Started the colonial silver season off with a BIG splash...a BIG HUNK OF SILVER!!!!

[HomeGuardDan]

The land season is present and while I managed to have another solid season of recovering colonial coins from the water, that is now in the rear-view for the next few months.

I started the land season off a couple of weeks ago with a decent splash by recovering the flying eagle penny and the 1500-1600's apostle spoon end. Yesterday was the second trip of the season and I got on the board with a BANG!

My good pal Bill D and I got back to one of our tried and true spots. This place has yielded some killer coins over the past few years and while it is tough going these days, good finds are still hiding. We had a freshly rolled peanut field as an added advantage this year and were excited to get into it.

The day actually started off very slow with the occasional colonial buckle piece and lead blob. Bill began to find a few buttons and as I asked him to slow down he replied "don't worry, I know when I start off like this you end up pulling a silver out." No sooner than he said that, I had a nice target that sounded like silver, but a much higher reading. I had been digging some can slaw and figured it would be another piece, until I saw it pop out of the dirt. A killer 8-bit spanish cob (likely from the mid to early 1600s)! This thing is HUGE (in my D. Trump impression). While the actual width/height is only slightly smaller than a half dollar, it is as thick as a silver dollar and quite hefty!

My day was complete already, though only beginning. I began to recover a few flat buttons and buckles pieces when we were joined by a guest we had invited. We hung out for a few minutes and then the three of us got back at it. Slow and steady was the action for the day as we each continued to dig a few pieces here and there. Towards the end of the day I dug what I knew was going to be another flat button when to my surprise a nice 1830's era U.S. Marine 1-piece button popped out. I actually had never dug a 1-piece marine before and was very happy to add this one to the collection. Shortly after that I recovered a nice late 1600's-early 1700's glass embedded cuff-link with a star design.

My take for the day was 11 buttons, a few musket balls and shot, a civil war C.S. gardner bullet, buckle pieces (including a broken trapezoidal buckle and inlayed from the 1600s-1700s) and other odds and ends (thimble, tacks, etc.). I also managed to recover two nice hammers (one from the late 1700s-early 1800s and the other most likely from the late 1600s-early 1700s.

Our colonial silver competition (Bill D vs Me) is officially on with a 1-0 lead early in the season. I know I will need to build a hefty lead to win back the trophy this year as Bill as not just an able competitor, but the stapled-crown!

HH

Dan

 

[Gridwalker306]

That IS a huge hunk of silver, and about the best silver you could ask for!

Good site you have, those are all great finds.

 

[Davers]

A Darn fine hunt indeed.
Many NICE relics.
Just the Gardner Find Would have made my day. (Never dug a Dropped One).
The Silver Piece Speaks for it's self.

 

[NEPADIGGER7]

i love chunks of silver great finds!

 

[HomeGuardDan]

That IS a huge hunk of silver, and about the best silver you could ask for!

Good site you have, those are all great finds.

Thanks man...I am happy with it.

 

[CASPER-2]

 

[Bill D. (VA)]

That was a fun and productive hunt (at least for you ), and a good time was had by all. It doesn't get any better than hunting a flat and bare dirt early colonial site like that, and although its been pounded the last 3 years, some goodies are still hiding as you proved. I'm still in shock over that huge and gorgeous cob, and it's probably one of the nicest either of us has dug. And that marine button was a great find too, but I really like that yellow glass cuff button with the starburst design inside. Can't remember seeing one of those before - very unique! Had a blast as usual, and look forward to getting back out soon, and hopefully we can squeeze in one more return trip to this site before the inevitable planting.

 

[Steve in PA]

Lots of nice finds on that hunt Dan. You are off to a good start. Have you weighed that cob? Looks a little small for an 8 reale in comparison to your finger. Maybe a 4 reale?

Compare to these:
http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/today-s-finds/476052-5-new-spanish-cobs.html

 

[toasted]

I think he meant piece of 8 when he said 8 bit. Stellar find and a very nice example at that

 

[nsdq]

Well done and killer silver

 

[Scrappy]

Well it doesn't get much better than that! I know cobs don't often make banner but that's a huge COB!! Great banner worth find man. You need the license plate "big silver" lol

Congrats

Steve

 

[OutdoorAdv]

Awesome hunt Dan! The button and the cob are incredible. It looks like there is still some gilt (or maybe that's dirt with the lighting) on the button and the cob would be a dream find for me.

 

[oxbowbarefoot]

A cob is near the top of my bucket list. I know they have come out of the fields where I detect, so its possible. One as nice as yours might be a stretch though. That's a BANNER find in my book!

 

[pepperj]

That's a great way of starting off the land hunts, and that's quite the chunk of silver.

 

[Skippy SH13]

Very cool finds. Prompted me to go look up the history of Spanish Cobs. Neat!

 

[Skippy SH13]

Very cool finds. Prompted me to go look up the history of Spanish Cobs. Neat!

EDIT: For those who don't know:
taken from: Spanish Colonial Cobs: Introduction

572-1773

As additional silver deposits were discovered in the colonial territories there was a pressing demand to export it to Spain as quickly as possible. To do this, starting in the reign of Philip II, the mints produced irregular coinage called cobs. Rather than rolling out a bar of silver into a sheet of a specific thickness that could then be cut into smooth round planchets which would be stamped into coins, a faster method was employed. A bar of silver (see examples of gold bars in our Spanish gold listings) was simply cut into chunks of the appropriate weight. These small sliver clumps were then treated as if they were finished planchets and were hammer struck between crude dies. In fact, the Spanish word "cabo" (from which the English "cob" is derived) refers to the end; in this instance, the clump of silver clipped off the end of the bar. The size, shape and impression of these cobs was highly irregular but they were the proper weight. Many cobs were quite thick and disfigured with large cracks. Also, these uneven clumps made poor planchets so that frequently only a small portion of the image on the die was impressed on the silver. If a cob was overweight the minter simply clipped a piece off, further disfiguring the coin. During the seventeenth century a few full sized finished coins called "royal or presentation strikes" by present day collectors were also produced but it was only the crude cob that was mass produced.

 

[HomeGuardDan]

That was a fun and productive hunt (at least for you ), and a good time was had by all. It doesn't get any better than hunting a flat and bare dirt early colonial site like that, and although its been pounded the last 3 years, some goodies are still hiding as you proved. I'm still in shock over that huge and gorgeous cob, and it's probably one of the nicest either of us has dug. And that marine button was a great find too, but I really like that yellow glass cuff button with the starburst design inside. Can't remember seeing one of those before - very unique! Had a blast as usual, and look forward to getting back out soon, and hopefully we can squeeze in one more return trip to this site before the inevitable planting.

Hey man, I always have fun and both of us have been on the opposite end of that silver lightning rode...recall the end of last season. Heck both days I dug one to catch up you dug one to sustain the lead and even an additional one to grow on

 

[gwdigger]

Fantastic finds. Love the cob. Sure thats an 8 reales? Needs to weight close to 27 grams for that. Like Steve says, maybe a 4?

 

[Isaac]

Love the cob and always enjoy you and Bills posts and appreciate the write ups. It's so interesting what comes from these early colonial sites. Congrats!

 

[Patriot Relics]

Congrats on the spanish cob, based on its size relationship to your fingers I'm guessing a 2 reale...maybe a 4 reale if its thick. Get an accurate weight and you'll know for sure. Quite a day you guys had, big congrats