Silver Tree Chaser
Bronze Member
I’ve been far too much of a lurker on T-Net for a while and decided upon making a contribution albeit a bit later than preferable, so please understand that this is a catch-up post for finds from my last few hunts. My mid-year find of a twenty-cent piece made for a memorable and thankful year of detecting in 2019, although it was tough going in the late fall. A day-long hunt at the end of November resulted in a plain 1800s no-thrills button and a harmonica reed along with a wrenched middle finger from falling in the woods while seeking out a cellar hole. 
The pain in my finger only subsided when I arrived home and realized that I left my gear bag with my digital camera in the woods at my last detecting stop. 
I can report that I recovered the bag the following day, but the finger has still not healed; I have an appointment with a hand doctor next week.
The hand injury improved just enough to end 2019 on a hopeful note with a follow-up hunt at a cellar hole that produced the finds pictured below: a complete shoe buckle, a decorative dandy button, and a nice silver cufflink piece dating to the Colonial Period. Not pictured is an apparent medal of some sort far too corroded for any identification, some more buttons, musket ball, etc. It was a good day of detecting.
Here’s the shoe-buckle as dug. It came out of some thick brush only searchable in the winter.
I really like the hand-crafted designs on Colonial-Period silver. Note that the silversmith engraved the flower slightly off-center.
Two other recent finds from a farm field that keeps producing slow but sure. I found a complete 1600s spur buckle (unrelated Mercury Dime is only for scale); I was very happy with this find, as I don’t recover spur buckles all that often, especially intact. Plowing activity usually turns these finds into brass confetti. The other find is an apparent tombac button of some sort. It’s similar to the dome or nipple buttons associated with 17th century sites, but its profile is much thicker resulting in a more convex shape. I suspect that it’s one of the earliest English buttons that I’ve ever recovered.
Hope everyone gets out this weekend. Good Hunting!
The pain in my finger only subsided when I arrived home and realized that I left my gear bag with my digital camera in the woods at my last detecting stop. I can report that I recovered the bag the following day, but the finger has still not healed; I have an appointment with a hand doctor next week. The hand injury improved just enough to end 2019 on a hopeful note with a follow-up hunt at a cellar hole that produced the finds pictured below: a complete shoe buckle, a decorative dandy button, and a nice silver cufflink piece dating to the Colonial Period. Not pictured is an apparent medal of some sort far too corroded for any identification, some more buttons, musket ball, etc. It was a good day of detecting.
Here’s the shoe-buckle as dug. It came out of some thick brush only searchable in the winter.
I really like the hand-crafted designs on Colonial-Period silver. Note that the silversmith engraved the flower slightly off-center.
Two other recent finds from a farm field that keeps producing slow but sure. I found a complete 1600s spur buckle (unrelated Mercury Dime is only for scale); I was very happy with this find, as I don’t recover spur buckles all that often, especially intact. Plowing activity usually turns these finds into brass confetti. The other find is an apparent tombac button of some sort. It’s similar to the dome or nipple buttons associated with 17th century sites, but its profile is much thicker resulting in a more convex shape. I suspect that it’s one of the earliest English buttons that I’ve ever recovered.
Hope everyone gets out this weekend. Good Hunting!
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