"Bucket List" finds: civil war Virginia State Seal button, 1831 cent, 1899 quarter

TheCannonballGuy

Gold Member
Feb 24, 2006
6,528
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Occupied CSA (Richmond VA)
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"Bucket List" finds: civil war Virginia State Seal button, 1831 cent, 1899 quarter

At this late stage of my life, I did not expect to ever have any relic-digging finds worth posting. But my Shepherd & Great Provider recently blessed me totally unexpectedly with 3 things on my elderly-detectorist “bucket list.” So, here is my first-ever post in Today’s Finds as the finder.

Due mainly to health-related reasons, it’s been over 5 years since I’d gone relic-digging. Yes, some of my digger friends have been willing tp give me a ride to one of their relic-spots, but I didn’t want to impose on them. Also, because every local relic-spot that I knew of had been either built-on or dug to death, it’s been over 20 years since I’d dug a Confederate button… or a pre-20[SUP]th[/SUP]-Century silver coin… or a civil war era coin. So although I felt little-to-no hope of ever repeating those finds from my long-ago past, each of them was on my elderly bucket-list… and each turned up in holes I dug recently at an 1830s farmhouse site. See the photos below.

I wasn’t expecting that my three bucket list finds would be 200 feet my backyard. Because I’d found a 1-piece brass flatbutton in my yard while digging a hole for a rosebush, I figured the old farmhouse in an abandoned field adjoining my backyard dated to the 1830s. But I couldn’t get permission from the (very elderly) farmer to dig on the property where he was born. Then a couple of years ago he passed away (at age 104), and his heirs sold the farm… which is now being bulldozed for a large residential subdivision. So I pulled my dusty but much-trusted old Nautilus DMC-1 out of the closet, and headed up the hill to the old farmhouse. Much to my surprise, on the other side of the hill I encountered no less than 4 diggers from our local civil war relic hunting club (Central Virginia Civil War Collectors). They were all hard at work digging their “open-pit mine” at an outbuilding’s footprint in the farm’s backyard field. They reported having previously found three Confederate state-seal buttons… a Virginia, Louisiana, and South Carolina. One of the photos below shows me (at right) resting with my DMC-1. (Look closely, at lower left you'll see a shard of Blue Delft china at the edge of their pit-mine.) So of course I’ve been pounding the fields and farmhouse-site ever since.

I found some of the relics in the "main" photo below in the past 24 hours, some the day before, and others during the past 3 weeks.
At top:
A full-length “arm” from a US Cavalry Model-1859 Enlisted-man’s brass spur.
Row 1:
Virginia State Seal button (Albert book's VA-4b2) with 1845-50 backmark, US 1831 large-cent, 1890 Indian-head cent, 1899 silver 25-cent, 1899 “V-nickel” 5-cent coin.
Row 2:
Six very-early-1800s brass 1-piece flatbuttons, one whose indented-lettering backmark has the word “colour,” indicating it was imported from Britain a few years after the War-of-1812 ended.
Row 3:
A goldplated fancy brass buckle (type unidentified), an unidentified brass buckle-keeper, broken piece from late-1700s-to-early-1800s pewter spoon with 5 hallmark stampings. (I’ll be posting the unknowns in the What-Is-It? forum.)
Row 4:
1901 Adams Patent “President-brand” suspenders buckle, 1700s/1800s clay marble, Remington .40-82 caliber Model-1886 Rifle cartridge casing, two 1800s-type brass 4-hole buttons.
Row 5:
Fragment of early-1800s Blue Delft pattern china plate, neck of aqua-blue glass bottle with early-1800s “applied top.”
 

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Last edited:
Upvote 69

Digger RJ

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Very Nice!!! Congrats!!!
 

fyrffytr1

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Mar 5, 2010
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Congratulations on some really nice finds and good providence on future hunts. And, it is good to put a face to a name even if it a screen name.
 

Locke

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Oct 16, 2007
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Huge congratulations on the bucket list finds! I’m so glad you got the chance to go out and dig. I always enjoy reading your answers to many questions folks post on here. Hope you get a chance to go out some more. Happy New Year.
 

CASPER-2

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Jan 3, 2012
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Joe-Dirt

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Outstanding CBG!! You live in a wonderful part of the country for metal detecting. I have a permission very close to you on the property of a very well know relic hunter that I’m sure you know. I’m in that area every spring and always find something great!! Great job!! Keep on diggin’!
 

xcopperstax

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Sep 3, 2018
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Great story! It's ironic that your neighbor wouldn't let you dig and then the whole place gets bulldozed. Excellent finds and thanks for sharing!
 

Steve in PA

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Jul 5, 2010
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Glad you were finally able to hunt that property and even happier to see your finds! Hopefully this won't be your last post on Today's Finds!
 

BLK HOLE

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Congrats CBG!!!
 

HIGHSTRUNG

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Feb 6, 2019
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Fantastic! Congrats!
 

Rookster

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Great story and great finds as well. Fell better soon :icon_thumright:
 

ironhorse

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Oct 13, 2009
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I can't believe this is your first 'finds' post...
any stage of life you can start to fill the bucket...great bunch of elderly finds lol
 

Oct 5, 2014
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Congrats on the wonderful and productive hunt! :icon_thumleft:
 

smallfoot

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May 29, 2019
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Way to go CBG! I bet it felt good...
 

NZ49er

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Apr 3, 2018
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Beauty of a button! I miss hunting Virginia fields something awful. Great finds!
 

pa-dirt_nc-sand

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Apr 18, 2016
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Really awesome hunt! That VA button is sweet. Keep the finds and posts coming. Congrats!!
 

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