My 4th 1794 Large Cent :)

Don in SJ · Oct 9, 2006

Took the mountain bike out with the detector in a bag and went to a nearby millsite that soon will be developed, so trying to pound the site and milk the last goodies out of there. Right away this morning I got a high tone coin signal and within 5 minutes of the beginning of the hunt I had a Large Cent.

By the looks of it when I found it, I knew one side was going to be in bad shape, but I figured it was just another Coronet type Large Cent. I hunted for another two hours with only a wheatie and buckle and one nice flat button with a beautiful design on the backmark.

When I got home a soaked it in Peroxide, I noticed the Liberty Cap showing and now could also see the edge lettering, so I knew I had a 1793-1796 Large Cent, which I should have realized by the thickness from the get go, but I did not.

I tried the best I could to clean the coin, but I knew it was corroded severely on one side but was happy it had great detail when lost, so all is there for attributing and it is a Scarce variety , Sheldon 55.

I have four 1794's now , all different, one is a bigtime rarity, S-19a, and the rest are more scarce to common, S-55 today, S-61 and a S-65. There are very many varieties of the 1794 Large Cent and the one anybody would love to find is the Starred Reverse one. Even in bad condition it would most likely get more at auction than most chain cents.

Don

Mirage · Oct 9, 2006

Nice find. Too bad it landed heads up when dropped. Still cleaned up pretty good.

I would say that site has done you well! I have hunted an old 1800's mill site and found some rusty iorn, shotgun shells, etc but no coins. What is the farthest distance from the structure that you have found coins? Maybe I need to broaden my search area.

Mirage

Don in SJ · Oct 9, 2006

Mirage said:
I would say that site has done you well! I have hunted an old 1800's mill site and found some rusty iorn, shotgun shells, etc but no coins. What is the farthest distance from the structure that you have found coins? Maybe I need to broaden my search area.

Mirage

I would say most finds are found not only at this site but at others at areas where work was performed, where they took their rest periods, and maybe where they gathered for eating, This site is a mixture of an mid 1700's saw mill and then an very early 1800's Iron Forge and the main house associated with the property was standing vacant into the 20th century. I believe most of my finds are more related to the earlier sawmill site, which was mostly a work area, not living and thus the coins are scattered about. My son found most of his coins at the main house area, in near the foundation but most apparantly where they got on and off their carriage (they were a well to do family) So he found more Coronet Large cents than I since he hunted the homestead area mostly in the 1980's, and I did not really go back to the site till after 2000, when different owners took over the lease.

I hardly ever find the coins near the cellarhole or foundation, a lot of times I find them directly across the dirt road from where the place stood, and in the now overgrown fields.
My answer is to broaden your search, that is what I did today...............

Hope this helps answer somewhat.

Don