CaneField Bandits: Double SPANISH Hunt Today!

BuckleBoy · Feb 4, 2012

Hello All,

Just when I thought I'd seen it all with the double helping of 1840s, Orleans Mint Seated Liberty Goodness last hunt, we moved our game to the next level--and half a century earlier--this week with a double Spanish Silver day! :hello2:

First off, let's get everyone in the mood with a soundtrack for you to listen to while you read this post, and then I'll tell ya a story. 8)

I met up with Shanegalang and we got on the muddy mucky canefields this morning at Dawn. Stopped by and said hello to Old Bernard Bonnier and he came along with us as our mascot on our hunt. We had noticed some signs of a few other houses on the massive property during our earlier hunts, and decided to go and check one of them out. The amount of brick was intense for this one, to the point that we thought it might've once been an old Sugar Mill. It was almost as if a brick bomb had dropped from the sky and exploded all over the field.

We got to work.

Immediately, we started digging flat button after flat button.

I got a nice tombac, and found a piece of a Civil War sword belt rig. Shane dug a WWI era great seal button. But to be honest, these were the only post-1850s finds made today. I dug a piece of a solid silver spoon bowl (scalloped shell design where it meets the spoon bowl). Shane dug a nice cast pewter domed button with a fat shank on it. :thumbsup:

As the clouds overtook the skies we started getting hungry, so we decided to take a little break and grab some file gumbo.

We kept getting more and more hungry, and dragging our feet on that break... Well, right before our lunch I got a call from Hill Billy asking what I was doing. "What do you think I'm doing?" I asked right back. :laughing7:

He then told me to get off the phone and get hunting so Shane didn't skunk me.

I turned the next row, and got a shallow double-beep signal right on top. I dug a little little baby scoop out of the muck and and saw a flash of something shiny! I immediately got down on my knees to take a photo of the little beauty. I knew it had to be either a 3c silver or Spanish. And when I saw how worn it was, I knew it had to be a Spanish Half Real.

Old Bill Hilly must have called me with the good mojo, because my last Spanish was dug the year I met him. Since then, he has managed to hoover them all up--from Half Reales to One Reales, and even FOUR Big 8's. ::)

I had to move 750 miles away to dig one again.

After the excitement and celebration, we decided it would be a good time to break for Gumbo.

When we returned to our new favorite field, Shane was on a mission. He dug a trigger guard piece, two padlock keyhole covers, and a nice Colonial Shoe Buckle Piece. :whip2:

Then in an instant, he looked at me and said "I found something the same as what you found!" My gears started turning, probably looking at him with a blank expression thinking "Bullet?" "Button?" Did he find a sabre belt rig piece? He looked at me and clarified things: "COIN!"

At that point, I decided to run over. It was a SECOND Half Real!!! :headbang:

We hit it a bit longer, all the while watching the weather radar as the storm clouds moved in, and the cold rain spat at us off and on. (Translation for the Northerners on the Forum: "Cold" rain is 60 degree rain when it is almost 80 outside. Brrrrr!

) Right after I snapped this photo, the rain moved in and poured buckets on us, ending the hunt.

FINDS PHOTOS BELOW:

Hill Billy · Feb 5, 2012

Old Bill Hilly must have called me with the good mojo, because my last Spanish was dug the year I met him. Since then, he has managed to hoover them all up--from Half Reales to One Reales, and even FOUR Big 8's. I had to move 750 miles away to dig one again.

I'm glad I could help from 750 miles away :thumbsup:

send me Quindy's number and I'll call him this week as well.
Great finds guys!

HB

Bill D. (VA) · Feb 5, 2012

Great post BuckleBoy. I know you had a blast at an interesting and productive site like that one. And congrats on the spanish silver finds. Looking forward to seeing what else comes out of those fields. HH ..... Bill

ModernMiner · Feb 5, 2012

Another 5 star hunt for the "Gumbo Gang". :hello2:

You and Shane had one h-ll of a day there Will. A big high 5 on the Spanish silver. :hello2:

I love the old buttons and wide variety of pottery shards to are finds. Those shards would make an awesome display just by themselves. :thumbsup:

In you bowl of asst'd junque there is what looks to be a hollow lead tube. Any idea what that was used for? :dontknow:

I found one at a CW spot of mine, and I've seen a few others posted on Tnet before. Just curious.

