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KY State Seal Button CACHE, Scabbard Tip, Saddle Decoration--a FINE Hunt!

BuckleBoy

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Moonlight and Magnolias
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Hello All,

Rodeo Recon and I got a chance to hit several great spots, and we finally got all the finds cleaned, ID'ed, and ready to post. It has taken a while. We did two hunts on the same property, and so now I'm posting both the first hunt and the return trip. (Yes, there will be yet another return trip after this cold snap breaks... :) ) Sorry for the lack of "action" photos--we were too busy diggin!

So here's the story. We are hunting a very old parcel of land for our area, and the jury is still out on whether or not we've found our target--the Oldest Structure built on that land. (Although we have found Two other house sites and a Mill in the last two hunts, and had a Lot of fun finding those :thumbsup: )

We first secured permission from the wonderful property owner (we've developed a great relationship with him and his sons--after hunting several other sites this summer and fall that he owned). Then we got out on the site. Looking at the deeds, census records, topo maps, plat maps, and other Top Secret Documents from the Buckleboy Files :wink: we got hunting. Here's a photo Rodeo snapped of me during his "briefing" before the hunt:

Buckles Surveys.webp

We walked out into the middle of the 170 acre plot of land and started up on a knoll at one of the "target areas" I wanted to hit. After seeing some brick, pottery, and other items, we knew we should turn the machines on and take the bean field by storm. Flat buttons immediately started coming up--a Good sign. Here's a photo of one in the clod:

Flat Button In Dirt.webp

We seemed to have walked ourselves into a little button patch. The buttons were everywhere. (It is unusual for us to dig more than a couple flat buttons per hunt, but this hunt we found 19 of them.) Pretty soon I dug a deep, iffy signal and out popped a "muffin-style" cuff button that I just *knew* would be a good one. Picking the button up, I could make out the motto from the Kentucky State Seal "United We Stand / Divided We Fall" shimmering in GOLD underneath the dirt. :o

Ky Cuff In Dirt.webp

KY Cuff In Hand.webp

After sharing the find with Rodeo, we kept at it--digging two IH's in the process. (These appear in the "uncleaned finds" photos--but they were given to the property owner, along with a Fine display case of items.) Here's one of those Fatties:

Flat Button In Dirt1.webp

Pretty soon, I dug the back from a "muffin-style" coat button--then another, and I started to wonder if there were more intact State Seal buttons there waiting for us. Sure enough, I dug a Kentucky State Seal Coat button:

Ky Coat 1 In Hand.webp

Then I got another back from one (front had disintegrated and was nowhere to be found). I'd now found a total of three partial KY Coat buttons, one complete coat button, and one cuff button. At this point I realized that the whole coat had been tossed out at some point, and had rotted, the buttons to be scattered around by the plow. :o The whole while, Rodeo was cleaning up on the flat buttons and other cool relics--including a nice intact Crotal Bell and a Colonial Era Barrel Tap.

About 15 minutes later, I dug a nice brass signal and saw this in the clod--yet another KY button. With this, my final KY button for the day, the total stood at Five Coat buttons and one Cuff button. ;D

KY Coat 2 In Dirt.webp

KY Coat 2 In Hand.webp

The finds in the button patch started to slack off a bit, so I circled around behind the site, following the ridge back toward the road, looking for the barn site. I've seen three late-date Indian Head Cents, a Two Cent Piece, and a CN Indian Head come from barn sites this year--and that's plenty reason for me to try and find the sites, dig through the iron and brass rivets, and find the relics and coins! Well, I got out there and found...no iron! So I circled back around the other way after taking this photo of Rodeo as a speck in the distance:

Rodeo In Field.webp

Although we couldn't manage to find the barn (too much area and not enough time!), we thinned the site out considerably before we had to walk the half a mile back through the field to get Rodeo to work on time. I fanned out and dragged my feet a bit on leaving the site because I wanted to run a quick pattern through a few more "target areas" on the way back to the car. The first area I hit was a strikeout. No iron anywhere. The second area I hit--I started seeing brick! I heard Rodeo say "I'm going to the car to drop off the gear--meanwhile see if you can dig up a find!" I lit into that iron patch with a vengeance, since there were so many tiny pieces of brick in the field there it was like walking on a Brick Carpet. :o Sure enough, flat buttons started turning up. Rodeo ran back from the car swinging like a Rabid Alpaca, hoping to snag just one more find before leaving the site. We got a few more buttons with our last minutes there, and then I had to "bend" the speed limit a hair to get him to work on time. :-X

So here are the Barrel Tap, a Cool Pewter button with an "X" on it, and the Crotal Bell. (The rest of the story, and more good photos are in the first reply below...)

Barrel Tap.webp

Pewter Button.webp

Croatal Bell.webp
 
Upvote 0
Wow! Great finds!! :thumbsup: :thumbsup: I can't believe all that iron!

Let's see - wind chill in the 20's, windy, no sun, and with that amount of digging, I think I'd sleep 24 hours after those hunts!
 
Any member slots left in the brigade. I think the logo will bring me more luck.
Newt
 
VOL1266-X said:
Great finds and you dug enough scrap iron to pay for your gas. WTG!!!

