tigerbeetle
Full Member
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2009
- Messages
- 166
- Reaction score
- 275
- Golden Thread
- 0
- Location
- Jersey Shore
- Detector(s) used
- Many -- Fisher, White's, Minelab, Cobra, others
- Primary Interest:
- Metal Detecting
One of my better finds for 2020 came as a surprise. I was hunting an ancient Burlington County (NJ) site from the 1700s. The homestead building was constructed circa 1730 and burnt down in 1812, per a neighbor to the area. I did find some oddly (badly) corroded large cents and one quite decent 1737 British cent. Right after digging an unreadable half cent, I was fooled by a button — thinking it was a coin. I gave little thought to the button … until I got home, cleaned it and revealed a wonderful hand-etched scene -- maybe Holland, though it might have an early American look. It’s about the size of a quarter, meaning it must have been very work intensive, eye-wise, to carve. I therefore think it might have been a single drawstring button worn at the neck area of a shawl, sash or cape. That could explain the two strange holes near the ring on the button back. The holes could also be heat vents for annealing the carved metal front piece to the base/back of the button. The button’s oddest angle — one I forwarded to my waveriding Facebook friends — is was how much the human figure in the lower right corner of the button looks like a surfer. This find goes into the special button section -- with my five Washington inaugural buttons and lone “Fire!” button, i.e. my best buttons. 
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