2014 Highlights

[Ahab8]

Ok I haven't admitted defeat yet. But I prob can't get out until Friday so wanted to do a best of 2014 wrap up. I've prob found at least 30 bug early coppers but am only posting the cream of the crop. Was lucky to find a lot of nice shoe buckles as well. Well here goes. I'll start with the relics then go to the coins. Hope you all have an incredible 2015
Shoe Buckles

Favorite Buttons


Pistol Barrel (18th century?)

Favorite Silver Spoon

Crotal Bells

Favorite Coppers



1787 Conn cent

1787 Mass cent




Favorite Indian Heads



One Counterstamp


Favorite Silvers



The Spanish Silver




THE DREAM FINDS






Oldest copper: 1727
Oldest Silver: 1652

 

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[leviathanrick]

That is a really an impressive bunch of finds. I hope next year is even better. Congrats

 

[Steve in PA]

Fantastic year Abe! I see you saved the best for last in that sequence

Best of luck in 2015, I'm sure 2014 was just a warm up year for you!

 

[watercolor]

You've had a stellar year!

We all have dreams about recoveries like that and you go out and find them.
I'm looking forward to seeing what next year will bring for you. . . have a great New Year

 

[beez0404]

I was scrolling along, oohing and aahing till I hit the "dream finds" section of the listing. As I was looking I was not even aware that my idle hand had suddenly grabbed a long beaded straight pin and was repeatedly stabbing the little Abe doll over and over again. And I like to think of myself as a mellow, laid back person. It's amazing what this hobby will do to you.

BTW: I love all your finds shown but know there are a ton you didn't show that I also like. Hope 2015 is even better for you then 2014. You deserve it.

 

[Iron Patch]

You had a great year, and now must see the potential of what an incredible collection you will have after 20 years of digging. The bonus is you get to enjoy every little bit along the way!

 

[EasternShoreMetal]

Oh Man! Lots of good stuff. The bells are neat, and your buckles are in extraordinary shape. loved all your coins too, but the Mass. silver is unreal! I can only imagine what you didn't show. But I really enjoyed seeing what you did post. Great Year.. More to come this year, I say! Nice showing. Wish we could squeak in one more...

 

[Helix]

Hay in my book the pine tree shilling alone would be equal too finding 300 mercs or more! Anyway,,, thats some sweet finds. I hope you keep record of where each item was found.

 

[Ahab8]

Thanks guys! Beez and Eastern, yes I left a lot of nice stuff out. I've found a bunch of Draped Bust LCs and I've found two 1797s. Also a bunch of KGs and some random stuff that I really like such as a 17th century spoon. But I didn't want to post a million pics so kept it simple.
IP, yes I'm seeing the vision now. I now can picture displays with some of the nicer stuff then if the detecting gods allow one very special display with those crazy killer dream finds. I figure if I have 8 or 10 of those at the end I'm a happy and fortunate man.
Helix, I've kept great very specific journals detailing every hunt since day one. I've also kept a great picture record with site names. That is always a piece of advice that I give the new guys. It's very important in my opinion. Thank you to all for the nice comments

 

[OBN]

Wow some real nice treasures!!

 

[Bill D. (VA)]

Wow Abe - that's a jawdropping number of amazing recoveries for a rookie relic hunter!! But I'm even more impressed with your love of history, and your strong desire to get in the trenches and work hard at finding new and potentially productive sites. You're definitely doing it the right way, and I couldn't be more proud of ya. And I'm really enjoying our newfound friendship, and looking forward for that to continue. Anyway, congrats on a fantastic season and hope to see many more amazing finds from you in 2015 ..... Bill

 

[Ahab8]

Wow Abe - that's a jawdropping number of amazing recoveries for a rookie relic hunter!! But I'm even more impressed with your love of history, and your strong desire to get in the trenches and work hard at finding new and potentially productive sites. You're definitely doing it the right way, and I couldn't be more proud of ya. And I'm really enjoying our newfound friendship, and looking forward for that to continue. Anyway, congrats on a fantastic season and hope to see many more amazing finds from you in 2015 ..... Bill

