My Fair Lady, Hi Ho Silver & Mini Me - Colonial Finds & Goodies!!

HomeGuardDan

Bronze Member
Jul 15, 2011
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Williamsburg, VA
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I got out yesterday with my good pal Bill D for some more colonial scratching. We started off back at the new site we recently located and after spending a chunk of time with the owner we were off. The first line that I took paid off immediately as within about 20 yards I unearthed my first target of the day - a late 1790's Large Cent - not a bad way to start off the morning. Things stayed steady on the slow side for most the day as this site does not have relics jumping out left and right - mostly due to the vegetative state that it is in...once it is cut - game on! Bill chimed in shortly after with a find of his own (leave it for him to post) but lets just say that the colonial silver coin lead was beginning to build - that was until I nailed a rather diminutive spanish cut silver. It looks as if it were to be a typical cut silver until the coin either broke or the owner decided to snip the rim off...ever seen anything like it - I sure have not - it is tiny! Either way Bill's lead was back down to one. Earlier in the day, I stumbled into the first pit of the season (most likely the foundation) and unearthed some sheet brass, musket balls, early thimble and the nice early fork with the wood handle partially intact.

The day went on and we decided to do some exploring. We walked some pretty property and were stunned by the lack of signals, that was until we hit the very last ridge for the day where we split up to explore. On the backside Bill hit iron and at the same time that I hit iron on the front. The difference was that Bill's was more of the 1850's variety and mine the 1600's. My first target was a hunk of pewter and then out of nowhere out popped a nice, though a little worn, 1 reale cob! (the silver count was now tied at 3-3) I hunkered down and began to unearth a few nice odds and ends, including the early 1600s (some date to 1500s) cast cone or dome buttons (some are considered spanish military used). I also recovered a nice complete spectacle buckle and nipple button. This site produced a nice early grouping of relics, though few and far.

In total - I did not hit double digits for buttons, digging just 8 or 9 of them. I did however take home 3 colonial coins and also recovered a few other nice odds and ends such as the ramrod guide, early lead bale seal, other buckle pieces and musket balls.

Looking forward to the next one.

HH

Dan
 

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Upvote 13
Nice digs, but is that a colonial buckle or Colonial pull tab? Just kidding congrats
 

that tiny cut silver sliver is great
 

We definitely walked a lot of nice looking ground, but the usual quantity of finds was just not there as you mentioned. At least some coins were popping out. But our last stop helped to make the day a success (for you anyway .... haha!). You need to slow down with the coins man. I finally had a comfortable lead for a change and saw all of it evaporate in short order. But there's always next time. Enjoyed gettin' out with ya on a gorgeous day.
 

On one of my last posts you said you were drooling over my finds while at the office. Well I'm out detecting and I'm drooling over your finds. Man that cob and little slice if silver are such great finds. Love the buttons and the open top thimble as well. The ground you guys are walking over is extremely rich with history that many of us can only dream about. Congrats on the recoveries and ill be looking forward to whats next.
 

Nice job Dan. I know it can be hard to get out with little ones amongst you. I should know, got four of my own. Anyway, those are some sweet finds. Im still pulling out the colonial stuff in my area too. Havent found a coin in awhile but thimbles seem to be hot for some reason. I was wondering about the third thimble I found the otner day and was wondering if it actually was missing the top or it fell off. I see yours is like mine. Are they made that way or was it a two piece manufacture?
 

Great job Dan. It may have felt like a slow day to you but in the end you amassed some great finds. Best of luck to ya in the coin competition.
 

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On one of my last posts you said you were drooling over my finds while at the office. Well I'm out detecting and I'm drooling over your finds. Man that cob and little slice if silver are such great finds. Love the buttons and the open top thimble as well. The ground you guys are walking over is extremely rich with history that many of us can only dream about. Congrats on the recoveries and ill be looking forward to whats next.

Always drooling when I see colonial relics...even in my own hole before I pick them up ha ha
 

Great job Dan. It may have felt like a slow day to you but in the end you amassed some great finds. Best of luck to ya in the coin competition.

Thanks man - it was fun. There is one more field still to be cleared and some clean-up work to do on the one we are hunting. Looking forward to some more goodies.
 

:thumbsup:

Great finds, the thimble is the best find for me, it's quite a early open-topped sewing ring or tailor’s thimble with hand-punched waffle-shaped indentations, and dates to Circa 16th - 17th century. :thumbsup:

SS
 

I really like that tiny silver snippet, very cool. :icon_thumright:
 

:thumbsup:

Great finds, the thimble is the best find for me, it's quite a early open-topped sewing ring or tailor’s thimble with hand-punched waffle-shaped indentations, and dates to Circa 16th - 17th century. :thumbsup:

SS

Thanks man - love the tailors as well. We find them from time to time around here.
 

Gret digs dan, I really enjoy reading yours and bills posts and seeing my two favorite colonial colors on your pics, silver and green!

Great hunt!
 

Nice collection of finds!
 

Man do you guys ever have a bad day lol. I live that early button, never seen one before. And the buckle is killer. That sliver of silver is so small. How deep was it? That is one small signal. Great day bud
 

Man do you guys ever have a bad day lol. I live that early button, never seen one before. And the buckle is killer. That sliver of silver is so small. How deep was it? That is one small signal. Great day bud
This coming from the Tree Man?? ha ha

We have bad days, but we do honestly put in a ton of work on research and once you have enough sites there are almost always productive ones to hit when a day exploring is going bad. We have been off to a good start for the limited time we have put in. The coin was about 4" down and read like a small birdshot. The only reason I dug it was that it was repeatable and faint...was not expecting that little fella.
 

Nice hits on the silver and the buttons, very productive hunt for sure.
 

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