My lost settlement (long with lots of pics)

mxtswinger · Oct 31, 2008

Howdy folks. I haven't posted in quite a while, but this one might make up for it. I have been researching and looking for a late 18th to mid 19th C. settlement for about 2 yrs. now (off and on). I believe I found it about 2 weeks ago, and am just now getting time to share the results. Between detecting about 4 hrs a day, and trying to get everything cleaned and photographed, I've been huffin and puffin. I'll start with the coins, of which there weren't all that many (so far). Then I'll do buttons, more buttons, and some of the relics. I would love any input as far as ID, and if I have mislableled anything please let me know.

The first two pics are of my first Spanish Silver. Woo Hoo!

Happy Swingin
Kevin

Tin Nugget · Nov 1, 2008

Can you say

DREAM SPOT

Great job! Thats the kind of place you could hunt for years and still find good stuff!

Old River · Nov 2, 2008

Great finds, congradulations :thumbsup:

coinshooter · Nov 2, 2008

Nice stuff! Reminds me of going to England.
What state is this in?

Mr.Jody · Nov 2, 2008

Wonder why the silver coin(s)was cut like that?

mxtswinger · Nov 2, 2008

It took a little googling, but I discovered that I did indeed have several tombac buttons. Here they be.

FYI- Tombac was the name given to an 18th century alloy of brass with a high zinc content to give a pewter color, and sometimes arsenic. They were in vogue from 1770 to 1800.

Nana40 · Nov 2, 2008

OH my goodness!

SWINGER! 8) What a variety of SUPER keepers! :icon_pirat:

Congrats on that first Spanish silver! That place ought to keep you busy all winter and then some! GREAT research!

Fantastic finds and post!!

Nana :wink:

mxtswinger · Nov 2, 2008

Thanks Nana. Hope you're doing well.

civilman1 · Nov 2, 2008

Man Kevin that could keep you busy for a good long time.....The miltary button's are awesome,love em' all :thumbsup:

Congratulation's and the Best of Luck in the future......What a site that must be

mxtswinger · Nov 8, 2008

Mr.Jody said:
Wonder why the silver coin(s)was cut like that?

Back in the olden days, silver coinage could be hard to come by, so it was not uncommon to cut down large coins into smaller "bits". A '"bit" was 1/8th of a Spanish dollar (8 reales). 2 bits, 4 bits, 6 bits, a dollar.

extractor · Nov 8, 2008

Wow! Research pays off. WTG :occasion14:

LadyDigger · Nov 9, 2008

Sweet COIN!!! Think it could be this one?

Lots of wonderful finds! Keep at it...never know what else is there to find!

Here's a link to some buttons....the R387 on this link looks like your pic DSCN3129 B.jpg. I wish the website had a bigger pic of it though.
http://www.worldcollectorsnet.com/magazine/issue20/iss20p2.html

Bavaria Mike · Nov 9, 2008

Awesome finds, congrats! That place should keep you busy for a long time. HH, Mike

CRUSADER · Nov 9, 2008

Nice bunch of finds.

The 'brooch' is part of a late 18th century shoe buckle.

Redfoot · Nov 9, 2008

really awesome finds.

mxtswinger · Nov 9, 2008

Ron and Ann said:
Sweet COIN!!! Think it could be this one?

Lots of wonderful finds! Keep at it...never know what else is there to find!

Here's a link to some buttons....the R387 on this link looks like your pic DSCN3129 B.jpg. I wish the website had a bigger pic of it though.
http://www.worldcollectorsnet.com/magazine/issue20/iss20p2.html

Gee. Big thanks for that photo work. I really haven't had the time to reach a conclusion on the ID- couldn't decide between Charles III and Ch. IIII. This will be a big help. Thanks for the button link too.

Happy Swingin!
Kevin

mxtswinger · Nov 9, 2008

CRUSADER said:
Nice bunch of finds.

The 'brooch' is part of a late 18th century shoe buckle.

Many thanks for that ID Crusader. I really had no clue and "brooch" was my best guess. Thanks again and very HH.

West Jersey Detecting · Nov 9, 2008

Congrats on a superb spot. I am happy to see that your research paid off!

I have not been so lucky in my search. I have been searching for a small village that shows on maps from around 1780 to about 1850. The area is densly wooded now, making the search more difficult. I have been looking for more than 2 years now, with no luck. No cellar holes, no bricks or pottery fragments.

I finally thought I was onto something last week, when I uncovered scattered bricks. Upon closer examination the bricks appeared to be more modern. There was no other sign of civilization, other than some modern shotgun shells. Not even any iron signals. It is a tough decision to go searching for the village, when I know of other spots that have been productive.

Your post has inspired me to keep searching. I will be glad if I find 1/10th of what you have found.

Congratulations!
Neil