Way to go guys. Can't wait to see your next hunt.
Thanks for the video. Any more with the young ladies in them? :tongue3:

-Dug-

BuckleBoy · Feb 5, 2012

ModernMiner said:
Another 5 star hunt for the "Gumbo Gang". You and Shane had one h-ll of a day there Will. A big high 5 on the Spanish silver. I love the old buttons and wide variety of pottery shards to are finds. Those shards would make an awesome display just by themselves.
In you bowl of asst'd junque there is what looks to be a hollow lead tube. Any idea what that was used for? I found one at a CW spot of mine, and I've seen a few others posted on Tnet before. Just curious.

Way to go guys. Can't wait to see your next hunt.
Thanks for the video. Any more with the young ladies in them?

-Dug-

Dug,

The rolled up, long thin pieces we find in CW camps are most often lead pencils. This is a short, thick one, with a big hole through it. This is for sure a fishing-related find. I have several from this field, and many of the pieces of lead have holes all the way through them from being fishing sinkers. Heck, even some of the CW bullets did too. The first few hunts down here, we thought we were getting camp lead all over the place, but it is all fishing and boat related. Most of the flat lead pieces have nail or rivet holes in them like flashing.

I will work on a nice lady video for the next post. :wink:

Best Wishes,

Buck

CC Hunter · Feb 5, 2012

Great hunt and photos BuckleBoy! :icon_thumright:

Where's the bottle of Louisiana hot sauce on that table? $:-\$ Possibly there should be a pilgrimage to Avery Island Louisiana, initiation with a factory tour, and have a few samples of all the Tabasco at the cafe there! 8)

Shanegalang's Spanish half real appears to be a an 1807 over 6. More precisely, where you fellows are digging, the term would bepicayune rather than half reale.

Picayune is a French based word commonly used for describing half reales and half dimes in the Deep South areas of French heritage. The term appears in printed historical reference from about 1804, and became common lingo over the next half century. We can let you slide through BuckleBoy, with calling your 1803 a half reale , but Shangalang's 1807 is clearly after the "cut-off" date! :laughing7:

Regarding pipe stems, I recall at some point and time seeing a reference to a means of determining date and age according to the diameter of the inside hole. Kaolin pipes were in use from the early Colonial times, on up through the end of the 19th century. In fact, a few of the complete pipes I've dug were in 1880's site. The pipe bowls seem to have gradually changed from a 45' degree angle to a more 90' degree angle over three centuries or more.

CC Hunter

umrgolf · Feb 5, 2012

Great finds guys, incredible to find two spanish coins in a day down there.. don't see spanish posted all too often from that area, let alone two. Keep the train rolling :headbang:

Dman · Feb 5, 2012

Awesome finds. Way to go.
Dman

Colonial Copper Zeus · Feb 5, 2012

Dual Spanish is a great way to begin the year. Congrats B.B.
Chris

Mark S. · Feb 5, 2012

Nice hunt. Makes me itching to get out. I have a couple new sites to hunt but cannot get to them right now. Its a shame as we have had a winter of almost non-existent snow. (western NY, near Buffalo). In fact my tractor has not moved yet this winter. I only plugged in the block heater last week when we got 6 in of white stuff but it melted off and rained within a day later.

Only excuse I have is no time available to swing right now. So I am a bit envious.

That bowl of viddles looks real good too. Have only had gumbo a couple times. No one serves it around here. Maybe I should learn how to make it. Do ya have a recipe available?

RJH02 · Feb 5, 2012

Nice finds , you guys had a great day! What is the brass object in the middle of the plate of melted lead? I found one identical to it on a group hunt across from the Chanclelorsville battefield.

BuckleBoy · Feb 5, 2012

CC Hunter said:
Great hunt and photos BuckleBoy!

Where's the bottle of Louisiana hot sauce on that table? $:-\$ Possibly there should be a pilgrimage to Avery Island Louisiana, initiation with a factory tour, and have a few samples of all the Tabasco at the cafe there! 8)

Shanegalang's Spanish half real appears to be a an 1807 over 6. More precisely, where you fellows are digging, the term would bepicayune rather than half reale. Picayune is a French based word commonly used for describing half reales and half dimes in the Deep South areas of French heritage. The term appears in printed historical reference from about 1804, and became common lingo over the next half century. We can let you slide through BuckleBoy, with calling your 1803 a half reale , but Shangalang's 1807 is clearly after the "cut-off" date!

