Charles II 1660's silver button. Few more relics. Great hunt in a great company.

Aureus · May 21, 2017

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to show the best finds from this week ends hunt. Had a nice visit from Ken Z.K. from Vermont. We managed to hit a few sites near Montreal with very good results.

Firstly, my favorite and the most unusual find. By far the oldest button or cuff link find since I started detecting and the very first silver one. When I found it on the hunt with Ken I was 100% sure it was a pretty beat and unusual pewter button. Only after getting home and getting it out of the box noticed that the crust dried and flaked away revealing a beautiful silver button with crown and two hurts. With the help from some friends on Treasurenet managed to ID it to the wedding of Charles II of England to Catherine of Braganza in 1662 An awesome and unexpected find! Really excited about it.

Here are some links to the British archaeological records site.
https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/715312

https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/616228

https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/530118

Note: Although multiple British archaeological records mention the possible association to the Charles II wedding there's some debate over the this connection.

Button or cuff link as found and after a light cleaning. Didn't clean the back part of it.

An other button found a day before on an other permission was a beautiful Victorian (I would guess late 1830's) 65th Regiment of foot. Still has it's gold gilding. Stunning design that I haven't seen before.

Than a very nice Royal Sappers and miners 1812 button. Great condition.

And a large artillery button I guess from 1830's

Than an other find on the hunt with Ken. What looks to be a shoe buckle. Never found one of that design and shape.

Lots of more finds that I don't have the time to post at this moment (really tired after 24 hours of hunts in 2 days)

Thanks for the comments.

Reference : Darch, E (2015) "NMS-79E4FB: A POST MEDIEVAL CUFF LINK" Web page available at: https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/715312 [Accessed: May 22, 2017 04:57:27 AM]

gwdigger · May 21, 2017

Your finds are just fantastic man. I always wanted one of those silver style buttons. None yet.

Silver Tree Chaser · May 21, 2017

Awesome - I haven't seen those show up before on a colonial period site. Congrats.

Bill D. (VA) · May 21, 2017

Love that button - a lot of early history there!

dirtlooter · May 21, 2017

I agree, fantastic finds

Z.K. · May 21, 2017

That cufflink is one of the coolest things I've ever seen, let alone seen dug...and watching it transform from a tiny pewter-looking mess to that arrestingly pretty piece of deep history is a joy.

I'm still trying to get a full picture of the rarity of this piece and its route to New France. I'm know I'm a tad biased, but just based on what we already know I think a silver 17th century cufflink with that kind of political history, in that condition, 800 miles from the mid Atlantic colonies?? That's a banner in my book.

We're both low-key on Tnet stuff, but I have to say this: you dig things routinely that most people won't ever, and that can make it hard for some to relate to these objects. But your work ethic, research, and skill are the perfect fit for a landscape with almost 400 years of European settlement. Seeing all that dirt-covered history was inspiring.

Professor of Engineering · May 21, 2017

Congratualtions on the cool relics! :notworthy:

ironhorse · May 21, 2017

Great finds as usual.
Any area with that quality of buttons must have had a lot of other interesting things, any coins on your hunts

eastcoastdetectorist · May 21, 2017

That's a really cool button! I don't get out enough to find the really good stuff. Good luck and HH!

pepperj · May 21, 2017

Great looking buttons the Sapper and Miners came out great. Congrats on the Charles ll silver link it's a beauty. You're having some really great hunts, well done.

Lord Verdigris · May 21, 2017

Awesome finds for sure. Congrats!!! [emoji106]

Gridwalker306 · May 21, 2017

Dang man, those finds are really delicious. The Charles button is ultra cool, and I'm a sucker for those artillery buttons.

Patriot Relics · May 22, 2017

17th century silver of any kind is an incredible find on our side of the pond, but the history behind your cuff makes it more remarkable. Outstanding recoveries

CRUSADER · May 22, 2017

Sorry, I'm going to have to say my opinion on this one. Its another internet myth. See the word 'may'. These cuff links (or linked-buttons that went at the top of the shirt) are 18th C, the construction is the same as all the others from this period & cuff links of the earliest type circa 1680s-1690s were completely different.(how can this one buck the trend & predate the first fashionable types) The PAS can't get it right all the time & it just takes 1 mistake for all the others who are clueless to follow suit. Sorry for the bad news, but I guess you prefer the truth.
As for the 65th, that is a smashing find!

pepperj · May 22, 2017

CRUSADER said:
Sorry, I'm going to have to say my opinion on this one. Its another internet myth. See the word 'may'. These cuff links (or linked-buttons that went at the top of the shirt) are 18th C, the construction is the same as all the others from this period & cuff links of the earliest type circa 1680s-1690s were completely different.(how can this one buck the trend & predate the first fashionable types) The PAS can't get it right all the time & it just takes 1 mistake for all the others who are clueless to follow suit. Sorry for the bad news, but I guess you prefer the truth.
As for the 65th, that is a smashing find!

17thC Charles II marriage commemoration silver buttons - a number of these are on display at Colchester museum as they were declared treasure.

http://www.colchestertreasurehunting.co.uk/silverbuttons.html

Aureus · May 22, 2017

CRUSADER said:
Sorry, I'm going to have to say my opinion on this one. Its another internet myth. See the word 'may'. These cuff links (or linked-buttons that went at the top of the shirt) are 18th C, the construction is the same as all the others from this period & cuff links of the earliest type circa 1680s-1690s were completely different.(how can this one buck the trend & predate the first fashionable types) The PAS can't get it right all the time & it just takes 1 mistake for all the others who are clueless to follow suit. Sorry for the bad news, but I guess you prefer the truth.
As for the 65th, that is a smashing find!

Thanks man. I always appreciate your comments and expertise. But I'm wondering how can all of the similar finds could be misdated by PAS. I understand the ''may'' part which mentions the possible association to the wedding of Charles and Catherine. But all of the British records I consulted dated it to circa late 17th century. I don't understand how all of them could have made the same error concerning the construction and the style of the 17th century item versus one from the 18th century.

Thanks again.

Aureus · May 22, 2017

gwdigger said:
Your finds are just fantastic man. I always wanted one of those silver style buttons. None yet.

Thank you!

Aureus · May 22, 2017

Silver Tree Chaser said:
Awesome - I haven't seen those show up before on a colonial period site. Congrats.

Thank you!

Aureus · May 22, 2017

dirtlooter said:
I agree, fantastic finds

Thank you!

Z.K. · May 22, 2017

I love it when the plot thickens! Worthy of debate, this.

Such a great time and find(s) regardless. Worth every mosquito bite (realized last night that they were able to get through a 1mm glove...about 20 times! Mutant Canadian mosquitoes!!) :laughing7: