Perplexing homestead hunt today

[Don in SJ]

About a month ago I found a new cellarhole in the woods and right away I dug a pewter spoon bowl and thought, oh this is going to be a good site. I got a few more goodies that day, but nothing really special, and yet there is a large area to cover, perhaps a few acres, but the main area of iron hits are within 50-75 feet of the two small cellarhole depressions.

I assuming the site dates to the local Iron forge nearby, but there was also saw mills that predated the forge so I am not sure of the time of habitation, other than early to early mid 1800s. No Mason Jar lids at least, so that usually puts the homestead to Civil War era and earlier.

Today, no coins again, and I did a rather slow hunt with a grid pattern. Almost all the finds were very deep, just like my first hunt there, the spoon piece was the deepest at 8-10 inches and I did dig part of a iron stove out that was a good foot down. The soil is very sandy and easy to dig.

I started out right away with a flattie button, plain on the front but with a wreath and on the back with only PLATED and BEST written, so that looks like 1800 or thereabouts. The spoon handle was silver plated, and the other nicknack's I have no idea what they are, but the nicest piece of the hunt was the broken piece of jewelry.

The gold plated piece with two glass stones in it does swivel, I think the broken piece on the other end must have swiveled too and thus it might have been part of a necklace? Anyway, I am sure it is also from the period of the occupation of the homestead, so the jewelry is most likely CW or earlier.

I do plan one more hunt in hopes of getting a Large Cent or old colonial from this site. Perhaps it was cherry picked years ago, but then again, maybe the occupants just did not have hole in the pants pockets~

Don

 

[catchdogcross]

I recognize that piney soil anywhere, we're probably picking over each other's sites lol
Catchdog

 

[fortbball9]

the button has a very nice displayable looking back.Congrats on your finds


fortbball9

 

[BuckleBoy]

Don,

That piece of jewelry is quite fine. Was this an Aluminum Jelly cleaning job? The piece looks great. I have seen pieces like these somewhere before--and I think maybe they were on old pocketwatch chains to keep them from getting tangled up (hence the "swivel" function).

Nice that you have a new site with some activity. Sounds like you haven't found the hotspot yet. There will be a hotspot there somewhere--but as you know, wooded areas can make it more difficult to find.

Rodeo and I took two days off for digging and found a Very Early site for Kentucky. We dug 20 flat buttons, plus others. That large of a number of flatties as you know, indicates many years of pre-1840 occupation--and digging more than four or five flat buttons at a site here is Highly Unusual.

At the very end of the hunt we discovered the site of an early home that was not on any map--but which I knew from my research existed. So much broken brick in the fields it was like walking on a brick carpet of tiny pieces busted up by the plow. So my guess is that it was a brick home which was torn down before the CW--and occupied as early as the late 1700s. We dug only a few flat buttons there before dark--so we're going back.


We'll probably make a combined 2-hunt post after all of the finds are cleaned (which is taking forever).



Regards,


Buckles

 

[Don in SJ]

Don,

That piece of jewelry is quite fine. Was this an Aluminum Jelly cleaning job? The piece looks great. I have seen pieces like these somewhere before--and I think maybe they were on old pocketwatch chains to keep them from getting tangled up (hence the "swivel" function).

Nice that you have a new site with some activity. Sounds like you haven't found the hotspot yet. There will be a hotspot there somewhere--but as you know, wooded areas can make it more difficult to find.

Rodeo and I took two days off for digging and found a Very Early site for Kentucky. We dug 20 flat buttons, plus others. That large of a number of flatties as you know, indicates many years of pre-1840 occupation--and digging more than four or five flat buttons at a site here is Highly Unusual.

At the very end of the hunt we discovered the site of an early home that was not on any map--but which I knew from my research existed. So much broken brick in the fields it was like walking on a brick carpet of tiny pieces busted up by the plow. So my guess is that it was a brick home which was torn down before the CW--and occupied as early as the late 1700s. We dug only a few flat buttons there before dark--so we're going back.


We'll probably make a combined 2-hunt post after all of the finds are cleaned (which is taking forever).



Regards,


Buckles

The piece of jewelry was cleaned using Aluminum Jelly It was not too bad coming out of the ground in the first place. As far as a watch chain part, just would not think of it for a man having the glass stones, but maybe, I was thinking more of a necklace or bracelet piece and since the broken end is identical, I assume the other end, missing piece was most likely a swivel part also.

I had to look hard under a loupe last night just to make certain it is plated and I am certain you can see spots where it is lighter in color, just surprising that much gilt is on the piece yet, so it must have been a thick coating.

Every now and then there are sites that give up lots of relics but maybe only 1 or 2 coins and this might be one of them. I do believe the site was occupied for awhile, which would increase the chances of more relics and coins, but I will get a better judgement on the site after my third hunt. So far I have about 3 hours of hunting time at this place, so there is still hope. But, the immediate area, I did hit rather hard, went real slow and was maxed out on all setting for greatest depth, since I knew from my first hunt there that a high number of targets were very deep. With it being so sandy, I had hopes of the most finds being in great shape, but the button was not exactly in that condition, but that was found more on the downside of the small hill the site sits on, so maybe more moisture in the ground.

According to the 1930 aerial map, it was already reforested, but it was all surrounded by a field back in the days it was occupied. I expect if I find a coin on the next hunt it would most likely be an early to mid year large cent, which is fine by me. The one good thing, I only dug 2 shotgun casings!

Don

 

[CRUSADER]

Looks like a watch winder to me (one of the best I have seen) 8) 8)

 

[Don in SJ]

Looks like a watch winder to me (one of the best I have seen) 8) 8)

Interesting, after posting a response to BuckleBoy's comments, did some googling and the watch key possiblity did arise. I just cannot tell what was attached to the broken off end, but if it is a watch winder key, then all the better.


Don

 

[CRUSADER]

Looks like a watch winder to me (one of the best I have seen) 8) 8)

Interesting, after posting a response to BuckleBoy's comments, did some googling and the watch key possiblity did arise. I just cannot tell what was attached to the broken off end, but if it is a watch winder key, then all the better.


Don

Sure is, I have had similar style but with all the gold leaf knocked off.

 

[collector01]

Looks like a nice spot to hunt, nice finds hope you pull some nice coppers soon.