Early British military shako, officer button, some silver. Promising new permission.

Aureus

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Relic Hunting
Got a new permission in a very interesting area I have hunted before with no particular success. Spent a good part of the week end exploring the vast land and only towards the end of the first day hit a nice nail bed with the mix of early pottery and clay pipes. Most of the field is plowed making the detecting much harder, but I believe it had greatly helped bring some of the relics to the surface.

My top find of the hunt was this beautiful Wellington type - British light infantry shako from the War of 1812

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My very first shako from that period. Unfortunately it was little bent by the plow but I have managed to partially unbend it without damaging the relic.
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It would go just on top of the regiment number.
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An other great find was this well preserved War of 1812 artillery button. My best preserved one of this type.
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From the same period. Officers button of the Commissariat stuff. Unfortunately, the gold gilding did not prevent the corrosion.
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A big surprise for me. Early British Naval buttons :laughing7: I remember finding one of them at an Revolutionary War spot. Pretty happy to find two more.
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A few pieces of the musket. Looks early.
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A nice cross.
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A few early buttons and other relics.
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A strange find that I couldn't at first identify. A lead or pewter pheasant that used to attach to something.
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At first thought it was from some hunting tool, than it hit me... it could be the decoration of an early inkwell. Went online and in fact, found something similar.
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Also got a piece of a humongous croatal bell, with nice decoration and a number.
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An other big surprise was this much later seated dime from 1876 We don't find them that much where I'm at so it's a cool relic.
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A few more civilian buttons and beat George III Halfpennies

Happy with the results as we only have a few more weeks of hunting before the closing of the season.

Thanks for the comments.
 

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Upvote 35
So many wonderful relics in one spot...Outstanding!!! You've inspired me to read up on shakos. I don't think I've ever seen one posted before. And those buttons...wow! I think calling this a "promising new permission" is a bit of an understatement. Congratulations.
 

Damn buddy that shako is killer!!!! What a beautiful piece. Looks like you’ve found another great spot. Looking forward to the future finds
 

You crushed it Aureus, any one of those mil buttons would be sweet, but the shako plate is killer. Congrats!

Thanks VMI. Really happy with that shako and the fact that I was able to fix it.
 

You have found exactly what i am still looking for, a bonefide honey hole. Congrats on all of those early buttons, I absolutely love them! I have also found several War of 1812 buttons, but nothing as ornamental as those. What you have is truly something special. You mentioned the crotal bell had a number, can you tell us what size? I have never seen one that big, not by a long shot! Thanks also for taking the time to lay out the hunt for us all, and take us along. Very well written post!

Thanks can_slaw. That croatal bell is absolutely huge. The number marked on it is ZERO, so I would guess it's the largest croatal made of this type. Unfortunately, it's not complete (I doubt it had a chance to survive undamaged on a plowed field).
 

What a great site, it should keep producing for a long time. I love the photo that matches your shako.--JB

Thanks JBnNC. I sure hope it does.
 

Super finds as usual. The hat pin is really something special.

You really keep the bar set high sir. Us mere mortals have a hard time keeping up.

Congrats on the nice post, exceptional finds, and on making me jealous. Job well done.
 

Once again you killed it. The shako badge is a special find as were the military buttons. Good job id'ing the pewter pheasant.

Thanks DND.
 

Great finds!

Nicely done, and all the best,

Lanny
 

Like that badge! New one for my want list. :tongue3:
 

Nice way to close out April..
Very nice buttons

Thanks man. I'm really happy with the shako and the artillery button. A nice addition to my collection.
 

Epic finds....here's a badge I found in 2010 that is similar...also 1812 or earlier.

Thanks romeo. Yes, they look very similar. Yours appears to be a bit larger.
 

So many wonderful relics in one spot...Outstanding!!! You've inspired me to read up on shakos. I don't think I've ever seen one posted before. And those buttons...wow! I think calling this a "promising new permission" is a bit of an understatement. Congratulations.

Thanks Silvermonkey. It's my first early head badge ''shako'',only found a later 1837 type a few years back. Sure hope there's more interesting stuff there.
 

Damn buddy that shako is killer!!!! What a beautiful piece. Looks like you’ve found another great spot. Looking forward to the future finds

Thanks man. I'm always happy when I manage to find a site with some military history to it. Hopefully there's more relics there. Would really love to find a buttstock or the escutcheon of that musket.
 

Super finds as usual. The hat pin is really something special.

You really keep the bar set high sir. Us mere mortals have a hard time keeping up.

Congrats on the nice post, exceptional finds, and on making me jealous. Job well done.

Thanks Carolina Tom
 

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