Cellar hole finds: late 1700s to late 1800s

[rhedden]

Today's hunt involved seven hours of detecting at a remote cellar hole that I first detected in August of 2024. In that hunt, I found three Indian cents (1864, 1897, and 1899) and a well-worn 1856 Seated dime that was my first Seated coin in about 25 years. The cellar is walled with field stone and has an impressive, stone-lined well that is perfectly round. There are signs that the site was occupied into the 1900s in the form of large pieces of metal from farm equipment, etc. However, one thing bothered me on the first hunt: I found a broken Tombac button that should not have been there. What was a late 1700s button doing at a site that popped up on the local maps in the 1850s?

After hunting it today, I feel like the house was built on top of an older, abandoned site. Not only did I find an intact Tombac button with the shank and a shoe buckle fragment, but the last find of the day (with a thunderstorm closing in on me) was an 1827 large cent. The large cent was so stupidly deep that I have to give the Minelab Manticore with the 11" coil credit for being the deepest machine I've ever owned. The amount of dirt and rocks I dug out to recover that coin was just ludicrous (and yes, I filled the hole well!)

Now I feel confident that there was an earlier site at this location. Someone must have built a newer style cellar on the previous foundation somewhere around the 1850s. Also found today were some late 1800s relics including a suspender clasp and a brass ring that produced the nicest "silver dime" signal you could ask for.

Here are "Today's Finds" from the site. I also have some finds from the same site from June 14th, but I was too busy with work and travel to post them. I will add those below.

 

[rhedden]

Here are the finds from the same site on June 14th. I found a toasted copper that is quite thin and 27 mm in diameter - too large to be a half cent or a KG halfpenny. Not far away in a muddy seep, I found an 1864 Indian cent that must have been in near mint condition when it was dropped. What a shame that the very wet ground corroded the rim badly enough that pieces of the coin have actually broken off. To add insult to injury, it's an 1864 bronze "L on Ribbon," the premium one that carries a high price tag! The "L" stands for Longacre, the designer of the coin, but only a small fraction of 1864 cents have his initial on the ribbon. If only the ground at this site wasn't so cruel to copper coins.

 

[E-Trac-Ohio]

All your hard work was well rewarded - congrats on the great finds !

 

[Gare]

Out standing finds and report
Thank you for sharing with us

 

[Silvermonkey]

Today's hunt involved seven hours of detecting at a remote cellar hole that I first detected in August of 2024. In that hunt, I found three Indian cents (1864, 1897, and 1899) and a well-worn 1856 Seated dime that was my first Seated coin in about 25 years. The cellar is walled with field stone and has an impressive, stone-lined well that is perfectly round. There are signs that the site was occupied into the 1900s in the form of large pieces of metal from farm equipment, etc. However, one thing bothered me on the first hunt: I found a broken Tombac button that should not have been there. What was a late 1700s button doing at a site that popped up on the local maps in the 1850s?

After hunting it today, I feel like the house was built on top of an older, abandoned site. Not only did I find an intact Tombac button with the shank and a shoe buckle fragment, but the last find of the day (with a thunderstorm closing in on me) was an 1827 large cent. The large cent was so stupidly deep that I have to give the Minelab Manticore with the 11" coil credit for being the deepest machine I've ever owned. The amount of dirt and rocks I dug out to recover that coin was just ludicrous (and yes, I filled the hole well!)

Now I feel confident that there was an earlier site at this location. Someone must have built a newer style cellar on the previous foundation somewhere around the 1850s. Also found today were some late 1800s relics including a suspender clasp and a brass ring that produced the nicest "silver dime" signal you could ask for.

Here are "Today's Finds" from the site. I also have some finds from the same site from June 14th, but I was too busy with work and travel to post them. I will add those below.

That's a very nice collection of finds. Well done!

 

[Almy]

You've got a site that will be fun to detect for a long time, I'd guess.

 

[unclemac]

what dedication!

 

[oldmxrat]

Very nice, congrats!

 

[Digger RJ]

Today's hunt involved seven hours of detecting at a remote cellar hole that I first detected in August of 2024. In that hunt, I found three Indian cents (1864, 1897, and 1899) and a well-worn 1856 Seated dime that was my first Seated coin in about 25 years. The cellar is walled with field stone and has an impressive, stone-lined well that is perfectly round. There are signs that the site was occupied into the 1900s in the form of large pieces of metal from farm equipment, etc. However, one thing bothered me on the first hunt: I found a broken Tombac button that should not have been there. What was a late 1700s button doing at a site that popped up on the local maps in the 1850s?

After hunting it today, I feel like the house was built on top of an older, abandoned site. Not only did I find an intact Tombac button with the shank and a shoe buckle fragment, but the last find of the day (with a thunderstorm closing in on me) was an 1827 large cent. The large cent was so stupidly deep that I have to give the Minelab Manticore with the 11" coil credit for being the deepest machine I've ever owned. The amount of dirt and rocks I dug out to recover that coin was just ludicrous (and yes, I filled the hole well!)

Now I feel confident that there was an earlier site at this location. Someone must have built a newer style cellar on the previous foundation somewhere around the 1850s. Also found today were some late 1800s relics including a suspender clasp and a brass ring that produced the nicest "silver dime" signal you could ask for.

Here are "Today's Finds" from the site. I also have some finds from the same site from June 14th, but I was too busy with work and travel to post them. I will add those below.

Very Cool!!! Congrats!!!