Late 1820s pocket spill find - 2 Bust Halves and 2 Spanish Silver

Don in SJ

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May 20, 2005
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This morning I wanted to do a hunt around the perimeter area of the homestead I got the 5 coppers at last week but the underbrush is really filling out now so I had to keep a bit closer to the actual homestead, where less underbrush was. I was hunting less than 15 minutes, and had recovered some pewter and brass pieces of unknowns when all of a sudden my XS screamed Silver to me!

I forgot my camera of course, but maybe that was the good luck I needed for this find. To my amazement the first thing I saw out of the hole was a big hunk of silver coin!

I picked it up and saw part of the Bust so I knew I had a Bust Half Dollar, :icon_thumright: I rechecked the hole with the probe and another coin was in there. Dug down the one side a bit and out pops the second Bust Half Dollar, this one completely coated but I knew what it was thanks to seeing the first one.

Now I stood up and rescanned the hole and off to the left side it was indicating yet a third coin! I enlarged the opening and out comes a thin smaller silver, which at first I was hoping to be a bust quarter but knew by the thinness it was going to be a Spanish Real. Just was not sure till I got home and checked but it was a One Real.....

Thinking wow, 3 silver in one hole, that never happened before, in fact Bust Half never happened before, but I did check the hole one more time and got a faint somewhat good coin type reading, gouged out the remaining dirt with my hand and the coin was now in the pile. A small one, a Half Real.
BigSilverApr27thDirty.jpg
PocketSpillObv.jpg
PocketSpillRev.jpg

So 4 Silvers in one hole, a first for me for something so old and so big, I was without a doubt thrilled to see this today. I thought of quitting right away to save the site for another hunt with my son and decided to slowly work my way back to the truck.

Just as I passed the area where my son got his 1794 Large Cent last week, I got a funky possible coin/iron reading. I noticed it was next to a fallen log that I had dug a hole right next to this signal last week and I remember it being a piece of iron pot. But today, maybe because of the wet ground, I heard coin and out pops a copper!


I had no idea what the copper was, I could tell it seen better days, but after cleaning it did show a nice date of 1722 and some of NIA from Brittania, so I knew I had a 1722 King George I Halfpenny. Right next to it was a button like relic, not sure if it is a button that was modified or was used for something else.


Overall, what a great hunt of less than one hour duration, April 2010, without a doubt was a winner for me.

Finds for the day, a very beautiful 1826 Bust Half Dollar
1826obvPretty.jpg
1826BustHalf.jpg
A very nice 1827 Bust Half Dollar
1827BustHalf.jpg
A decent 1782 Spanish One Real
1782OneReal.jpg
A heavily worn 1784? Spanish Half Real
1784HalfReal.jpg
Heavily worn and abused 1722 King George I Halfpenny
1722KGIHalfpenny.jpg
And a large possible button modified with two holes after shank sheared off, or perhaps something else :dontknow:
Buttonperhaps.jpg

Don
 

Upvote 22

Argentium

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Feb 2, 2008
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Don , Oh yeah Baby ! That's what I'm talkin about ! That 1826 looks AU to me - Dreamy for
sure - Uh wheres the BANNER already ????????????? CONGRATULATIONS !!!!! Argentium.
 

Mr Tuff

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Dec 4, 2008
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AWESOME BUSTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WAY TO SWING THAT COIL :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy: MR TUFF
 

SouthJerseyJim

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Jan 8, 2009
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Don you are the man! Leave some for the rest of us here in NJ will ya :P Thats a spot to hit again in the fall eh?
 

mismi

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Feb 10, 2010
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UNBELIEVABLE!!! Yep - that is what detecting is all about. Congratulations! Like IP said:

There are some I don't think we even have to vote.... and this is one.
 

wwace

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Jan 4, 2006
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:icon_profileright:Look like about AU to me, certainly worth a pretty penny and a BANNER, way to go sir :icon_profileleft:
 

Sniffy

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Mar 27, 2009
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Your happy you found them, imagine the poor fella that lost them. He's rollin in his pine box right now. Awesome Don, you surely know where to find the good stuff.
 

ppratt

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Jun 19, 2003
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Great find I have found bust before but nothing larger than a dime. I can't wait till my day come for a Bust half I just might cry.
 

Mar 19, 2003
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:headbang: :headbang: :headbang: Don again those are fantastic silvers there ;D ;D ;D
That is one thing I have NOT found is nice bust silver, I have found counterfit tho :laughing7:
Beautiful 1/2's there I love em :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: A big congrats to you again as well :hello2:
 

AGCoinHunter

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Awsome cache find. Congrats to you.
 

hogge

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You never cease to amaze me at the coins and relics you find. CONGRATULATIONS on a well deserved BANNER. Now I have to get out there and find something better. :wink: :headbang: :laughing9: "HOGGIE"
 

Slipperyjack47

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Apr 5, 2008
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Don, the only word I can think of is ..SPECTACULAR! That has to be by far the very best coin spill I have ever seen on T-net! Rightfully deserves the banner!


Slipperyjack47
 

West Jersey Detecting

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What can I say? This is the stuff we all dream of finding! Most of us can only hope to find one Bust silver of any denomination. You hit it BIG! Great find, and congrats on the banner!

What did you do to remove the dirt from the silver? Did it only take a rinsing in distilled water? I am guessing that they were found in sandy piney soil?
 

OP
OP
Don in SJ

Don in SJ

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May 20, 2005
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Neil in West Jersey said:
What can I say? This is the stuff we all dream of finding! Most of us can only hope to find one Bust silver of any denomination. You hit it BIG! Great find, and congrats on the banner!

What did you do to remove the dirt from the silver? Did it only take a rinsing in distilled water? I am guessing that they were found in sandy piney soil?

Neil, the soil was not really the typcial sandy soil, sort of gravel, clay and sand, not always conducive to coppers, but the ones from this site are about average for most. (Check the post from the 17th of April)
I was not sure how to clean the silver, usually my best silver came out of the ground needing only a light rinse, but all these coins were coated with dirt so I first soaked them in distilled water and that was not doing a great job at all. So the Spanish Silver did clean up with just the water soaks, so I finished them off in warm peroxide. No detrimental change so I put the two bust halves in clean peroxide and half hour later they were great!

If I remember correctly, silver in peroxide is fine , as long as you do not mix copper with silver, but not sure, anyway, the peroxide removed 95% of the crud and only light wet qtip swabbing was required to remove the rest. I think this is one time I would have liked to try an ultrasonic cleaner.

Don
 

hikeinmts

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Dec 13, 2008
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Almost all THers dream of finding what you found. I think all the appropriate adjectives have been used, most twice or
three times. Had to say something, as I have looked at those 4 great coins several times. And I don't want to go to
another post........this one will do just fine. Great finds, great hunt, great post, :thumbsup:


Now, I think I will lie down and have a heart attack, or two. :laughing7:
 

kuger

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Now thats awesome!!! :thumbsup:
 

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