A real Dandy!

[Steve in PA]

Went out yesterday for a short hunt at one of my well pounded spots. I have been hunting this cow pasture for 20 years. There are three concentrations on this farm and it has given up some great finds including two Rattlesnake & Stars buttons, two 1840 Harrison campaign log cabin buttons, a 1767 Spanish coin facsimile button/cuff link, a Vermont copper, and a 2 reale cob which I found on Mother's Day last year. So looking for some more Mother's Day magic I returned yesterday and managed to recover this beautiful 1780s/90s Dandy button with an intricate design. This came from the main concentration where the rattlesnake buttons and most of the other good finds were made. I must have walked over this button 100 times, but conditions were perfect yesterday and the Deus sniffed her out.

 

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[Bill D. (VA)]

Those large decorated buttons are one of my favorite artifacts to dig. That one has got to be pushing close to 40mm which is huge. Really nice find!

 

[Billinoregon]

That's a lovely find. How did you clean it?

 

[worldtalker]

Went out yesterday for a short hunt at one of my well pounded spots. I have been hunting this cow pasture for 20 years. There are three concentrations on this farm and it has given up some great finds including two Rattlesnake & Stars buttons, two 1840 Harrison campaign log cabin buttons, a 1767 Spanish coin facsimile button/cuff link, a Vermont copper, and a 2 reale cob which I found on Mother's Day last year. So looking for some more Mother's Day magic I returned yesterday and managed to recover this beautiful 1780s/90s Dandy button with an intricate design. This came from the main concentration where the rattlesnake buttons and most of the other good finds were made. I must have walked over this button 100 times, but conditions were perfect yesterday and the Deus sniffed her out.

View attachment 1451520

Umm...how long did it take you to dig that hole??

 

[Steve in PA]

Umm...how long did it take you to dig that hole??

About 3 minutes to dig the plug and locate the item. If you are questioning my digging technique, let me just say this is a cow pasture, not a park, not a yard. When I'm digging in farm fields, I give myself a wide berth in case my pinpointing is a little off. There are tractor ruts over a foot deep in this cow pasture from the farmer hauling round bales to different parts of the fields.

 

[Steve in PA]

Those large decorated buttons are one of my favorite artifacts to dig. That one has got to be pushing close to 40mm which is huge. Really nice find!

Thanks Bill, this one is 35.8 mm.

 

[Steve in PA]

That's a lovely find. How did you clean it?

I used a toothpick to remove the loose dirt, then I dipped my finger in distilled water and rubbed the button where there was still a thin layer of dirt. I didn't want to soak it in peroxide or water for fear of affecting the patina.

 

[OutdoorAdv]

NICE one Steve! All my huge brass ones are either blank, or so toasty the design is nearly gone. Excellent patina on that one man.

 

[insontis]

About 3 minutes to dig the plug and locate the item. If you are questioning my digging technique, let me just say this is a cow pasture, not a park, not a yard. When I'm digging in farm fields, I give myself a wide berth in case my pinpointing is a little off. There are tractor ruts over a foot deep in this cow pasture from the farmer hauling round bales to different parts of the fields.

Personally I think that is one good looking hole. Given the circumstances and what you've found there I wouldn't risk a narrower one.. too beautiful to kiss.

 

[Scrappy]

That's a bigg'un there Steve! That or you have small hands anyway, killer button - the patina is just perfect

 

[Billinoregon]

Agree with the others Steve. You did a perfect job cleaning it and preserving its patina.

 

[Steve in PA]

That's a bigg'un there Steve! That or you have small hands anyway, killer button - the patina is just perfect

Thanks Steve. It's 35.8 mm diameter and it makes my hands look smaller than they already are . Usually when I dig one of these buttons around here they have no patina at all. I got lucky with this one.

 

[Z.K.]

I absolutely love that button. Beautiful conservation, too. Glad you shared it!

I wish this thread had happened on Saturday morning so I might have taken a page from a master plug digger (that hole looks like you had alien technology at your disposal)...instead of rushing things and gouging my first intact copper powder flask that afternoon. I knew I was in a great spot but somehow convinced myself it was just a beer can. I'll post that and a few lesser dandies of my own later this week, after I've fully forgiven myself.

 

[Steve in PA]

I absolutely love that button. Beautiful conservation, too. Glad you shared it!

I wish this thread had happened on Saturday morning so I might have taken a page from a master plug digger (that hole looks like you had alien technology at your disposal)...instead of rushing things and gouging my first intact copper powder flask that afternoon. I knew I was in a great spot but somehow convinced myself it was just a beer can. I'll post that and a few lesser dandies of my own later this week, after I've fully forgiven myself.
View attachment 1451555

Don't be too hard on yourself, we've all been there. Sloppy digging is natural when you've been digging nothing but trash. Thanks for the compliments on my hole.

 

[trapperart]

Congrats on a nice button

 

[OutdoorAdv]

Don't be too hard on yourself, we've all been there. Sloppy digging is natural when you've been digging nothing but trash. Thanks for the compliments on my hole.

I agree with Ken, it does look like you had alien technology! It's about the same size, but WAY cleaner than my farm field plugs. Very nicely cut plug for a farm field\cow pasture man. One of my worst was when I ran my shovel down the back of a 2 reales even though my plug was over a foot in diameter... it was on edge and I pinpointed it way off.

 

[Steve in PA]

I agree with Ken, it does look like you had alien technology! It's about the same size, but WAY cleaner than my farm field plugs. Very nicely cut plug for a farm field\cow pasture man. One of my worst was when I ran my shovel down the back of a 2 reales even though my plug was over a foot in diameter... it was on edge and I pinpointed it way off.

When I'm in a farm field I always dig a 12-15" plug. This pasture allows for pretty clean plugs except where there are rocks. That must have sucked scratching that 2 reale

 

[OutdoorAdv]

When I'm in a farm field I always dig a 12-15" plug. This pasture allows for pretty clean plugs except where there are rocks. That must have sucked scratching that 2 reale

Oh man, I'm sure you know the feeling... pure excitement and pure devastation at the same time. haha I dug a 1 real about 5 min after and 2 feet away and that took the sting away a little.

 

[gwdigger]

Heck of a button. Thats better than a bust 1/2 or 1 reale in my book. Been a long time since I dug a Dandy so nice. Both the design and patina are excellent. My season is done unless I find a woods site so will be drooling over others finds.

 

[pa-dirt_nc-sand]

Sweet Dandy! Any back markings? The beauty of the hole you dug is that I don't see any roots. It would take me 30 min to dig a hole like that where I search!