Regarding pipe stems, I recall at some point and time seeing a reference to a means of determining date and age according to the diameter of the inside hole. Kaolin pipes were in use from the early Colonial times, on up through the end of the 19th century. In fact, a few of the complete pipes I've dug were in 1880's site. The pipe bowls seem to have gradually changed from a 45' degree angle to a more 90' degree angle over three centuries or more.

CC Hunter

Point well taken on the Tabasco and the Picayune. :thumbsup:

Only trouble is the word recognition among members if I'd called it "Double Picayune Day!" I would have gotten at least one reply though. 8) That gumbo didn't need any extra seasoning. It was fantastic. BUT...there was a bottle of pepper sauce close by just in case. :wink:

The pipe bowl I found was at more of an angle than the one Shane found. Yes, I have found clay pipes in later sites too...but the stereotypical long-stemmed clay pipe with an angled bowl I had never been able to find in Kentucky, which tells me that most likely the sites were not old enough for that style of pipe to be found there. Either way, I was thrilled to find one. Those little pieces of cane make it Very difficult to see a piece of stem. Next stem piece I find, I am going to take a photo to post so that we can play a game of "find the pipe stem in the stubble."

umrgolf said:
Great finds guys, incredible to find two spanish coins in a day down there.. don't see spanish posted all too often from that area, let alone two. Keep the train rolling

Yes, for some reason I don't see much posted from Louisiana in general--even in the LA section. Spanish are always difficult to find, unless your name is Hill Billy. ::)

Seems like they usually come in singles. But it was very nice to get a double--and that they were so close in age. :thumbsup:

Colonial Copper Zeus said:
Dual Spanish is a great way to begin the year. Congrats B.B.
Chris

Great to hear from you, Chris! This is already turning out to be a good year for both coins and relics. Now we need to just maintain the quality, which we will be able to do for a while for sure--but as you know, the next site can always bring glory or demise. We'll see which it'll be--and until then, we are happy to dig what we can.

Mark S. said:
Nice hunt. Makes me itching to get out. I have a couple new sites to hunt but cannot get to them right now. Its a shame as we have had a winter of almost non-existent snow. (western NY, near Buffalo). In fact my tractor has not moved yet this winter. I only plugged in the block heater last week when we got 6 in of white stuff but it melted off and rained within a day later.

Only excuse I have is no time available to swing right now. So I am a bit envious.

That bowl of viddles looks real good too. Have only had gumbo a couple times. No one serves it around here. Maybe I should learn how to make it. Do ya have a recipe available?

I will see what I can do on the recipe.

Thank you for your reply, Mark. You'll make it out soon for sure. For you up North, the warmer weather is a blessing. For us down here, it means that the weeds will choke the fields faster, and the snakes and mosquitoes will become a factor sooner.

RJH02 said:
Nice finds , you guys had a great day! What is the brass object in the middle of the plate of melted lead? I found one identical to it on a group hunt across from the Chanclelorsville battefield.

That is a brass valve from mid-to-late 1800s gas lighting.

Best Wishes,

Buckleboy

BuckleBoy · Feb 6, 2012

Deno said:
Don't you guys ever get tired of walking all of those fields and finding all that good stuff?

That spot sounds to hot.

Congrats on the finds.

Nope. By the way, you had asked about the dates of my two Draped from KY. One dateless, the other 1807. (They were both very worn, but easy to ID with the direction the bust was facing):

Both dug in 2009:

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,220628.0.html
http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,281149.0.html

CRUSADER said:
Well you know I'm still looking & you guys get 2 in 1 hunt

'but did none of the folk here ever carry anything smaller than five cents?'

Turn that on it's head & think bigger

Cru, if anyone is going to find one over there, it's you. The Gold you just dug was amazing. "Did none of those folk carry anything larger than a dime?" Is that better?

HILL BILLY said:
I'm glad I could help from 750 miles away send me Quindy's number and I'll call him this week as well.
Great finds guys!

