Rev War Cpt John Hinkley shoe buckle frame-Castine

Castineman1779 · Dec 10, 2014

Well folks welcome to my first post and hope it is enjoyed. I may be Greenie on TN but at this great hobby as a relic hunter since the mid 90s. For those of you familiar with The Penobscot Expedition of 1779 in Castine , Maine it will be easy to follow along. For those not please Google " The Penobscot Expedition" to learn about this 3 week siege that ended up as one of the worst American defeats of the American Revolution.
I was able to relic hunt this site with permission from 1995-2009 and then 99% was put off limits to metal detecting. I wrote 4 articles from 2006-2010 on my relics , buttons and coins found there and if you have interest in reading them please let me know.
Now in May of this year I found myself in Maine and got to hunt Castine for 5 days. My last hunt was in 2009. Since most is posted I worked mainly the beach were on the 29th of June 400 Marines and militia soldiers were landed by boat to engage the British on the heights. On the left were militia that landed near a large granite boulder later named for a drummer boy named Israel Trask. On the right and center the Marines had landed to scale the Heights and take that ground. One boat carrying the Company commander named Cpt. John Hinkley and othere soldiers landed near Trask Rock. Cpt Hinkley climbed onto the boulder and shout orders to assault the Heights. Immeadiatly a Redcoat took aim and shot him dead. He landed at the feet of dummer boy Israel Trask behind the rock .
Fast forward May of 2014 . I was hunting around Trask Rock probably for the 30th time and expected little to be found. However earlier up the beach I did find a beautiful 3 pound cannon ball fired on the 29th of June when the Americans cannonaded the Heights. About 20 feet from Trask Rock to the shore I got a solid high 70s on my DFX meter and knew with little trash there maybe a coin. However what came from the sand under a rock was this perfectly preserved , brown from the sea salt, shoe buckle frame missing on the iron or steel guts that rusted away centuries earlier. It had a wonderful design on it of which I knew only officers wore them. My research of Cpt Hinkley
giving his life on that boulder tells me it was no doubt probably his and when he landed on the rocks below it broke from his shoe. That's my story and I am sticking to it. For a better understanding of that days loss of almost 100 militia and Marines Google "Assault on Penobscot". Here are some relic pics and hope you enjoyed my story. Sorrow that history cannot be explained in just a few lines. Happy hunting. Gary

Inspector · Dec 10, 2014

Totally awwwwesome, and a fantastic story.

Ahab8 · Dec 10, 2014

Argentium said:
I am in no way dissing Gary's opinion , or expertise regarding the history of Cpt. Hinkley's demise ,or his belief that this
buckle was worn by Cpt. Hinkley - I was just stating a fact , namely that without further provenance , there is no way to
connect the buckle to Cpt. Hinkley. (Ahab8 , I realize that your comment was not necessarily directed toward my comment,
I just wanted to clarify my remarks )

Argentium I have nothing but respect for you my friend and my comment was just a general comment in defending why he believes what he does. And you are absolutely right. It's very hard to say 100% that any item we find belonged to a specific person short of a dog tag or an item with a name or monogram on it. I just wanted everyone to understand why he believes this and why it's a VERY real possibility. I also happen to live not too far from here and know the history extensively. And as said before whether it can be confirmed or not that buckle is stunning and belonged to someone important and if great means.
For the record I always respect all opinions whether I agree with them or not. Especially when they are expressed in a respectful manner. All the best, Abe

Argentium · Dec 10, 2014

Very well said Ahab8, Almost daily I attempt to build a case for an opinion I hold about an object that somebody posts here ,
typically I do so with way less information (or expertise) than Gary has amassed about the events involving Cpt. Hinkley.
I agree with you that whether we share another's opinion or not - at very least we can do so respectfully .

doninbrewster · Dec 11, 2014

Thanks for your post. Great find and historical background. Castine is a very interesting place. Was there about 15 years ago on vacation with my wife. Many people are not aware of the Castine Hoard. In 1840 a hoard of 400-500 pieces of early silver coinage was found on a hillside. I believe most were Spanish silver, but there were also 25-30 pieces of Massachusetts silver which included shillings and sixpence pieces. There was a book published by the ANS in 1942 detailing the find. I scanned in the cover of the copy I have in my library.

Iron Patch · Dec 11, 2014

Every find has a story and that's a pretty good one!

