Stunning Maine Militia Button (1820-1840) and Brass Miniature Cannon

Ahab8

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Location
Topsham, Maine
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Teknetics T2 SE w/15' SEF Coil/ Minelab GPX 4500/2 Garrett Pro Pointers/3 Sets Killer B Headphones/ Koss Headphones/ Detekniy Wireless headphone Adapter
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Time has been limited this spring with more work than we can handle. The commercial construction industry is booming to say the least. I worked Memorial Day and decided I was taking yesterday off. I paddled out to an island that has treated me well in the past. I only had a few hours due to some very inclement weather forecasted for the afternoon. There's a colonial cellar hole in the center of the island which was either occupied for much longer than I thought or it was abandoned then reoccupied later. This day gave me 2 bucket listers. The first being a Maine Militia button dating from 1820-1840. When I first dug it I was thinking it may be civilian. But it was heavily gilted and I could clearly see a back mark. Then I remembered the 5 point design of the early Maine Militia button. A little lemon juice and I was shocked at the condition. Blown away by this button. The other good find is one that I am over the moon with. I've always wanted to dig a miniature brass cannon. I've always thought these were awesome. I admittedly am not positive of the history of these and what they date to. Any info is appreciated. I have found everything from big dandy buttons to pewter spoon handles to mid 1800s finds. So this cannon could date any time in there.
Another interesting find is this giant brass spike. My guess is for ship building. I've never seen one close to this size. It's massive. I'm excited to get back to this site as it's got a massive concentration of iron. There's going to be a ton of good finds masked by the iron. I will be using my magnet to remove lots of nails then snagging the goods below.
The last and most important part of this post is a picture of some incredible iron that my very good buddy OutdoorAdv processed for me. Brad is not only incredibly talented with detecting, sifting and preservation....he is also an awesome and generous friend. Thank you buddy for processing these pieces.
The fork is a favorite of mine. It's the only one that I've found. Bone handle I believe. One of the other favorites is the iron grapeshot that I found on a Rev War site. There's also a mystery in there. I thought for sure it was some sort of hatchet or belt axe when I dug it. Now I'm thinking it's not. But I have no idea what it could be. Thanks for looking guys and I apologize that I've been too busy to Che k out all of your great finds. I'll try to do better. Hunting for a mid 1600s site tomorrow. Prob strike out but you never know.
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Upvote 51
Always love when I get back from a challenging mission in the desert and see an Abe text message waiting...wow did that button clean up WAY beyond my expectations. Brad continues to out-due himself with the iron preservation work as well. Interested to see where the research leads you on the miniature cannon :occasion14:

Hey my friend. Hope you're doing ok and a big hearty thank you for doing what you do. I knew that button would be nice but did not expect that. And yes
B-Rad is the man. I'm thinking about giving him a yearly salary to deal with my dirty relics. I'll never make em look like he does. Think if I built him a small cabin here in Maine he'd process my stuff? Lol
 

amazing finds, Abe. you continue to impress me with you dedication to research. It clearly pays off!

Thanks man. That's a nice compliment....especially coming from you. As you know that's the most important aspect. You can be the most proficient detector swinger on earth. If you don't put yourself in the right spots you will have nothing to show for it. For me it feels best when I find a site that's been there for 250+ years that is completely untouched. My ancestors mill site was an incredible feeling. So many early coins and relics likely touched by an ancestor. The latter spoon site was killer as well. The tree coin find was just a lucky random drop but it was research that got me into the correct area. You obviously have it figured out as well my friend. Love to see what you e been finding
 

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