The Iron Brigade has been busy Diggin

BuckleBoy · May 22, 2009

Hello All,

It's been a few weeks since I posted finds, but we've been busy hitting the books, doing research, scouting the next batch of sites, and diggin some.

Last week we had a little campout on the property of a Very Cool owner right beside a neat site in the woods where we detected and did some sifting. Part of the festivity was due to our welcoming aboard the newest member of the team, coinmaster2db. This guy is good at research and history, and always seems to have an extra 6-pack of beer around.

Here's a very short video of our campout. :thumbsup:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNw9HIQZHEk

The finds were pretty slim for this event, but the company was top notch.

I went out the next day for a little hunt with Hill Billy. We got on a new spot that had a beautiful view. The iron was thick, the zinc canning jar lids were a nightmare, and we didn't get many keepers for a lot of diggin. But HB got a nice brass-faced bridle rosette right off. Then he got a solid silver signal on his XLT.

He dug carefully, and I could see a silver reeded edge poking out of the side of the clod. We just knew it had to be a Seated Quarter...

When he pulled it out, we both got a laugh, and started wondering "What is that doing here?" It was a Silver Georgie. :P The picture below Sucks because I was laughing so hard.

Anyhow, the scenery was beautiful, the two bulls in the field left us alone, and I found a nice Eagle Button.

Then over the weekend I got together with Rodeo and coinmaster2db for the last field hunt of the season. :'(

It was a rainy mess, but again beautiful countryside in this area too.

We hit the site hard, knowing that there would be no re-hunt for six months. For the first few hours, we got harmonica reeds, spoon handles, and bits. I started to doubt the age of the site, since there were no flat buttons found--at all! Maybe those long-gone inhabitants boycotted buttons. Maybe since it was such a remote area they just went around "Nekkid"

But it was wierd to have a hunt with no flatties found.

Here's a photo of Rodeo and Coinmaster. Rodeo had just dug two huge old skeleton keys, and was pretty stoked.

I managed to find an interesting broken point in the field, and I got an in-situ shot before I picked it up.

MORE photos in the first reply below:

BuckleBoy · May 22, 2009

Right after that, I dug a harmonica reed our of the ground and happened to see a flash of blue in the plug. It was another Bennington marble. Big one. 8)

Then I got a nice good copper signal. I pinpointed, dug, and the signal disappeared. Scanning the clod again, the dirt fell away and revealed a Large Cent on edge:

Such a beautiful sight.

I also dug a few Indian Head cents that I gave to the property owner, along with the nice pieces of glass and china (his wife is saving them to make a coffee table out of). We hiked our butts back up a steep, long hill with a sack of iron and smiles on our faces. Here is a photo of my portion of the finds, plus Rodeo's two brass keys. :thumbsup:

That Large Cent turned out to be an 1835 Coronet. :thumbsup:

The spring window is officially closed. It's time to don the gear, spray ourselves down with enough chemicals to drop a cat, and hit the woods.

Best Wishes,

Buckles

STH69 · May 22, 2009

Great stuff guys!

tsgman · May 22, 2009

Looks like that was fun and you all made some nice finds, btw, in the second to the last photo the object closest to the bottom, oval with 3 holes, any idea what those are? I dug one last time out in a CW spot.

limegoldconvertible68 · May 22, 2009

Those are some pretty cool finds. Its a shame that so many great places can't be hunted during the summer. The woods during summer just don't appeal to me. Too many ticks, too much poison ivy and to much freaking underbrush. I don't know how anybody can swing a detector or keep any kind of grid going. I will probably spend my summer in the library.

postalgriff · May 22, 2009

very nice you guys, love the video and pics, and you got some great finds :thumbsup:

those keys are sweet

Sniffy · May 22, 2009

Awesome. Just plain o' awesome.

BuckleBoy · May 22, 2009

tsgman said:
Looks like that was fun and you all made some nice finds, btw, in the second to the last photo the object closest to the bottom, oval with 3 holes, any idea what those are? I dug one last time out in a CW spot.

I have no idea what those are. Sometimes I find ones like it that have a keyhole in the center insted of a circular hole, so I always figured they were pieces from furniture--but if they're turning up in CW camps they very well might be something else. :icon_scratch:

VOL1266-X · May 22, 2009

BB, you have become the "Marble Monster' in the last few weeks. Nice finds and pics. Hay cutting has started down here and Dman and I will hit the fields in the next week or so. Good Hunting Bud!!!

BuckleBoy · May 22, 2009

limegoldconvertible68 said:
Those are some pretty cool finds. Its a shame that so many great places can't be hunted during the summer. The woods during summer just don't appeal to me. Too many ticks, too much poison ivy and to much freaking underbrush. I don't know how anybody can swing a detector or keep any kind of grid going. I will probably spend my summer in the library.

