Oldest Silver...1690s!!! CLEANED PICS!!!

[romeo-1]

It started out as a very poor hunt. I just spent 21 hours with baby when wife gave me a break and insisted that I go out and do some detecting. I only had a couple hours so I could not go far so I headed over to the ArrowHead Field to try my luck there. I spent maybe 20 minutes in the plow zone and started to get frustrated so I switched over to a mowed hay field. I had been on this field before but decided I was going to grid the entire field and hope for a stray. I knew there wasn't a site in this area but it has been a farmed field for over 300 years so a decent stray is always possible.

My first target was a 1978 clad dime...not a good start. After another hour of gridding without so much as a single target I found a musketball...a little better. By this time I had been detecting for 2 hours and only managed a musketball. I continued for another 45 minutes only finding scrap pieces of lead but nothing more. It was getting close to supper so it was time to head home. I left the hay field and decided to swing my way back up the plowed ArrowHead Field. I was seeing a lot of flint and quartz but no points. I was halfway back up the field heading to the car when I got a scratchy signal. I turned the dirt and saw what I thought was another dime. When I picked it up I knew it wasn't a dime...it was too thin. I rinsed the soil off in a puddle and saw that whatever it was it was misstruck...but I knew it was French!

When i got home I checked it out with the loupe and verified that it was a colonial French coin dating from the 1600s! The date is cut off due to being misstruck but I can still see 16 below the monarch. I'm not even sure what coin it is but I know that Iron Patch will very quickly ID it for me!

Thanks for looking.

SCROLL DOWN FOR NEW CLEANED PICS

 

[ironhorse]

Re: Oldest Silver...1600s!!!

sweet old coin!!!

you must have a old Acadian site nearby, it's rattling when you find the scraps but not the site, it's gotta be close...good luck!!

I'll be down your way in a couple of weeks or so, keep the ground thawed for me

 

[The Patriot]

Re: Oldest Silver...1600s!!!

Your like Copperfield that I saw last week...pulled that one from your A$$... your luck just doesn't seem to let up... Congrats buddy well deserved....Still looking to break into the 1600's myself.....

 

[Kyle PA]

Re: Oldest Silver...1600s!!!

Amazing, Romeo, simply amazing. Keep on showing Iron Patch what a real digger digs.

 

[pjroo33]

Re: Oldest Silver...1690s!!!

WOW!!! Awesome silver! Congrats

 

[Iron Patch]

Re: Oldest Silver...1600s!!!

Holy wonkers, Patrick, you showed Iron Patch how it is done. Patch is too busy looking for crumbly pewter buttons.

That French silver is what keeps a passion alive.

Kirk

The Iron Bros will be out on Monday and if the research is right we'll be on a site that could have a coin just like that. Cobs are more likely though.

....but I would rather a site with early pewter military. Having the best of both worlds like our last site would be the best case scenario.

So tune in Monday night to see the Iron Bros go up 2 hunts to nothing.

 

[tymcmurray]

Re: Oldest Silver...1690s!!!

Must feel good to hit that 1600 recoveries!

 

[romeo-1]

Re: Oldest Silver...1600s!!!

sweet old coin!!!

you must have a old Acadian site nearby, it's rattling when you find the scraps but not the site, it's gotta be close...good luck!!

I'll be down your way in a couple of weeks or so, keep the ground thawed for me

It's a strange area...in the heart of old French and Planters but as far as I can find there is no site in this immediate area. It is farm fields which had been dyked by the French in the 1600s. The only reason I go back here is to look for strays...just like this one.

Let me know when you're in the area and I'll try to secure a hunt or two.

 

[romeo-1]

Re: Oldest Silver...1600s!!!

Holy wonkers, Patrick, you showed Iron Patch how it is done. Patch is too busy looking for crumbly pewter buttons.

That French silver is what keeps a passion alive.

Kirk

The Iron Bros will be out on Monday and if the research is right we'll be on a site that could have a coin just like that. Cobs are more likely though.

....but I would rather a site with early pewter military. Having the best of both worlds like our last site would be the best case scenario.

So tune in Monday night to see the Iron Bros go up 2 hunts to nothing.

I'll be there...tuning in that is!

 

[NJ Marty]

Re: Oldest Silver...1690s!!!

That is a great find indeed and it will be a proud addition up on the banner by noon tomorrow.
Marty

 

[romeo-1]

Re: Oldest Silver...1690s!!! CLEANED PICS!!!

I did a little non-obtrusive cleaning today on the 1690s silver I found yesterday. I cut the cleaning off after I could easily make out the details...don't want this one too shiny. Into a two by two now!

 

[Don in SJ]

Lookin good, that coin has character, with the off center strike and good details showing!

Don

 

[Silver Searcher]

Loverly looking coin so are these coins hammered(not milled) I see the off centre :P if so Colonial hammered

SS

 

[Iron Patch]

You got a bit lucky Romeo, and I can't tell you the year, but can tell you the two year period it was minted. 1691 or 1692. At least it's as old as it can be for that particular type of coin!

 

[Iron Patch]

Loverly looking coin so are these coins hammered(not milled) I see the off centre :P if so Colonial hammered

SS

Struck, and often times over the previous issue.

 

[Silver Searcher]

You got a bit lucky Romeo, and I can't tell you the year, but can tell you the two year period it was minted. 1691 or 1692. At least it's as old as it can be for that particular type of coin!

Which would make it quite scarse then

SS

 

[rjw4law]

Very good.

 

[Iron Patch]

You got a bit lucky Romeo, and I can't tell you the year, but can tell you the two year period it was minted. 1691 or 1692. At least it's as old as it can be for that particular type of coin!

Which would make it quite scarse then

SS

No, most of the .80 silver 4 or 5 sols from that period seem to be pretty common. The 2 sols from 1738-1762 are the ones which rely quite a bit on the mint mark. The difference in value can easily be $1,000 for a common mint, to a rare one. There's no books I know of that go into prices by variety, ones that are accurate anyway.

 

[Silver Searcher]

You got a bit lucky Romeo, and I can't tell you the year, but can tell you the two year period it was minted. 1691 or 1692. At least it's as old as it can be for that particular type of coin!

Which would make it quite scarse then

SS

No, most of the .80 silver 4 or 5 sols from that period seem to be pretty common. The 2 sols from 1738-1762 are the ones which reply quite a bit on the mint mark. The difference in value can easily be $1,000 for a common mint, to a rare one.

Just seems strange for a coin that was only minted for that short a period, that it is not a rare coin thanks for the imfo

SS

 

[Iron Patch]

BTW.... after shots look good. Just getting the remaining dirt and thinning out the film of corrosion a little makes a difference.

 

[Iron Patch]

You got a bit lucky Romeo, and I can't tell you the year, but can tell you the two year period it was minted. 1691 or 1692. At least it's as old as it can be for that particular type of coin!

Which would make it quite scarse then

SS

No, most of the .80 silver 4 or 5 sols from that period seem to be pretty common. The 2 sols from 1738-1762 are the ones which reply quite a bit on the mint mark. The difference in value can easily be $1,000 for a common mint, to a rare one.

Just seems strange for a coin that was only minted for that short a period, that it is not a rare coin thanks for the imfo

SS

They obviously really pumped them out. Perhaps that's the reason they only made them two years, it was enough.