Thanks for your kind reply, VOL1266-X. Maybe three months ago, we'd have gotten 10 or 12 bucks for all that iron, but scrap prices have fallen by 50% or more since then :-\ We still haul it to the recycle though--but now Hoard the brass and wait for the next upswing in brass prices. :wink:
 
plehbah said:
That is a fine coat of buttons. That is in my opinion one of the better Northern buttons, insofar as rarity and attractiveness of device. You cannot beat a local provenance and provenience for that one.

Do you think there were two, or three, cuff buttons to each sleeve on that jacket?

The saddle shield is a beautiful one. It is remarkable that it was not destroyed during plowing operations.

Nice finds!

Thanks, plehbah  :)

I am not sure of how many cuff buttons there were on a coat like that.  If it were eagle buttons, I'd have a good idea.  But for sure, unless the veteran lost buttons from the coat before tossing it out, there are more to be found at that site.

I agree about the saddle shield.  Its survival would almost be as miraculous as digging a company letter two inches wide from a plowed field.

I too like the KY motif. The motto is especially meaningful, considering the stance Kentucky aspired to during the CW.

Best Wishes,



Buckles
 
Nice finds,

You guys are the iron kings for sure. That's a hoard of iron there. I like the buckle type thing with the star. Nice relic and the buttons are great to. You did real well on the buttons this yr. I love to find flat buttons.

HH Jer
 
They don't look burnt but most of our buttons ended up on the fields as after WWI (and other periods) they burnt the coats to lighten the soil with the ash. Does that happen over in the US?
 
CRUSADER said:
They don't look burnt but most of our buttons ended up on the fields as after WWI (and other periods) they burnt the coats to lighten the soil with the ash. Does that happen over in the US?

I've never heard of it.

Was it to fertilize the soil?
 
Well done, indeed! Great going you all!! :thumbsup: Fantastic finds!

Nana :wink:
 
plehbah said:
BuckleBoy said:
CRUSADER said:
They don't look burnt but most of our buttons ended up on the fields as after WWI (and other periods) they burnt the coats to lighten the soil with the ash.  Does that happen over in the US?

I've never heard of it. 

Was it to fertilize the soil?

I hear tell it was to use the lanolin in the wool cloth as fertilizer or soil conditioner. This is a rumor of course.

I have heard of "button fields" in the U.S., specifically in New England where this was done.

I never knew.  That's pretty wild.  Wonder how they figured that out...  Along the same lines, I wonder how they figured out that liver tasted better if you force-fed the duck.   :tard:


Classified Files of the Top-Secret Paté Think Tank Somewhere in France:


Formula #409:  Experiment Failed.  Duck Could not eat the Thumbtacks fast enough.

Formula #410:  Success!  We killed the bloated thing, but it sure does taste good--it even tastes better than when we cut off its beak and marinated it alive!  I think we'll call this one "foie gras"   8)
 
CRUSADER said:
They don't look burnt but most of our buttons ended up on the fields as after WWI (and other periods) they burnt the coats to lighten the soil with the ash. Does that happen over in the US?

They also burnt alot of uniforms and blankets etc that were used by men that died of various diseases. Alot of other "infected" blankets and clothing were shipped off to the Indians, and they of course caught the disease... :icon_scratch:
 
BuckleBoy said:
CRUSADER said:
They don't look burnt but most of our buttons ended up on the fields as after WWI (and other periods) they burnt the coats to lighten the soil with the ash. Does that happen over in the US?

I've never heard of it.

Was it to fertilize the soil?

Kind of, specially good in areas of heavy clay. It broken up the soil texture to a more manageable consistency.
 
I've heard the term 'shoddy' being used as the generic term for uniform burning, this might explain a little bit about what was going on although its about the by-products of wool:

"The organic residues from manufacture consist of damaged oil-cakes, shoddy and tannery waste, of which shoddy, a by-product of the wool industry, is the most important. These two classes of wastes, animal and industrial, are applied to the soil direct and, generally speaking, command much higher prices than would be expected from their content of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potash. This is because the soil is in such urgent need of humus and because the supply falls so far short of the demand."
 
Absolutely splendid! :thumbsup:

You must have been saving all the good sites for the end of the year :wink:

Take care & HH!
watercolor
 
Nice hunt and finds BB! I also enjoyed the additives from other members, LOL. HH, Mike
 
Better change your name from Buckleboy to Buttonboy!
 
Well done Will. Those are some beautiful buttons :wink: I really like that you found not only coat buttons but a cuff to make a "set" and the gilt that still remains on them is remarkable. Did you give all the Kentucky Buttons to the owner? If so, I surely see why he was like "a kid at Christmas" as that is a very rare and eye popping gift for people who love history as us. I enjoyed the story-telling and the "Odin and Thor" line was great :wink:

In addition to the KY buttons, that Saddle shield that Rodeo found is awesome too. Very nice recovery there Rodeo! Congrats to you and Will, I will get out there to hunt with you guys one of these days :wink: :wink: HH

Sentinel
 
Great hunting and posting, BB!! I wish it wasn't dark when I headed to work in the morning and about dark when I get home! Glad to see somebody here in the Bluegrass is able to get out and hunt!

Best of luck,

Lookin
 

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