Thanks Bill! And yes you are stuck with me as a friend, like it or not lol. I'm still going to ask you questions you've already answered and I'm still going to email you about some spot that I researched that I'll probably hike miles through the woods to get to and find half a colonial button :-).
In all seriousness I truly appreciate our friendship Bill. It'd become obvious to me that our brains work very much the same way. Neither of us is ever quite satisfied and we are both determined that we will find that dream spot. I'm sitting here this morning as a matter of fact surrounded by old maps. It amazes me that you can read something or look at a map a hundred times and suddenly you see something that you've missed 99 other times. It happens to me all the time.
I wish you the best in 2015 my friend. You sure blew us all away in 2014 with that beautiful silver coin that had us all scrambling through our Whitmans books to see what the hell Bill just pulled from the earth....amazing

 

[Vino]

Well what can i say my friend except you are a inspiration..Im glad I was able to share alot of your finds as well as my with you over this last year...Hoping 2015 will bring as many great finds as 14 did..
Ps..I dont see any Half cents in ur finds??
Lol..
Happy New year look forward to a long friendship.

George

 

[BigWaveDave]

Can we switch houses for a year, pleeeeease?

 

[Ahab8]

Well what can i say my friend except you are a inspiration..Im glad I was able to share alot of your finds as well as my with you over this last year...Hoping 2015 will bring as many great finds as 14 did..
Ps..I dont see any Half cents in ur finds??
Lol..
Happy New year look forward to a long friendship.

George

Oh did I forget all my half cents? Oh wait a minute I don't have any lol. Or I have exactly the same amount of 2 Reales that you have. Oh George it's been a hell of a lot of fun becoming friends and sharing finds. I'll never forget sending you a pic of a dirty tree coin and you being almost as happy as me. That's a good friend right there. I hope 2015 treats you very well. I'm going for a long one on Friday. Might as well try to start with a bang!

 

[Ahab8]

Can we switch houses for a year, pleeeeease?

Hmmm do you realize how damn cold it is up here bro? And my gf is pretty damn good looking. Can I bring her to Florida or do I have to leave her here for you? Were gonna have to do some negotiating Dave lol

 

[doninbrewster]

Wow Abe, you had some year. Anyone of them could be a best of the year for many people. BTW, if you didn't know, the Connecticut copper is a Redbook listed type known as the ETLIR as the last letter is an R instead of a B. Great finds and hope you have another great year.

 

[pepperj]

If I was a newby your yearly totals post would truly inspire me to hunt colonial sites only, to get one or a few of the many truly great looking finds. Wait a minute Abe I've been looking at the ground and digging in it for 50+ yrs, in the blood bad, and looking over the post I'm truly inspired to get back out there in freezing temps dig through the frozen crust to find something.
To tell you the honest truth I don't much like the cold, really I have to dig deep to even to think about digging in cold weather, but that's the plan because your post is a true inspiration for the new and seasoned hunter.
Thank you for your passion in digging history and sharing it with us all Abe.

 

[Ahab8]

Wow Abe, you had some year. Anyone of them could be a best of the year for many people. BTW, if you didn't know, the Connecticut copper is a Redbook listed type known as the ETLIR as the last letter is an R instead of a B. Great finds and hope you have another great year.

Thank you Don! Your finds have been inspirational and I always appreciate your knowledge. Hope you have a great 2015

 

[Ahab8]

If I was a newby your yearly totals post would truly inspire me to hunt colonial sites only, to get one or a few of the many truly great looking finds. Wait a minute Abe I've been looking at the ground and digging in it for 50+ yrs, in the blood bad, and looking over the post I'm truly inspired to get back out there in freezing temps dig through the frozen crust to find something.
To tell you the honest truth I don't much like the cold, really I have to dig deep to even to think about digging in cold weather, but that's the plan because your post is a true inspiration for the new and seasoned hunter.
Thank you for your passion in digging history and sharing it with us all Abe.

Pepper you've always had thoughtful replies and always been super supportive. I appreciate all of that more than you could ever know. I spend a lot more time researching than I ever do in the dirt. I just feel like I have a very limited amount of time to hunt and I want to be as prepared as possible. Oh yeah and I absolutely love love love local history. I read and look at maps for hours. If you're not into it and passionate you're not going to find your potential. If you don't enjoy being out in nature you won't either. If I strike out with the finds I still got to get out and see a few animals and beautiful scenery. Good day in my book. I am going to the earliest site I've ever stepped foot on tomorrow. Only problem is that it was a very short settlement. But one find from a place that early would make my day for sure. Happy New Year to you my friend. I hope it's a great year