Dodged the raindrops yesterday to dig a Spanish cob + other colonial goodies

[Bill D. (VA)]

My buddy Dan and I were joined by his dad yesterday as we returned to the ragged cut cornfield site where we've managed to pull out 10 colonial coins and a variety of other artifacts in 3 hunts there. We've been hoping for the last few weeks that this field would be mowed down to the ground as promised by the farmer, and that the adjacent soybean field would be cut, and our wishes were finally granted, at least partially. The beans were all harvested, but only about half of the cornfield was cut down, and not the half we were hoping for. But we were still excited to have some new territory to swing our coils over. Everyone started finding a few artifacts here and there but nothing spectacular. Then I saw our good omen, a bald eagle flying by just to the north of the field. I turned to point it out to Dan, but he had seen it as well. He then jokingly commented that he saw it first so I was expecting the relic gods to shine on him shortly. But a few minutes later it was me that pulled out a silver surprise - a cute little Spanish cob. So maybe I did see the eagle a split second before Dan after all . He still had a fine day, but I'll let him share that and his dad's finds with his own post. About midday the rains started up and continued throughout the rest of the afternoon, but it was not enough to deter us from our quest. After a few hours we decided to check out another local site, but the hunters were in full force plus the beans were still in the ground. So we ended up at one of our ole standby spots - a small cut cornfield that has given up a large number of buttons plus a coin or two. We had some success there, but between the rain and it getting late we made the call head for home. In addition to the cob I dug a fatty 1859 IH, some misc colonial buckle pieces, about 17-18 buttons and other odds and ends. I also recovered another one of those crude, cast pewter buttons with a huge shank. And I'm a little unsure what the item is in the last 2 pics. Not sure if it had been bent in the field or if that's its original shape. Seems like I've seen this item in a reference book before but don't recall what it was. Hopefully someone will recognize it.

 

[romeo-1]

Great finds...I need to plan a trip to Virginia!

 

[joeyfresh]

Bald eagles do the opposite for me when see them, haha. Great job on the cob and buttons especially the old pewter button. What's the finish on that last piece? Is it red or is that just brass rust?

........I'm glad you didn't melt in the rain, lol.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using TreasureNet

 

[pepperj]

Good eye on the Eagle, and getting a nice Cob. The last item could of had little stones or glass inserts, maybe a hairpin piece.

 

[Msbeepbeep]

Nice relic finds! I like the cob and the little fancy piece! Congrats great hunt!

The little what's it is bent evenly maybe made that way, had some kind of stones in it, as stated above a hair decoration maybe.

 

[19cbb]

Beautiful cob! Congrats!

 

[johnnyblaze]

Nice Cob and variety Bill

We never find them out this way.

~Blaze~

 

[mangum]

Great finds Bill, love the cob! Just curious, do those bucket handle holders date back to the 1700s? I found one a few weeks ago

 

[Ahab8]

Man I just love the look of those old cobs Bill! And you found some very nice old buttons as well. Great stuff buddy but those cobs just don't show up often. That makes it a fantastic hunt in my book

 

[Westfront]

Nice cob and relics! Looks to be a good site with many finds to come!

 

[Bill D. (VA)]

Bald eagles do the opposite for me when see them, haha. Great job on the cob and buttons especially the old pewter button. What's the finish on that last piece? Is it red or is that just brass rust?

........I'm glad you didn't melt in the rain, lol.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using TreasureNet

Joey - it appears to just be the corroded brass surface. Too bad its missing all the stones.

 

[Bill D. (VA)]

Great finds Bill, love the cob! Just curious, do those bucket handle holders date back to the 1700s? I found one a few weeks ago

Josh - that piece really doesn't look all that old to me so I doubt its colonial. But almost everything we're finding at the site is pre-1800 so who knows??

 

[The Patriot]

Just something about those cobs…besides being silver, it has age written all over it…congrats!! funny story about the bald eagle…we were out today as well and my detecting buddy says, did you see the bald eagle? I said no and about 5 minutes later he digs a 4 lb cannonball….just funny to see you write about it as well...

 

[Bill D. (VA)]

Just something about those cobs…besides being silver, it has age written all over it…congrats!! funny story about the bald eagle…we were out today as well and my detecting buddy says, did you see the bald eagle? I said no and about 5 minutes later he digs a 4 lb cannonball….just funny to see you write about it as well...

Normally I'm not a superstitious kind of guy, but it seems that everytime a bald eagle shows itself somebody makes a great find. And it's usually the guy that saw it first.

 

[ironhorse]

Sweet little cob there!

 

[EasternShoreMetal]

Really sweet spread of relics. For me, that's a huge number of buttons in one day.. And everyone loves the Spanish silver. I'm still hopefully awaiting my first here. They HAVE to be here somewhere.
The last one looks like a pin, anything on the back to help with that ? I have a long thin pc. as well but not quite that thin. Got my first Fatty IH too recently and they are very cool as well. It'd have to be pouring firey hailstones to get me out of that field! lol WTG ! Thanks for showing.

 

[Bill D. (VA)]

Really sweet spread of relics. For me, that's a huge number of buttons in one day.. And everyone loves the Spanish silver. I'm still hopefully awaiting my first here. They HAVE to be here somewhere.
The last one looks like a pin, anything on the back to help with that ? I have a long thin pc. as well but not quite that thin. Got my first Fatty IH too recently and they are very cool as well. It'd have to be pouring firey hailstones to get me out of that field! lol WTG ! Thanks for showing.

You should have no problem finding colonial silver up your way. The Eastern Shore is loaded with 16th and 17th century sites, and I'm sure you can find a number of them close to where you live. If you really want to get pumped up about the possibilities up your way just check out my recent post about the Lord Baltimore sixpence if you haven't seen it already. Its the 2nd from the last item up on the banner. Those coins were more prevalent up your way than down here, and you just never know when you might swing your coil over one. Thanks for the comments, and good luck in your quest for early silver.

 

[beez0404]

Congratulations on the very nice silver cob, Bill! I like that quite a lot. Also very nice are the old buttons. The ones with the design are especially pretty. Hope the farmer get the corn cut for you as I'm looking forward to seeing what's in that section. It's like reading a book and I'm waiting for that chapter.

 

[Silver Tree Chaser]

Bill - Excellent cob! It's been my experience here in New England, that the cobs get clipped down at least a 1/3 off the coin's original size with a rare exception now and then. I can see that you're still coming on strong, as the year is coming to an end. Pushing for another six-pence?

 

[EasternShoreMetal]

You should have no problem finding colonial silver up your way. The Eastern Shore is loaded with 16th and 17th century sites, and I'm sure you can find a number of them close to where you live. If you really want to get pumped up about the possibilities up your way just check out my recent post about the Lord Baltimore sixpence if you haven't seen it already. Its the 2nd from the last item up on the banner. Those coins were more prevalent up your way than down here, and you just never know when you might swing your coil over one. Thanks for the comments, and good luck in your quest for early silver.

I know what you mean. Several of the towns near me, plus the one I live in are 17th century. I have been doing extremely well, (I think) for just two years of looking. I have seven colonial coins, 1 post war/pre-federal (a connecticut copper), and a few nice coins from 1800's up to early 1900's then prob. a normal amount of the rest to date. Plus many nice colonial relics. It's been really great. I just saw your post about the sixpence, What a fantastic find! Extraordinary shape! Virginia has to be just as good. I'm constantly surprised at what I've been finding. I have been learning more about coins than I ever knew since restarting this hobby and It's a blast. Maybe tomorrow is my spanish day... lol or another Lord Baltimore maybe hehe So far, a colonial button brings a happy smile to my face.