Colonial Copper, Buttons and...GOLD BROOCH or WATCH FOB???!!!

West Jersey Detecting

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Oct 23, 2006
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Well, finally the weather broke this week and most of the snow is gone. I was originally supposed to hook up with some fellas about an hour drive from home, but some domestic issues put the kibosh on it.

I was, however to get out with my buddy Dale close to home for a few hours. He just got an Etrac and was anxious to give it a go vs. my V3.

We hit a spot that I last detected back last summer with my DFX so this was a good comparison to see how the V3 performed. Certainly no complaints on the V3!!!

My first find of the day was another toasted colonial copper, my first for 2010. Then I found some nice deep small buttons, also toasted. The V3 is very sensitive to small deep targets.

A while later I got a deep signal that seemed like iron, but occasionally bounced up into the low end of the coin range. I was thinking it would be another rusty old square nail that tend to be scattered about the site. Before I dug, I called over Dale to see what the Etrac said, and he said it was bouncing all over. "Shotgun shell", he said. I said six inches was too deep at this site for shotgun shells, so I dug a nice plug and still in the hole a bit deeper than 8 inches came the most beautiful thing a metal detecting enthusiast can imagine....Gold! The dirt just fell away from the thick solid coin-like button. At first I though it was a gold coin, but when I looked closer I saw the design. When I flipped it over I saw the inscription "Jh B, or Hr B". It must have been mounted to a piece of jewelry at one time. The corrosion on the back is from contact with the impure metals used to mount it.

Judging from the dates of my other coins found at the site I would have to date this from the 1760's when the site was first settled to about 1840, which is the date of the most modern coin found at the site.

Any help with the ID on these types of tokens/buttons is appreciated!

Happy Hunting!
Neil
 

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West Jersey Detecting

West Jersey Detecting

Gold Member
Oct 23, 2006
5,241
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Philadelphia Area
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Nokta Legend, Excalibur 1000/II (hybrid) , Teknetics T2 SE
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Other
Re: Colonial Copper, Buttons and...GOLD LOVE TOKEN???!!!

tuatara said:
My humble opinion is that Cal_Cobra is right and this pretty piece is a part of Victorian broach. I once found a gold bar broach that is hollow.

I agree that it may be part of a brooch, but Victorian era does not fit the time-frame of the site. The house was occupied until circa 1840's. I have found well over 100 buttons at the site, and they all date between the late 18th century to about 1840. The same goes for the coins found at the site, although some of those date much earlier. The only finds that date later than the mid 1800's are shotgun shells, which are typically found at much shallower depths than the buttons and this jewelry.

Then again, it is always a mystery on how things get lost, so Victorian era is of course a possibility.
 

tuatara

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Jan 21, 2010
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ML Explorer SE
Re: Colonial Copper, Buttons and...GOLD LOVE TOKEN???!!!

I agree that it may be part of a brooch, but Victorian era does not fit the time-frame of the site. The house was occupied until circa 1840's. I have found well over 100 buttons at the site, and they all date between the late 18th century to about 1840. The same goes for the coins found at the site, although some of those date much earlier. The only finds that date later than the mid 1800's are shotgun shells, which are typically found at much shallower depths than the buttons and this jewelry.
Then again, it is always a mystery on how things get lost, so Victorian era is of course a possibility.

The timeframe of the site is very important. But hollow brooches were very common during late Victorian era as well as fruit/flower basket motif. I might be wrong about dating it :tongue3:.
 

john glassman

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Apr 16, 2007
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Re: Colonial Copper, Buttons and...GOLD LOVE TOKEN???!!!

Nice love token you found i only find them silver keep up the good work :thumbsup:
 

The Seeker

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Nov 21, 2005
2,492
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Re: Colonial Copper, Buttons and...GOLD LOVE TOKEN???!!!

Very nice token....and your right this past weekend has melted plenty of snow....I was in Poughkeepsi NY (did I spell that right)...... which is not far from NY city and it was in the upper 50's and the snow was melting fast.....With the temp in the upper 50's the rest of the week ...the snow here in Western NY will be gone....let the season begin!!!
 

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West Jersey Detecting

West Jersey Detecting

Gold Member
Oct 23, 2006
5,241
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Philadelphia Area
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Nokta Legend, Excalibur 1000/II (hybrid) , Teknetics T2 SE
Primary Interest:
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Re: Colonial Copper, Buttons and...GOLD LOVE TOKEN???!!!

tuatara said:
I agree that it may be part of a brooch, but Victorian era does not fit the time-frame of the site. The house was occupied until circa 1840's. I have found well over 100 buttons at the site, and they all date between the late 18th century to about 1840. The same goes for the coins found at the site, although some of those date much earlier. The only finds that date later than the mid 1800's are shotgun shells, which are typically found at much shallower depths than the buttons and this jewelry.
Then again, it is always a mystery on how things get lost, so Victorian era is of course a possibility.

The timeframe of the site is very important. But hollow brooches were very common during late Victorian era as well as fruit/flower basket motif. I might be wrong about dating it :tongue3:.

Thanks for the info!
 

The Beep Goes On

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Jan 11, 2006
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Houston, TX
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Re: Colonial Copper, Buttons and...GOLD LOVE TOKEN???!!!

Awesome piece Neil! That is a one-of-a-kind beautiful gold item. I hope you can definitively categorize it.

HH!
Beep
 

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West Jersey Detecting

West Jersey Detecting

Gold Member
Oct 23, 2006
5,241
1,058
Philadelphia Area
🥇 Banner finds
1
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
Nokta Legend, Excalibur 1000/II (hybrid) , Teknetics T2 SE
Primary Interest:
Other
Re: Colonial Copper, Buttons and...GOLD LOVE TOKEN???!!!

The Beep Goes On said:
Awesome piece Neil! That is a one-of-a-kind beautiful gold item. I hope you can definitively categorize it.

HH!
Beep

Thanks Chris!

I have been searching for a similar piece but have had no luck. I did, however, find a brooch/watch fob with a pin that matches the back of what mine may have looked like. This piece dates to circa 1860.

2833_antique_tortoise_shell_watch_fob_brooch_2.jpg
 

Trond

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Mar 23, 2006
994
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Norway
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Re: Colonial Copper, Buttons and...GOLD LOVE TOKEN???!!!

Nice find. 8)
 

Ed-NH

Bronze Member
Feb 4, 2006
1,371
37
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Minelab Explorer ll
Re: Colonial Copper, Buttons and...GOLD LOVE TOKEN???!!!

That is a very beautiful piece Neil. Congrats on such a unique find!!
 

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