We have decided that since the woods will be worse this year than last year we will not be as crazy or stupid as we were in 2008. They have told us that the ticks are worse than they've been in years this year, and we have all the deadfall from this past winter's ice storms to deal with--so we'll probably have to take a saw as well as the machete this summer. :tard:

We will hunt the woods in '09... just not 3 times a week like last year. :wink:

nova treasure · May 22, 2009

Glad to see you all back at it,Looks like some Great finds and good Fellowship. Nice to see the new member and hope he makes some Great finds and enjoys such a Great Team. :icon_study:

Nova Treasure

BuckleBoy · May 22, 2009

VOL1266-X said:
BB, you have become the "Marble Monster' in the last few weeks. Nice finds and pics. Hay cutting has started down here and Dman and I will hit the fields in the next week or so. Good Hunting Bud!!!

It's wonderful to have field sites. Best of luck to you two in the coming weeks.

We have to wait for winter wheat to be cut here--and the window is narrow (usually between 24 and 72 hours). Then another crop will go into the fields for the remaining time until fall harvest.

I have found a few neat marbles lately. Seems like that's the way it works...find two of something in 17 years and then find three in a few months' time.

Best Wishes,

Buckles

BuckleBoy · May 22, 2009

KylePA said:
Congrats on some great outings, Buck! Of course, you know I love that large cent! Nice video as well!

Your new member will allow you guys to find twice the amount of sites now! Good luck on your future outings with him and the rest of your team!

Kyle

I dug that Largie in your honor. :wink:

I'm very happy that except for the occasional Georgie ::)

and obligatory IH's, most of our coin finds lately have dated from 1800 to the late 1830s. That's a difficult task in this area...and especially if we cross the O-Hi-O over into Indiana. (Indiana wasn't even a state until 1812.)

There were squatters there before that date (building cabins, harvesting crops, and trying to save enough money to buy the land they were inhabiting), but due to the risk of Indian attack, the population was quite small then.

Best Wishes,

Buckles

Kyle PA · May 22, 2009

BuckleBoy said:
KylePA said:

Congrats on some great outings, Buck! Of course, you know I love that large cent! Nice video as well!

Your new member will allow you guys to find twice the amount of sites now! Good luck on your future outings with him and the rest of your team!

Kyle

Click to expand...

I dug that Largie in your honor. I'm very happy that except for the occasional Georgie and obligatory IH's, most of our coin finds lately have dated from 1800 to the late 1830s. That's a difficult task in this area...and especially when we cross the O-Hi-O over into Indiana. (Indiana wasn't even a state until 1812.)

There were squatters there early (building cabins, harvesting crops, and trying to save enough money to buy the land they were inhabiting), but due to the risk of Indian attack, the population was quite small then.

Best Wishes,

Buckles

And, I know you are hot on the trail of another early site in Indiana! If I remember correctly, wasn't that "three Spanish silver, militia buckle" site in Indiana?

BuckleBoy · May 22, 2009

Kyle, I find sites all over--from Hardin and LaRue Counties, over to Nelson and Breckenridge, over east of Lexington, and on the other side of the Ohio as far east as Madison and Carrollton.

But the oldest ones are easier the closer to the Ohio River you are, and the farther East you are.

Some counties in KY are difficult to find old spots in, but even if the county is "newer," odds are it was formed from a larger, older county. :wink:

allen · May 22, 2009

congrats on those sweet bunch of finds !!!

redlined · May 22, 2009

Wondered were you guys had been, now I see--digging your butts off

Love the large cent and especially the old skeleton keys, they cleaned up great! FWIW, the point is/was a Turkeytail. Great finds guys WTG :thumbsup:

kdismuke1 · May 22, 2009

you guys have a way of finding things. and alot of fun to. i like of of your fings. and pictures. :thumbsup:

RPG · May 22, 2009

Another great post BuckleBoy and by the way, I like the avatar. I've always liked that old tree. :thumbsup:

The bacon looks good but I don't know about that coffee. :tard:

I kinda figured you had been busy digging these last couple of weeks. Looks like the gang has been having fun. Congrats on the large cent and I really like the keys. I'm still looking for my first brass key. I think one of the best finds is the artifact. Looks like a turkey tail. Post it in the artifacts forum and those guys will confirm this. If so, go back when the owner plows the field and you will find some killer artifacts.

Hope to see more soon.
Randy

BuckleBoy · May 22, 2009

RPG said:
Another great post BuckleBoy and by the way, I like the avatar. I've always liked that old tree.

The bacon looks good but I don't know about that coffee.

I kinda figured you had been busy digging these last couple of weeks. Looks like the gang has been having fun. Congrats on the large cent and I really like the keys. I'm still looking for my first brass key. I think one of the best finds is the artifact. Looks like a turkey tail. Post it in the artifacts forum and those guys will confirm this. If so, go back when the owner plows the field and you will find some killer artifacts.

Hope to see more soon.
Randy

I wish the owner still deep plowed the fields, but they are all no-till. $:-\$ The site should be a good one for Native American artifacts though--right near a creek, and on a big hill. Those keys are tough finds to make. I've only found 4 or 5 since 1992. I think the reason is that they were not only functional, but a necessity, and they were practically indestructible.

Most of the ones I've found have been twisted or bent (same case with the bigger of the two that Rodeo dug, posted above). I would imagine that those big, iron door locks were hard to turn when they started to rust a little. Even so, that's a lot of torque to bend a monster key like that.

Best Wishes,

Buckles