Short 3hr Hunt - ’59 Indian & ‘Holed’ 1881 CDN LC

[ANTIQUARIAN]

This is an old home site that I first investigated in 2018. It shows up on my c1870 map, so the site dates prior to that. The house was likely removed when the road was widened, although none of the finds date after c1900. I decided to stamp down some of the high weeds in the corner of the site where I feel the house must’ve originally stood. This paid off almost immediately with a ‘holed’ 1881 Canadian LC, this was followed by an 1859 ‘Fatty’ IH. This is the second ’59 IH I’ve found in the last month, up until a month ago I’d never found a ’59 IH. A search of the freshly disked soil only turned up a toe-tap, an early ‘flange or lip chimney’ oil lamp burner and a suspender clip. I can actually make out a square 2’ x 2’ depression at the edge of the site, which I assume was the outhouse. I just might have to come back and dig down a few feet to see if anything interesting pops up.

1859 US Indian Head ‘One Cent’

“1859 marks the first year of Indian Head cents and the second official small cent series. Much like the Flying Eagle pennies that preceded them, 1859 Indian Head cents are made from a copper-nickel composition, giving these early pennies more of a whitish appearance than the bronze pennies of latter years. The Indian Head penny was designed by James B. Longacre and is commonly thought to depict a Native American of one tribe or another. In fact, the model for the Indian Head penny is believed to be Sarah Longacre, the designer’s 12-year-old daughter, who was playfully crowned with a traditional headdress by a visiting chief. The figure on the obverse is actually supposed to be that of Miss Liberty.

The 1859 Indian Head cent is available in both a business-strike and proof specimens. 36,400,000 business-strikes were made while 800 proofs were produced. Circulated 1859 Indian Head pennies in a grade of good sell for around $14, while the much rare proof specimen has a value of around $5,200. In 1859, the reverse featured the words ONE CENT encircled in a laurel wreath. This is the only year that design would be employed on the Indian Head cent. The following year, an oak wreath with a shield would grace the reverse of the coin. The Indian Head penny would be struck for 50 years and is the design that immediately preceded the Lincoln penny, which would first enter circulation in the summer of 1909. 1859 Indian Head pennies are widely collected both by date for inclusion as a part of the entire series and as a type coins representing the copper-nickel Indian Head pennies, which were made from 1859 through 1864.”

Thanks very much for looking,
Dave

 

[ArfieBoy]

Nice finds! Too bad the large cent has such a nasty hole in it. But it makes a great artifact anyway! Thanks for sharing.

 

[Digger RJ]

Very Nice!!! Congrats!!!

 

[Noah_D]

You sure do find a lot of them largies, congrats!

 

[Wildcat1750]

Well done returning to that site!

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Nice finds! Too bad the large cent has such a nasty hole in it. But it makes a great artifact anyway! Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for your post Arfie.
I honestly love it when they come out of the ground 'holed', this makes it a much more personal find.
Just to think that someone actually took the time to punch a hole in this coin for a reason.

This was often done to nail the coin to a door frame entrance to a house or barn as a symbol of good luck to all those how entered.
Very similar to why we hang horseshoes above doorways now.

Best of luck to you in Oregon my friend,
Dave

Very Nice!!! Congrats!!!

Thanks Randy.

You sure do find a lot of them largies, congrats!

Thank you for your post Noah.
The Canadian LC's were produced for a long time period from 1858 - 59, then again from 1876 - 1920.
Prior to 1858, we used early 'British-made' Canadian tokens, we also used US, British and Spanish coins in our currency.

"The first Canadian cent was minted in 1858 and had a diameter of 1 inch and a weight of 1⁄100 pound. These cents were originally issued to bring some kind of order to the Canadian monetary system, which, until 1858, relied on British coinage, bank and commercial tokens (francophones calling them sous, an historical term from the French currency), U.S. currency and Spanish milled dollars. The coin's specifications were chosen with the intention of the coins also being useful as measuring tools. However, their light weight compared to the bank and merchant halfpenny tokens readily available at the time was a serious hindrance to their acceptance by the public. Some of the coins were even sold at a 20% discount and were inherited by the Dominion government in 1867. Fresh production of new cents (with the weight increased to 1⁄5 ounce or 5.67 grams) was not required until 1876.

The large cents of 1858–1920 were significantly larger than modern one-cent coins and even slightly larger than the modern 25¢ piece. After Confederation, these large cent coins were struck on the planchet of the British halfpenny and were roughly the same value. Pennies were issued sporadically in the third quarter of the 19th century. They were used in the Province of Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia upon Confederation in 1867. New Brunswick and Nova Scotia had issued their own coinage prior to that date, with British Columbia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland continuing to issue "pennies" until they joined Confederation. The coin was reduced in size to its current size to match the size of the American penny."

Well done returning to that site!

Thanks Nick, hope you're having a productive fall detecting season in CT.
Dave

 

[Erik in NJ]

Great finds and write-up as usual Dave! Congrats on the '59 IHC and very nice job on the preservation.

--Erik

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Great finds and write-up as usual Dave! Congrats on the '59 IHC and very nice job on the preservation.

--Erik

Thanks very much Eric.
The '59 IH cleaned up not to shabby... the only problem is, I tattooed the back of it with my shovel.
Take care buddy,
Dave