I found another rare Confederate button! St. Timothy's Hall, cuff

[smokeythecat]

I didn't know they made cuffs of that Confederate School. Last spring I dug TWO ultra rare St. Timothy's Hall buttons at a farm I had been digging not very far from where I live. They were a total shock. Saturday I went with another Tnet member (see other post), and found a lot of items. Had a great time. Late last night, I cleaned up the last button from Saturday, it was a flattened, toasted, never going to figure this one out kind of CW cuff button, When I got the dirt off, I saw a 5 pointed star on it with a ribbon beneath. Then I started to freak out. It is a St. Timothy's Hall button, from the same school John Wilkes Booth attended. It was found about 80 miles from the first two. They chances of this happening in this universe is zero. There are only five letters of the legend available, the star is just the outline, the center of the star is eaten through, the ribbon is clear. Sorry about the picture, button will be conserved after it dries out, and detail will be better, but the picture will not improve the button, but it is, what it is. I have posted a picture of one of the ones I found in the spring to show what they are supposed to look like.

And to Jeff-Gordon, this is what happens in my down time.And no, no dry spells. Took a bit of research to figure it out.

View attachment A599 - 20170407_180810.bmp

And had such a shock I can't spell right!

 

[GB1]

great find

 

[smokeythecat]

Thank you gold boy. My secret is I go slow....slow....slow....mostly 'cause the arthritis has me. But it does work. I am still in freak out mode, because I JUST figured it out. Will look a lot better when I preserve it, as is if you zoom in you can see the outline of the star and the ribbon beneath. This photo does not show the school name very well at all.

 

[Aureus]

Awesome find! Congratulations! You must have a great collection by now.

 

[smokeythecat]

No, Aureus, I wouldn't consider it a great collection but I have plenty of "toys" to play with, and except for a purchase here or there, just what I dig. Before 2017, I think it was 1990 or so when I dug my last Confederate button, but thanks. I "assumed" it was a flattened eagle cuff. Not anymore.

 

[trapperart]

Congrats on the nice old button

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Congratulations on the cool find!

 

[Oddjob]

Great find, cool story and awesome presentation. Banner find in my book.

 

[btjbtj]

Incredible. Great job! -Lisa & John

 

[ironhorse]

it's like lightening striking where and when you want it to...it just ain't that easy...I didn't say impossible

pretty cool pulling another rarity, but that's just detecting , you just never know

 

[Calabash Digger]

WOW!
YOU GO SMOKEY!

 

[smokeythecat]

Ironhorse, Calabash digger...it's just not possible. However, that being said, if you know the right Person, lighting can be directed to any particular spot at any particular time. Once upon a time ago, almost in another life, true, absolutely true story here...the spouse decides to up and leave. 20 years of marriage and poof! up in smoke. No good reason, a friend had died at age 40 and the spouse just freaked, said needed a new life and went off to find a better one. Well, said spouse decided to drive to Nashville to make it big in country music. Right. I couldn't figure it out. Like why? Had a friend over, and we were talking about the why's and now what to do's. I casually stated - 100% true - "What does God have to do, strike 'em with lightning?" Ok, guess Who was listening. This gets better. Said spousal unit comes back a week later and comes in the house all excited. Says "Guess what happened to me." "I got struck by lightning". Now, standing there, I think, no way. Apparently was driving along the NC/TN border and a bolt of lighting struck the truck in the rear, in front of the gas tank, and went to ground and didn't blow up the truck. So goes the story. So I'm simply not believing this. So we go outside and I look at the truck and can see the burn mark where the lightning blew/fried the paint off the springs (it was a brand new truck) and went to ground. So I had totally forgotten the remark I had made to my friend the week before. Sometimes I remember stuff right, sometimes not. My friend reminds me I had stated "What does God have to do, strike 'em with lightning?" and in that instant I remembered what I had said. I think my jaw dropped totally to the floor.

And sometimes getting struck by lighting doesn't have much of an effect on some people. This happened in the spring of 1993. In another lifetime but the story is absolutely true.

 

[Blak bart]

Ironhorse, Calabash digger...it's just not possible. However, that being said, if you know the right Person, lighting can be directed to any particular spot at any particular time. Once upon a time ago, almost in another life, true, absolutely true story here...the spouse decides to up and leave. 20 years of marriage and poof! up in smoke. No good reason, a friend had died at age 40 and the spouse just freaked, said needed a new life and went off to find a better one. Well, said spouse decided to drive to Nashville to make it big in country music. Right. I couldn't figure it out. Like why? Had a friend over, and we were talking about the why's and now what to do's. I casually stated - 100% true - "What does God have to do, strike 'em with lightning?" Ok, guess Who was listening. This gets better. Said spousal unit comes back a week later and comes in the house all excited. Says "Guess what happened to me." "I got struck by lightning". Now, standing there, I think, no way. Apparently was driving along the NC/TN border and a bolt of lighting struck the truck in the rear, in front of the gas tank, and went to ground and didn't blow up the truck. So goes the story. So I'm simply not believing this. So we go outside and I look at the truck and can see the burn mark where the lightning blew/fried the paint off the springs (it was a brand new truck) and went to ground. So I had totally forgotten the remark I had made to my friend the week before. Sometimes I remember stuff right, sometimes not. My friend reminds me I had stated "What does God have to do, strike 'em with lightning?" and in that instant I remembered what I had said. I think my jaw dropped totally to the floor.

And sometimes getting struck by lighting doesn't have much of an effect on some people. This happened in the spring of 1993. In another lifetime but the story is absolutely true.

Smokey I work on a commercial shark longline boat catching 100 + sharks on a good day. One of my friends once said that getting bit by a shark or struck by lightning is almost impossible odds. I said you have obviously never worked on a commercial shark boat in the middle of a florida thunderstorm. Your odds go way way up in that circumstance !! I never thought that I would find a cob on fri. 13 (my wifes birthday also) that was lost on a fri. 13th 284 years ago. Those odds are pretty tough too !! Its a strange world we live in, thats for sure. Anyway congrats on another great hunt !! Nice Scoville !! Oh ya , what do you think the odds are that I would find a banner cob right after your banner gold coin and they would be side by side on the banner board. Wierd !!

 

[against the wind]

Congrats on your 3rd rare button from the same confederate school.
What are the odds?

 

[smokeythecat]

Blak bart - odds are zero. Against the wind, from the same school and found 80 miles away - zero percent. I call it an Act of God. Now that the button is dry, it's starting to look a little better. Will let it dry a couple more days then hose it down with polyurethane spray so it doesn't turn to dust in a few years.

If you just knew the stuff I'd dug over the years...it takes a lot of work to do it.

 

[scruggs]

Spectacular button you found! Congratulations!!

 

[Trezurehunter]

Congrats on another great button.

 

[smokeythecat]

This is my best year since 1989. Yes, da cat is that old. Starting to feel it to. My mom took me to an archaeology dig when I was about 8 the first time. I've been looking for stuff on and in the ground ever since, but not till much later in life did I actually pursue it. Back then, the metal detector had just gone into public use and pretty much no one had one.

 

[SCdigger]

That's a rare one for sure!

 

[smokeythecat]

I talked to "the" CW button expert last evening. Yes, there are cuff buttons from that school, however, they are very hard to get. Still waiting a few more days to make sure the brass is totally dry and will preserve it. BTW the button top is just to the right of center in the photo.