DownNDirty
Bronze Member
Dirtstalker and I spent a yesterday in a large field that was plowed earlier this week. The heat was tough again but we figured it might be worth the trouble, as there was a Union camp there as well as home sites in the 18th and 19th centuries.
I started the day off with a bang. Not ten minutes after I started swinging the coil I found my first two cent piece. It's an 1870, and the obverse side is in great shape. I was pretty stoked about this one and motivated to find more.
My next decent find was an 1899 Indian head
Thanks to the plow there were pottery shards, glass and broken bricks on the surface. Here is a sample, which included examples from the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries.
One shard in particular has script etched in it-I see a capital B and "Num 4." My guess is that this is part of a ginger beer bottle and that number 4 has something to do with the beer-but who knows?
Next I struck pay dirt (pardon the pun) when I found the valve from a Union powder flask; it was partially on the surface thanks to the plow. The nozzle would have screwed to the small threaded part at the top, and the base would have attached to the flask. The lever that opened and closed the valve is broken off. This is the second one to come from this field; a buddy of mine found one there last year.
Another interesting find was this small two-piece button. Engraved on the front is "E Plenge/Charleston" and the maker's mark on the back is "Solidite/Paris." CC Plenge was a clothier in downtown Charleston in the mid-1800s and he had a son Edward Plenge, so I can only assume that Edward inherited the business.
Other finds included a tent grommet, two buckles, some rim fire bullet cartridges and other stuff. After a long eight hours and an attack of the $#%@ fire ants I limped home to have a cold one and clean up my finds. Gotta love summer!
I started the day off with a bang. Not ten minutes after I started swinging the coil I found my first two cent piece. It's an 1870, and the obverse side is in great shape. I was pretty stoked about this one and motivated to find more.
My next decent find was an 1899 Indian head
Thanks to the plow there were pottery shards, glass and broken bricks on the surface. Here is a sample, which included examples from the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries.
One shard in particular has script etched in it-I see a capital B and "Num 4." My guess is that this is part of a ginger beer bottle and that number 4 has something to do with the beer-but who knows?
Next I struck pay dirt (pardon the pun) when I found the valve from a Union powder flask; it was partially on the surface thanks to the plow. The nozzle would have screwed to the small threaded part at the top, and the base would have attached to the flask. The lever that opened and closed the valve is broken off. This is the second one to come from this field; a buddy of mine found one there last year.
Another interesting find was this small two-piece button. Engraved on the front is "E Plenge/Charleston" and the maker's mark on the back is "Solidite/Paris." CC Plenge was a clothier in downtown Charleston in the mid-1800s and he had a son Edward Plenge, so I can only assume that Edward inherited the business.
Other finds included a tent grommet, two buckles, some rim fire bullet cartridges and other stuff. After a long eight hours and an attack of the $#%@ fire ants I limped home to have a cold one and clean up my finds. Gotta love summer!
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still waiting for a negative tide then back to the wharf
