paleomaxx
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The Massachusetts half cent from last weekend may be my favorite coin find for 2020, but this will hands down be my favorite relic recovery for 2020!
Hilariously, with all the research I do once again I just stumbled on a colonial spot with zero intentions of doing so. I was looking for a mid 19th century schoolhouse and not having much luck since the area is overgrown with dense lilac bushes. I moved over to a slightly clearer spot in the corner between two dirt roads, but I was only finding pull tabs and other party spot remains. I would have left, but I got a nice high tone between all the junk and it turned out to be a corroded colonial copper so I did a more disciplined grid and found a hot spot a little ways back with buttons and older relics leading down a slight slope. I got a jumpy deep tone, and the last three or four of those were tombacs so of course I dug after it. I was surprised to see the oval shape of a cufflink, but when the dirt fell away I was absolutely floored!
A heraldic eagle! And not just one, but a complete link of two:
I instantly recognized them, but these are so extraordinarily rare that I'm not even sure where I saw a pictures of them initially. Heritage Auctions has only ever sold off one set and there's an old post on treasurenet from 2011 where a friend of a member recovered a set in South Carolina. Other than that, I can't find much recently said about them and there may be less than dozen known to exist!
I guess there's some controversy as to if these were inauguration pieces or if they were simply a patriotic design. Heritage Auctions is firmly in the GWI camp and cited DeWitt-Sullivan about them, while Tice's book lists them as patriotic pieces.
The general crudeness of the design suggests that they were made in small numbers by just one or only a few craftsmen, and in either case I am unbelievably happy and feel tremendously lucky to have stumbled on a set!
The black patina unfortunately wasn't stable and crumbled in spots enough to obscure the design. I did some strategic work removing patches of black so I could to bring the design back to prominence. Some of the smaller details like the arrows and olive branches were lost, but the overall design is still strong.
So you can see the design more fully, below is the non-dug set that Heritage Auctions sold back in 2017:
While the cufflinks were the highlight, it was a great colonial spot all around. Tons of buttons including an early dandy and a drilled-shank tombac. The basket-weave pewter button is nicely preserved and my first pewter example of that pattern:
I also found four colonial coppers which is a great haul! Three were well preserved, but slicks so no detail on either side. The fourth was a corroded KGIII half penny:
Lots of mid-18th century pewter fragments including several that show signs of being clipped so I suspect the occupant was a pewter smith, or maybe dabbled in button manufacturing. I also found the tip of a silver spoon, and some larger colonial relics.
I believe the long pewter piece is the wick holder from an early whale-oil lamp. Only one tiny piece of a Georgian shoe buckle, and the round piece is quite thin brass so not an ox knob. Maybe a finial of some sort.
The targets were concentrated in a very small area so I did many sweeps in all directions. There are a lot of fallen logs and bushes in the way, so I'm sure there's a little more to be found and I'll definitely be checking it many more times. If nothing else I need to see if the other cufflink is still hiding!
This has got to be my find of the year though, I don't see how I can top this in terms of rarity and just plain amazing American history!
But I'm certainly going to try!
Hilariously, with all the research I do once again I just stumbled on a colonial spot with zero intentions of doing so. I was looking for a mid 19th century schoolhouse and not having much luck since the area is overgrown with dense lilac bushes. I moved over to a slightly clearer spot in the corner between two dirt roads, but I was only finding pull tabs and other party spot remains. I would have left, but I got a nice high tone between all the junk and it turned out to be a corroded colonial copper so I did a more disciplined grid and found a hot spot a little ways back with buttons and older relics leading down a slight slope. I got a jumpy deep tone, and the last three or four of those were tombacs so of course I dug after it. I was surprised to see the oval shape of a cufflink, but when the dirt fell away I was absolutely floored!
A heraldic eagle! And not just one, but a complete link of two:
I instantly recognized them, but these are so extraordinarily rare that I'm not even sure where I saw a pictures of them initially. Heritage Auctions has only ever sold off one set and there's an old post on treasurenet from 2011 where a friend of a member recovered a set in South Carolina. Other than that, I can't find much recently said about them and there may be less than dozen known to exist!
I guess there's some controversy as to if these were inauguration pieces or if they were simply a patriotic design. Heritage Auctions is firmly in the GWI camp and cited DeWitt-Sullivan about them, while Tice's book lists them as patriotic pieces.
The general crudeness of the design suggests that they were made in small numbers by just one or only a few craftsmen, and in either case I am unbelievably happy and feel tremendously lucky to have stumbled on a set!
The black patina unfortunately wasn't stable and crumbled in spots enough to obscure the design. I did some strategic work removing patches of black so I could to bring the design back to prominence. Some of the smaller details like the arrows and olive branches were lost, but the overall design is still strong.
So you can see the design more fully, below is the non-dug set that Heritage Auctions sold back in 2017:
While the cufflinks were the highlight, it was a great colonial spot all around. Tons of buttons including an early dandy and a drilled-shank tombac. The basket-weave pewter button is nicely preserved and my first pewter example of that pattern:
I also found four colonial coppers which is a great haul! Three were well preserved, but slicks so no detail on either side. The fourth was a corroded KGIII half penny:
Lots of mid-18th century pewter fragments including several that show signs of being clipped so I suspect the occupant was a pewter smith, or maybe dabbled in button manufacturing. I also found the tip of a silver spoon, and some larger colonial relics.
I believe the long pewter piece is the wick holder from an early whale-oil lamp. Only one tiny piece of a Georgian shoe buckle, and the round piece is quite thin brass so not an ox knob. Maybe a finial of some sort.
The targets were concentrated in a very small area so I did many sweeps in all directions. There are a lot of fallen logs and bushes in the way, so I'm sure there's a little more to be found and I'll definitely be checking it many more times. If nothing else I need to see if the other cufflink is still hiding!
This has got to be my find of the year though, I don't see how I can top this in terms of rarity and just plain amazing American history!
But I'm certainly going to try!
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