All I can say is OMG!!

[Devonrex]

Well everyone, it's been a rough 3 months of steady work for me but I have managed to get out and swing my Nautilus a few times during that time. Nothing spectacular since finding that isolated South Carolina Pit back a few months ago. Well that all changed last week. I went out for a day of scouring for a new site and after 4 hours all I had was 2 musket balls and a Eagle I coat button. Well I knew I needed to do something drastic so I totally took off in a new direction and walked back into a site I had hunted way back in 2003. It was getting dark and I didn't have much time but just as I got to an area that had produced a few goodies before my detector rang out. A short while later I was holding a perfect dropped Georgia Teat Bullet. That made my trip and home I went. Once I got home I cleaned up my Eagle I button which surprisingly turned out to be silver washed! (This is the 4th of these I have found this year). Well it should be no surprise I made a mental note to go back to the area where the Georgia Teat came from ASAP. Well on Sunday, 12-27-15 I finally had a few hours to go swing again. I immediately went back to where I found the Confederate dropped bullet but after an hour I had found nothing. Like I had said I had been here before back in 2003 and I had pounded this site! Well suddenly I had a signal which turned out to be an awesome brass suspender clip followed by a 58 caliber musket ball 10 inches from it. I thought to myself "Hey things are looking up! ". Well then again nothing for about a half an hour and then a piece of solid green brass surfaced which looked like a broken end of a Confederate spur. This was on one side of a big beech tree, Well I have always had

for some reason around beech trees so I circled it very carefully. Exactly on the other side I got another whisper of a reading. I carefully dug down about eight inches and out popped a perfect two-piece button with the shank. Now this area has great soil with a mixture of about 30 percent sand so I could immediately see the design on the face of the button. It was A STAR WITH THAT BEAUTIFUL LETTER "I" IN THE CENTER!!! Well I immediately knew what I had and I could see the gilt shining through. It had been since 2012 since I had dug my last coat Mississippi "I" button but now I had another one! Well I hunted a little longer but found pretty much nothing so I decided it was time to go home. I usually show all my dug finds to my Dad but because he has been so sick lately he couldn't see it that day. So I kept it in its dug condition until the next day so he could see it. Then I gently went home and began the cleaning process. The finished result was mind blowing. Again ALL I COULD SAY WAS OMG!!! The Mississippi Infantry button had 90 percent gold!!! There entire star, which usually has no gold on these when dug except in the recess of the I, was totally covered in gold! The shank was intact and the backmark was Hyde and Goodrich N. O. (New Orleans). What an awesome button with the best backmark you could hope for! This is the type of button that was dug back in the early 70's folks and I couldn't believe this one had come out of the ground looking like this in the year 2015, exactly 153 years since these Rebs had been here! Well what a way to end my 2015 relic hunting year!!! This was my 6th Confederate button of the year amongst many other awesome relics. 2015 has certainly been good to me!! Its been great seeing everyone's finds over the year and I hope you keep that passion going! Relic hunting is a part of my life that has always brought me happiness. I cannot imagine a life without digging. Hope everyone has a great New Year's Eve and a Happy New Year! May 2016 bring you that relic of your dreams! Devonrex

 

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[tennessee digger]

I voted your button as a Banner find John. Beautiful find.

 

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[Tnmountains]

Very good shape and an excellent job in cleaning it. You do not see these very often. Nice save it would not last another 153 years.

 

[gordonquixote]

Sweet button.

Hit 'enter' every once and a while...that was quite the text wall!

 

[Devonrex]

Thanks everyone for all your nice replies. Many diggers don't realize just how rare this button is to find these days and with this condition it puts it in the upper 1 percent of all specimens that have been excavated. I realize many detectorists on this site are strictly coin hunters but let me tell you this find is like finding a flowing hair coin. They just don't get any better! Again thanks for all your nice responses. I can't wait for my 2016 relic hunting season to begin! Devonrex

 

[The Rebel]

That's Awesome! Hope your dad gets better soon.

 

[Davers]

When 'Dev' Say's OMG 'You know it's Nice'!

Tho I have not read the "Text Wall " yet (It really does not bother me) that's another
G.I.S. Find For Me.
Assuming it's got a Rare Backmark as well.

That's One Beautiful Button . I could say much more but I'd be here for another hour or 2 slow typing.

Again Great Save Dev.
Davers

 

[Davers]

After Reading ...WOW!
Hyde & Goodrich NO ...WOW!
Condition& Cleaning job WOW!

As it was stated before the Eagle I would have made my Month But Being Silver Washed It would have made my Year.
BANNER!!!!

 

[Garrett424]

OMG is an understatement.
Freakin' beautiful find.

 

[Devonrex]

Absolutely gorgeous John! They don't come much better than that.

Thanks Bill! Congrats on all your magnificent finds this year as well and good luck to a great 2016 cut silver and relic season!

 

[Devonrex]

I voted your button as a Banner find John. Beautiful find.

Thanks for the vote! Congrats on all your superb 2015 relic hunting finds as well! I've never heard of one as beautiful as this being found for a very, very long time. I do recall a coat of Mississippi "C's" being found over a decade ago and pictured in North South Trader. They were all pretty much loaded with gilt but one looked like this and it was a Mississippi "C"!!! That coat is still considered one of my top 5 relic hunting finds ever found!

 

[Darby]

Wow! What a great button and in excellent condition! Super big congrats on such a rare find! Happy new year to everyone and hope 2016 produces some great finds!

 

[Devonrex]

Here is another picture of this beautiful Mississippi "I" button. The solid cast green piece that I thought was the end of a spur actually is the end of an 1840 Artillery Saber's hilt. The suspender clip, which again ios the first of these I have found in a Confederate campsite, has 2 words stamped on it. The first is "Brevette" and I cannot make out the second one.

 

[Iron Patch]

If you're going to dig a Confederate button it might as well look like that!

 

[Devonrex]

If you're going to dig a Confederate button it might as well look like that!

Thanks, Iron Patch! Yes, I love digging Revolutionary War Relics like you! Whether its American, British, Hessian, German, or French doesn't really matter ......and you know I've dug just a few! But I also have a desire to find Confederate brass!!! And when you do dig Confederate brass to have it come out of the ground in perfect shape with this much gold gilt on it is a dream come true. Buddy, I can hold this button on one side of the room and even if you were clear on the other side you could still see the BLING! I mean you need eyeglasses to keep your eyes from being burned! LOL It will be a long time before anyone see's another one dug in this condition. Congrats on all your 2015 amazing discoveries! Devonrex

 

[zaxfire69]

Wow! Beautiful button.