost 10 months old but on Friday I was able to carve out a few hours to get out. Decided to go to an area that I've been going to for years that has turned up some neat relics but nothing earth shattering but knowing that it dates to the late 1600 I always have hope that sooner or later something good would come up. Friday was that day and it's the 1 thing that I wanted to find since I started detecting. Working the some thick under brush and barely being able to stand I was having no luck other than iron signals when I got a peak 77 then 65 mixed with some iron grunting on the AT Pro. Decided to dig it since it was only the 2nd signal in an hour that had any potential I opened up the ground and swung over and still the same so got out the pin pointer. pulled a few nails out and figured it was a bust but swung over it and clear as a bell 77 and stayed consistent. so went back into the hole with the pin and the target was under a small root at 6 to 8 inches. I managed to work the sandy soil under it and felt something and out comes a small square piece of metal about 2 inches by 2 inches. I took a deep breathe and thought...No way is this what I think it is. At first I could not see anything on it so pulled out a tooth brush and after just a few wipes the dirt fell out of the hole on the top and I made out the word "Porter" and on the bottom it says 1850. I stopped right then and packed up and went home. So far all I did was tooth brush it and use a tooth pick to clean out the number on the tag - #606. According to some research these are super rare. I'm having it evaluated this week by a local expert. I'll update once I hear back and the plan at this point is to get a professional to preserve it. Thanks for reading and HH.View attachment 1655139

An amazing historic find , 'as you know' Congratz
 


Those of us who primarily detect old homesteads and land grant sites like myself, can only dream about uncovering a historic relic such as this. My only hope in finding a slave tag here in Canada may be via the underground railroad. :thumbsup:

“The Underground Railroad was a secret network of abolitionists who helped African Americans escape from enslavement in the American South to free Northern states or to Canada. It was the largest anti-slavery freedom movement in North America, having brought between 30,000 and 40,000 fugitives to British North America (Canada).

Due to a provision in the 1793 Act to Limit Slavery, which stated that any enslaved person who reached Upper Canada became free upon arrival, a small number of enslaved African Americans in search of freedom began to enter Canada, primarily unassisted. Word that freedom could be had in Canada spread further following the War of 1812 when the enslaved servants of US military officers from the South brought back word that there were free "Black men in red coats” in British North America. Arrivals of freedom-seekers in Upper Canada increased dramatically after 1850 with the passage of the American Fugitive Slave Act, which empowered slave catchers to pursue fugitives in Northern states.

The Underground Railroad was established in the early 19th century by a community of abolitionists based primarily in Philadelphia. Within a few decades it had grown into a well-organized and dynamic network. The term “Underground Railroad” began to be used in the 1830s, coinciding with the advent of railway technology, and long after an informal covert network to aid fugitive slaves had commenced. The Underground Railroad was not an actual railroad and it did not actually run on railway tracks. It was a complex, clandestine network of people and safe houses that helped persons enslaved in Southern plantations reach free soil in the North.

The network was maintained by diverse abolitionists who offered assistance to fleeing slaves and who were committed to human rights and equality. Their ranks included free Blacks, fellow enslaved persons, white and Aboriginal sympathizers, Quakers, Methodists, Baptists, inhabitants of urban centre and farmers, men and women, Americans and Canadians.”
Congratulations on your historic find and on achieving your first BANNER on Tnet! :occasion14:


Dave
 

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Congratulations on such a cool banner find.
 

Congrats on the tag, that's some serious LC history

Thanks J. Hoping to get over some old ground over the holidays. Let me know if you're heading out.
 

If you had to get a new Tag each year as some have mentioned, did you have to exchange/turn in/destroy the old one? That may explain their rarity. Kind of like some states destroy your old drivers license when you get a new one. Such an emotional find!
 

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