Pit dig produces 1680s James II token

[Bill D. (VA)]

On Saturday my good buddies Stan, Dan, KMac and I decided another trip to our favorite 17th century trash dump was in order, and we were able to take advantage of some great weather. We focused in a new area, the one where I was able to pull a wine bottle seal dated 1719 at the end of the last dig. Although there was plenty of early glass in this spot, only one of us was fortunate enough to recover another intact seal (see last photo of KMac's unique seal plus a nice spectacle buckle). Everyone dug some goodies, and although my finds weren't earth-shattering, I managed to recover what I originally thought was a hammered copper coin (22mm). However, after Dan providing a major assist on the ID, it was eventually thought to be some sort of 1680s James II token or possibly a jetton, although jettons were on their way out by this time so I'm leaning toward the token theory. I could probably attempt to clean it a little better to enhance some of the details, but decided to only use dry cleaning techniques to avoid any further damage. I have recovered other 17th century tokens before, including one from this site, but this particular example is a first for me. As always, I thoroughly enjoyed the comradery with my friends, and can't wait to get back and give it another shot.

 

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[Professor of Engineering]

Awesome colonial finds, congratulations!

 

[Rookster]

Super find. Congrats.

 

[Relicific]

Wow Bill that James II token is the bomb.
Very rare indeed.
Congrats on that oldie.

 

[washingtonian]

Sweet finds!

 

[crabstang44]

Pretty cool token, is it silver?

 

[joeyfresh]

Awesome digs Bill. That token is very intriguing and I can't wait to hear what else you may discover about it. Are those early onion / transitional bases?

 

[Bill D. (VA)]

Awesome digs Bill. That token is very intriguing and I can't wait to hear what else you may discover about it. Are those early onion / transitional bases?

Thanks Joey, I'll let you know when I find more. And yes those do appear to be shaft and globe to onion transitional bases.

 

[Aureus]

Amazing finds as usual. Congratulations to you and your friends !

 

[WaterScoop]

I guess you wrote the book on cool recoveries...<grin>

 

[Jeff H]

Wow! That is a great find! Love the book too.

 

[JamieD]

Great find. Very likely to be a jetton though I think. Jettons with English monarchs on were definitely being produced in Nuremberg during this period. There's one of Charles II here:

https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/243793

I've seen other examples of William III, Anne and George I but none of James II.

Jamie

 

[CRUSADER]

Great find. Very likely to be a jetton though I think. Jettons with English monarchs on were definitely being produced in Nuremberg during this period. There's one of Charles II here:

https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/243793

I've seen other examples of William III, Anne and George I but none of James II.

Jamie

No doubt its a Jetton, & German is most likely.

 

[toddbbq]

Gotta love that early VA history. I cant wait to try some detecting there Memorial week.

 

[against the wind]

Congrats on the weather, fellow diggers, and great finds. I know you're not finished at that site

 

[joeyfresh]

No doubt its a Jetton, & German is most likely.

So Jetton as in token or medal? The obverse of the coin found is the same or similar to the coronation medal issued but the reverse is different. Also, this crown issued tin or gunmetal plantation tokens for the colonies so I wonder if that's what this was.

 

[DetectorMoe]

Thats awesome stuff.. I got to make me a shifter and start digging somes pits at my old spots.. Nice digs.

 

[metalev4]

Love the token and buckle Bill. Kennymac’s seal is also awesome. A great hunt all around!

 

[Bill D. (VA)]

So Jetton as in token or medal? The obverse of the coin found is the same or similar to the coronation medal issued but the reverse is different. Also, this crown issued tin or gunmetal plantation tokens for the colonies so I wonder if that's what this was.

Looks like the jury is still out on this piece, so I forwarded pics this morning to my friend and colonial coin expert Tom Kays for ID. Tom previously performed an extremely detailed inventory of all my colonial coins, tokens and jettons so I feel confident he can come up with a precise ID. He has extensive expertise with jettons, so if this is what I have he'll know and can probably determine its origin and approximate date of manufacture. I'll post his comments once he's had a chance to check this out.

 

[Carolina Tom]

Glad that you and the boys were able tog et and score some goodies. Congrats on all of the nice finds. I especially like that token.

Best of luck to you sir!