My colonial silver collection - all in one BIG pic

[Bill D. (VA)]

I've had many requests this year to post a group shot showing all the colonial silver coins I've dug to date. Things started slowly after I dug my first one more than 15 years ago, but as I improved my research techniques and started getting into some early and untouched sites my finds began to increase. It took about 12 years to get to that magic 100 mark which I hit 3 years ago. Since then I dug 10 during the 2010-11 season, 15 more the following year, and an astounding 24 this past winter bringing the total to 149. It was difficult putting this pic together as I had these coins spread out in numerous displays, and had to take a lot of photos beforehand so I'd be able to put everything back in its proper place when I'm done with the group shots. It's still going to be a tough job with all those cut pieces that look very similar. Anyway, I decided to break the coins down into a few major categories which I thought was quite interesting, and these are summarized below. Also, FYI, these coins range in age from 1563 to about 1803.

- Hammered coins (including 7 from the 1500s): 20
- Other whole coins: 46
- Cut pieces: 65
- Cobs: 15
- Counterfeits: 3

(Note: If you're interested in seeing close-up details of the coins you can click on the attached image 2 or 3 times to fully enlarge the 4 MB file.)

It's going to be hard to keep up my recent pace, but I hope the extensive research I'm doing this summer will help me land on some new and very productive sites next season. I've decided to not set any goals for next year or for the long term, but will just let things play out and see where it goes. Besides, it's not all about finding the silver, but about the thrill of the hunt including all the investigative work that's so rewarding when it eventually pays off and leads you to the treasures you seek. I tell ya, October can't come soon enough. HH to all ..... Bill

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Diving for Pleasure and Treasure - Grab it through Amazon!

[70monte68]

Monte - that's a heavily clipped Charles I half crown dating between 1625 and 1649. It depicts the king on horseback holding up a sword with a cloak or plume trailing. Unfortunately, the clipping has removed the mint mark which would allow for a more precise dating, but based on the style it appears to possibly date to about 1644. My friend Chuck found a complete half crown at the same site very close to mine. His has the "triangle-in-circle" mint mark which represents the Tower mint and a date of production between 1641 and 1643. I'm attaching a couple pics taken 5 years ago not long after these were found. You can easily see the mint mark on Chuck's coin just to the left of the sword. That one site gave up a total of 27 hammered silver coins between me, Chuck and 2 of my friends who were invited to hunt there. The site also produced a major early trash pit, and I've posted those finds previously. Thanks for your comments, and hope you can land some nice early coins soon.

View attachment 824708

View attachment 824710

Bill- thanks for the info. Some sweet finds there It would be nice to find a site like that. Its a long shot but do you know Wayne T?

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Upgraded Night Vision Monocular Digital Infrared Monocular Telescope for 100% Darkness with 8X Zoom - Grab it through Amazon!

[Bill D. (VA)]

Bill- thanks for the info. Some sweet finds there It would be nice to find a site like that. Its a long shot but do you know Wayne T?

Sorry Monte, I haven't heard of Wayne. Who is he? You can respond by PM if you need to.

 

[silversurfer1111]

WOW ! SO AWESOME ! i WISH I HAD JUST 1 PEAS LOL

 

[Bill D. (VA)]

What a great display of old silvers, thanks taking the time in getting it all together and sharing it with everyone.

Makes one heck of nice screen saver when X3.

Thanks Pepper. I'm already using it for my desktop background, and it looks great!

 

[Bubba65]

Hey Bill, I love the pic and that is one awesome amount of Colonial Silver, Congrats .

Bubba65