Old Large cents and Very Old Silver Pocket Watch Case!!!

[vthepresident]

I have been away from posting for awhile, since I have been away from treasure hunting. I am in my third year of pharmacy school, and there just hasn't been much time to get out, so my DFX has just been sitting in the corner. I live in Birmingham, AL, where there are a shortage of "old" locations to hunt, so a visit to my wife's family in Virginia this weekend held lots of promise. My father in law always scouts out some good old spots for us to hunt when we visit, so I was really looking forward to it. This time it was a farm that has been in one family since the early 1800s, and was built some time in the 18th century. We were assured that it had never been hunted as well, so all the signs were there for a great day of metal detecting. At this point, I have yet to break into the 1800s with metal detected coins, so this was my one and only goal. I wasn't picky, I just wanted something with an "18" in the front of the date.

I was not disappointed.

The first LC has no date, but the head shape is of the later style (post 1830s) and it is holed. The second one just barely has a visible date (1818), so it is an old one! I wasn't expecting that!

Fortune favored me yet again with another 1800s coin, an 1860 Indian Head Penny!

I found this one right before we had to leave for the day. I also came up with the nice bright green 1903 IH and two wheats.

I also found this cool Daughters of Confederate Veterans "Southern Cross of Honor" medal.
It was near this 1920 dog tag that was for a dog the owner actually remembered.

My favorite find was this silver pocket watch case. It is missing it's lid, but it has four neat maker's marks. There is a lion profile, a bust of a woman, a lower case "t," and I believe a lion's face. In the center looks like a "1" and a "T." Any ID help would be great!

I also found this interesting buckle/rosette. I think it is a buckle, because it is silver dollar size, and has a cross bar with rusted off tongue in the middle.

I also found these tidbits

It was my best single day of detecting, and I had a great time with my father in law and brother in law. I just wanted to break into the 19th century, and I was thrilled to do it three times in one day! This site has endless potential, and I can't wait to get back there hopefully this summer. There has to be old silver there somewhere!!!
Thanks for looking
V

 

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[vthepresident]

Re: First hunt of the year Pays off with 3 Firsts!!

I have discovered that the lion profile on the pocket watch means English Sterling silver, and what I think is the lion's face means it was assayed in London. The lower case "t" denotes the date, but I haven't narrowed that one down yet. Crusader? Any help?

Still working on what the bust means and who the maker is.

Thanks for looking!

 

[vthepresident]

Re: First hunt of the year Pays off with 3 Firsts!!

I also found out that in the early 20th century, the "southern cross of honor" was awarded by Daughters of Confederate Veterans only to actual Confederate Veterans themselves! So, someone at this household undoubtedly served in the Civil war wearing a gray uniform. I am going to frame up the medal and give it back to the owner.

 

[pgleba]

Re: First hunt of the year Pays off with 3 Firsts!!

What camera and so on did you use to take the photos?

 

[vthepresident]

Re: First hunt of the year Pays off with 3 Firsts!!

The coins and medal and things were done on my scanner. It gives the best detail.

The pocket watch and buckle were done with the macro setting on my wife's Nikon Coolpix 8.0 megapixel.

 

[ipsilateral]

That old Albemarle County dog tag is cool. I am from Albemarle Co, VA (Charlottesville). That dog was a long ways from home if it's the same.

 

[Bartman]

Funny, I was taking a break from prepping for my clinical pharmacokinetics of Digoxin lecture tomorrow and this was the first post I saw. Looks like you had quite a bit of nice finds. The IH and the LC's are awesome finds. I think the real prize might be that medal though.

 

[John987]

A Real Treasure of finds. Congratulations!
Best wishes on your studies.

John

 

[vthepresident]

Thanks for the replies!

I am looking forward to returning the medal to the owner of the home. He will no doubt know which of his ancestors might have been the confederate veteran who received it.

 

[TxTim]

Nice stuff V!!!
How's your Mom doing?

 

[vthepresident]

Hey Tim!

She's hanging in there. Not out of the woods yet, but she is feeling fine so we'll just keep our fingers crossed.

Thanks again to you and the other Tim for being such great hosts in Houston. I'm sorry to drag you guys out on the hottest day of the century, but I had a great time.

 

[crazyjarhead]

Very nice finds. Good job

 

[Dirty WhiteBoy]

I'm impressed! I like the pocket watch! Great finds there!

 

[allen]

great looking assortment of really nice finds.