Iron Patch · Dec 11, 2014

doninbrewster said:
Thanks for your post. Great find and historical background. Castine is a very interesting place. Was there about 15 years ago on vacation with my wife. Many people are not aware of the Castine Hoard. In 1840 a hoard of 400-500 pieces of early silver coinage was found on a hillside. I believe most were Spanish silver, but there were also 25-30 pieces of Massachusetts silver which included shillings and sixpence pieces. There was a book published by the ANS in 1942 detailing the find. I scanned in the cover of the copy I have in my library.

The Wilson Museum Bulletin - Summer 2003 - Castine and the Old Coins Found There

Zodiacdiverdave · Dec 11, 2014

Great Post Gary and welcome aboard. I look forward to seeing more of them.
ZDD

Ahab8 · Dec 11, 2014

I will just add this. Maine has been the home to quite a few incredible caches but the Castine Hoard is a famous one

ImageUploadedByTreasureNet.com1418299378.486787.webp

ImageUploadedByTreasureNet.com1418299413.756081.webp

Ahab8 · Dec 11, 2014

Apparently IP and I were posting at the same time. Great minds and idiots think alike

Iron Patch · Dec 11, 2014

Ahab8 said:
Apparently IP and I were posting at the same time. Great minds and idiots think alike

No, I posted first, so I think it's a case of an idiot trying to think like a great mind. :laughing7:

Ahab8 · Dec 11, 2014

I actually think you sent that to me. Whatever dude :-)

Iron Patch · Dec 11, 2014

Ahab8 said:
I actually think you sent that to me. Whatever dude :-)

Yes I did!

johnnyblaze · Dec 11, 2014

Solid silver buckles are rare,very rare...Even applied silver buckles are rare.

Every time i have seen one i always said to myself,self,that must have been an important person who owned that buckle...

Now to find one in the water in the same spot that has documented historical history..It's an extremely plausible theory..

~Blaze~

doninbrewster · Dec 11, 2014

Ahab8 said:
I will just add this. Maine has been the home to quite a few incredible caches but the Castine Hoard is a famous one
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I hadn't seen this Wilson Museum piece before, but it is a bit inaccurate. It was part of a paper presented to the Maine Historical Society in 1859 by Joseph Williamson. The latest dated piece was a 1690 demi-ecu struck at the Bordeaux mint. Dr. Joseph Stevens who was there when the coins were found and purchased a number of them refuted the information in the paper by Williamson and states there were 25-30 pieces of Massachusetts silver, not the 150 stated by Williamson. He also mentions that the largest part of the hoard were French followed by Spanish pieces with a total of possibly 2,000 pieces. Could you imagine finding something like that while out detecting?

Ahab8 · Dec 11, 2014

doninbrewster said:
I hadn't seen this Wilson Museum piece before, but it is a bit inaccurate. It was part of a paper presented to the Maine Historical Society in 1859 by Joseph Williamson. The latest dated piece was a 1690 demi-ecu struck at the Bordeaux mint. Dr. Joseph Stevens who was there when the coins were found and purchased a number of them refuted the information in the paper by Williamson and states there were 25-30 pieces of Massachusetts silver, not the 150 stated by Williamson. He also mentions that the largest part of the hoard were French followed by Spanish pieces with a total of possibly 2,000 pieces. Could you imagine finding something like that while out detecting?

Thanks Don for the clarification. And no I cannot imagine finding that, considering one tree shilling and one cob almost caused me to have a heart attack and stop breathing lol. I think a hoard would probably stop my heart and there I would lay with a giant smile on my face....dead

Bill D. (VA) · Dec 11, 2014

That silver buckle is awesome Gary! I love it when the history behind a significant find is revealed as it makes the recovery that much more special. Great job on the find as well as the research.

Iron Patch · Dec 11, 2014

doninbrewster said:
I hadn't seen this Wilson Museum piece before, but it is a bit inaccurate. It was part of a paper presented to the Maine Historical Society in 1859 by Joseph Williamson. The latest dated piece was a 1690 demi-ecu struck at the Bordeaux mint. Dr. Joseph Stevens who was there when the coins were found and purchased a number of them refuted the information in the paper by Williamson and states there were 25-30 pieces of Massachusetts silver, not the 150 stated by Williamson. He also mentions that the largest part of the hoard were French followed by Spanish pieces with a total of possibly 2,000 pieces. Could you imagine finding something like that while out detecting?

I've had that dream many times Don.

Just imagine the fun a person would have going coin by coin looking at the grade and variety... especially on the MA silver.