paleomaxx
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- Aug 14, 2016
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It's amazing how much plant life can flourish in one short week. Last weekend everything was still flat and dead from the winter, and by this weekend there were already patches of nettles 6 inches tall, and much of the brambles were standing up again. By next weekend the site will be completely closed up, so I knew I had to get at least one more hunt before I would wait for winter. At the same time I was apprehensive because how can you follow finding a GW inaugural button? Well, this site certainly tried to show me!
Just like last weekend the third hole I dug blew me away:
Not just big silver, but old big silver! Here it is cleaned up:
My very first 2 reales, dated 1786! But right off the bat I noticed it was laid out differently than my other Charles III pieces and actually had a patterned edge. After some research I come to find out it's because it's not colonial silver, but Spanish with a Madrid mintmark. I did some more reading and I doesn't seem like this happened often. It's possible a European traveler brought it with them, but the coin is in phenomenal condition so it obviously didn't circulate long.
That was far from the only coin of the hunt; I found four more colonial coppers including my first NJ copper!
The ground isn't too kind to copper here so none are in particularly good condition, but all are at least identifiable. Besides the NJ copper, there were two more Connecticut coppers. One dated 1787, and the other also likely 1787 based on the style of the bust. The last is a draped bust large cent dated 1807 which is the last year of that design before the classic head.
Considering how many buttons I dug last weekend there were very few on this hunt:
The dandy is absolutely huge though and had me going for a second. I thought I might have found a second GW.
Very pretty design though and a nice green patina. I also found a tremendous amount of pewter fragments both from spoons and I think pewter plates:
I also found another huge, intact, crotal bell!
No maker's mark this time, but interestingly the ball isn't iron, but the same material as the bell. Between that and the general appearance of the casting I get the sense that this is an earlier bell than the other.
There was no shortage of high tones at this site too:
The shoe buckle looks fairly early and is fully brass so everything survived and even still moves! The iron is actually quite small, but I make a point of keeping each one I find since they're actually an uncommon relic for me. Though the ox knob is a common find at my sites, this is the first I've ever found that was made from pewter.
This last relic I thought was another ox knob until I cleaned it up and now I'm thinking it's something much more unusual:
The design goes all the way around the ball and the brass isn't very thick, but enough to be sturdy. After a little research I'm thinking its the pommel from a revolutionary war era dress sword. Even if not; it's a really cool piece.
This is definitely the last time I'll be able to hunt the site until the winter, but in the meantime I've been researching the local history and I've discovered quite a bit that sheds some light on the finds. The person who owned this site served in the continental army during the revolution. I can't find too much on his service record, but it seems he settled here after the war and purchased almost an entire hill outside of town. The history book actually accuses him of being "land greedy" and says that he eventually shrunk the size of his estate. He died at the end of the 1820's which is when the relics cut off as well, so it seems probable that the house was purchased, but not lived in until it finally collapsed or burned in the 1850's. I plan on meeting with the local historical society as it seems like this is an interesting individual and certainly a large part of the town's early history!
Just like last weekend the third hole I dug blew me away:
Not just big silver, but old big silver! Here it is cleaned up:
My very first 2 reales, dated 1786! But right off the bat I noticed it was laid out differently than my other Charles III pieces and actually had a patterned edge. After some research I come to find out it's because it's not colonial silver, but Spanish with a Madrid mintmark. I did some more reading and I doesn't seem like this happened often. It's possible a European traveler brought it with them, but the coin is in phenomenal condition so it obviously didn't circulate long.
That was far from the only coin of the hunt; I found four more colonial coppers including my first NJ copper!
The ground isn't too kind to copper here so none are in particularly good condition, but all are at least identifiable. Besides the NJ copper, there were two more Connecticut coppers. One dated 1787, and the other also likely 1787 based on the style of the bust. The last is a draped bust large cent dated 1807 which is the last year of that design before the classic head.
Considering how many buttons I dug last weekend there were very few on this hunt:
The dandy is absolutely huge though and had me going for a second. I thought I might have found a second GW.
Very pretty design though and a nice green patina. I also found a tremendous amount of pewter fragments both from spoons and I think pewter plates:I also found another huge, intact, crotal bell!
No maker's mark this time, but interestingly the ball isn't iron, but the same material as the bell. Between that and the general appearance of the casting I get the sense that this is an earlier bell than the other.
There was no shortage of high tones at this site too:
The shoe buckle looks fairly early and is fully brass so everything survived and even still moves! The iron is actually quite small, but I make a point of keeping each one I find since they're actually an uncommon relic for me. Though the ox knob is a common find at my sites, this is the first I've ever found that was made from pewter.
This last relic I thought was another ox knob until I cleaned it up and now I'm thinking it's something much more unusual:
The design goes all the way around the ball and the brass isn't very thick, but enough to be sturdy. After a little research I'm thinking its the pommel from a revolutionary war era dress sword. Even if not; it's a really cool piece.
This is definitely the last time I'll be able to hunt the site until the winter, but in the meantime I've been researching the local history and I've discovered quite a bit that sheds some light on the finds. The person who owned this site served in the continental army during the revolution. I can't find too much on his service record, but it seems he settled here after the war and purchased almost an entire hill outside of town. The history book actually accuses him of being "land greedy" and says that he eventually shrunk the size of his estate. He died at the end of the 1820's which is when the relics cut off as well, so it seems probable that the house was purchased, but not lived in until it finally collapsed or burned in the 1850's. I plan on meeting with the local historical society as it seems like this is an interesting individual and certainly a large part of the town's early history!
Upvote
20
on the Spanish.
Love the old coppers and Spanish Silver. 