HB

Yeah, that was unreal. You and your Spanish Mojo. Call me anytime, man. Preferably when I'm out with a detector on my arm! Great find yourself on that Early Seated you just dug today in KY. The legendary Iron Brigade lives on. :thumbsup:

Bill D. (VA) said:
Great post BuckleBoy. I know you had a blast at an interesting and productive site like that one. And congrats on the spanish silver finds. Looking forward to seeing what else comes out of those fields. HH ..... Bill

Your reply means a lot, Bill. It is truly like Christmas morning every hunt down here. I never know whether the next signal will be a tax token or a half real, or whether the next site we find will be 1940s or 1750s. It is so strange to me to have So much traffic along the same areas for so long. Kentucky wasn't like that. People walked all over the sites, and some good items were lost quite randomly in the middle of nowhere way out of a site's iron patch. These types of finds were always pure luck for the detectorist, since there wasn't much reason to grid way out there, hoping to find one more keeper that might be there or not. Here, finds are thick--and some fields are worth hunting even if they have never had a structure on them or CW troops in them.

BuckleBoy · Feb 6, 2012

kuger said:
Good eye Quindy!!

Big congrats B.B.!!!I knew once ya got back in the saddle you would pick up right where ya left off!!!

Back in the saddle. It took a lot of research and a good bit of time and effort. But isn't that always the case? :wink:

It's funny. When I moved here, I tried to find a diggin buddy and e-mailed several members but nobody seemed to interested in inviting me out digging with them or forging a friendship... There was one exception, and that was Shane. Now that I'm in the saddle again, folks are coming out of the woodwork asking to hunt down here. :laughing9:

-Buck

ModernMiner · Feb 6, 2012

Buckaroo,
I just finished reading your story in the recent issue of W&ET mag. Great read Will. :icon_thumleft:

I would recognize those dirty gloves anywhere. :laughing9:

Your article got me thinking that I need to get off my rump and start doing some research myself on old homesites.
I remember your posts from previous years how you guys would go out into hug fields and locate the old home sites from the iron targets and pottery shards. Your research really paid off. :headbang:

-Dug-

BuckleBoy · Feb 6, 2012

ModernMiner said:
Buckaroo,
I just finished reading your story in the recent issue of W&ET mag. Great read Will.
I would recognize those dirty gloves anywhere.
Your article got me thinking that I need to get off my rump and start doing some research myself on old homesites.
I remember your posts from previous years how you guys would go out into hug fields and locate the old home sites from the iron targets and pottery shards. Your research really paid off.
-Dug-

Dirty gloves and Floppy Hat.

Those are the Buckleboy trademarks. Some of the site-finding techniques I've developed over the years still work well down here. Others are worthless in Louisiana. Check your PM's, my friend.

Canoe · Feb 7, 2012

Wow!!! I've been wanting to see your finds. I really like the colorful pottery shards. They would make a nice collage for your mother. :sign13:

I'll bet she would even keep them forever, even if they may not be worth a "picayune" (Webster definition 2).

Keep up the good work and watch for snakes. They bite! :tongue11:

Canoe

Nana40 · Feb 7, 2012

OH my goodness ya'll! Yer cleaning up Loosiana one scoop at a time!

I'm thrilled to see you two digging up the good stuff!! :hello2:

And mmmmmmm...that gumbo looks good too!
Stunning finds!!
Nana :hello:

Woodland Detectors · Feb 7, 2012

What a great post Will, and fantastic silver saves.. That was a treat listening to that ole Cajun music while I read yer story. Great post my friend.

shanegalang · Feb 8, 2012

"I really like the colorful pottery shards" I'm starting to enjoy the pottery and china almost as much as the metal finds. Someone here on T-Net suggested a site that I have been using to identify the pieces. I bought a display/ organiser and I'm basically organizing them all by type and date. Tells a good story about the site we are on. The people were pretty wealthy and the house probably stood between 1750 and 1830. And of coarse the coins we are finding backs this up as well. Shane The Cane Field Bandits

Hill Billy · Feb 8, 2012

shanegalang said:
"I really like the colorful pottery shards" I'm starting to enjoy the pottery and china almost as much as the metal finds. Someone here on T-Net suggested a site that I have been using to identify the pieces. I bought a display/ organiser and I'm basically organizing them all by type and date. Tells a good story about the site we are on. The people were pretty wealthy and the house probably stood between 1750 and 1830. And of coarse the coins we are finding backs this up as well. Shane The Cane Field Bandits

You need to glue all of those shards back together to put that gumbo in. :laughing9: