Three centuries of silver including awesome 1600s monogrammed spoon handle

[Bill D. (VA)]

I decided to take the warm afternoon today toreturn to one of my old sites from last season. I’ve also hit it a couple times recently withmy buds Dan and Joey. It’s a very smallspot with a fairly heavy iron patch plus thick clover, and I’ve been using mylittle 4” coil in an attempt to pick out what I hoped would be a few remainingtargets. It really takes a lot ofpatience as even when swinging the small coil very slowly, many of the signalsare questionable at best. But most timeswhen you do a little 2-inch wiggle over them, they lock in nicely. Today for some reason the signals werepopping up quite regularly, and many of them were keepers although quite a bitof melted lead blobs kept turning up. Myfirst nice artifact was a real surprise. I saw a thin silver disk in the dirt clod and was certain I had acolonial silver coin. But to my surpriseit turned out to be much more exciting — a monogrammed handle from a silvertrifid spoon from the late 1600s!! I’vedug quite a few of these terminal end handles, plus one complete spoon, but allof my recoveries were fashioned from latten (a copper-zinc alloy resemblingbrass). Some pewter examples are knownto exist, but I was blown away with this awesome silver specimen. It also has an intricate monogram with theletters R-C-A. As with bottle seals ofthe period, I feel certain the “C” is the surname initial that’s centered overthe husband’s (“R”) and wife’s (“A”) initials. I also dug a very nice silver cuff button engraved with the initial “I”,and then completed the trifecta with a very worn capped bust dime (181?). I also was able to put 14 buttons in my pouchalong with a few musketballs of various caliber. So although my expectations weren’t veryhigh, the day turned out to be quite fun and interesting. And my bald eagle friend was keeping an eyeon me from his high perch as I made my way off the property. That was a great way to end the day.

UPDATE: Upon closer inspection I can see where my capped bust dime is dated 1811 which is one of the low mintage years (only 65,180). Also, since I found a random war nickel at the same site I can now say I dug silver from 4 centuries yesterday .... ha!

 

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[fever87]

Congrats on another excellent hunt! The silver cuff and trifid spoon handle are fantastic!

 

[tennessee digger]

Outstanding finds Bill. I think that I also need a small coil. What kind of machine are you hunting with?

 

[mikefromIllinois]

Nice variety of finds. Really like the cuff button and i would be happy with that capped bust since I have never found one of any kind. Congrats.

 

[joeyfresh]

Seeing that hand-etched monogram on that spoon handle gets my blood pumping! I just imagine some family from out of an old Dutch painting sitting at a table eating oyster soup with that spoon. Personalized relics are the best!

 

[OutdoorAdv]

Personalized items are my favorites and you nailed two silver ones in one hunt... Just awesome man. That etched spoon handle is incredible. Any possible way to try and research the RCA monogram? The silver etched cufflink is another dream find of mine. You know it's a good hunt when a bust dime takes a back seat to the other two silver pieces . Another great hunt and great post Bill. Can't wait for the next one.

 

[Bill D. (VA)]

Outstanding finds Bill. I think that I also need a small coil. What kind of machine are you hunting with?

I use an F75SE.

 

[Isaac]

WOW, great hunt Bill, love the silver trifecta... the OLD way. HUGE CONGRATS! I know your season has been tough at the start but you've been coming back very quickly!

 

[Silvermonkey]

Great story as always Bill, along with some remarkable finds. The spoon handle is really sweet. Thanks also for the pic of the bald eagle. Such a majestic creature! HH.

 

[Scrappy]

Very very nice digs Bill. I'm with everyone else - that etched spoon is my favorite of the three. Which is pretty difficult to say with the other finds you have there. Congrats on a successful hunt

 

[Bill D. (VA)]

Very very nice digs Bill. I'm with everyone else - that etched spoon is my favorite of the three. Which is pretty difficult to say with the other finds you have there. Congrats on a successful hunt

Thanks Steve. I'm really excited about the trifid spoon piece as it's probably my oldest non-coin silver find in 20+ years of hunting colonial sites.

 

[Silver Tree Chaser]

Great Finds! The silver trifid handle is exceptional. You know how it goes - next time out you'll dig another silver trifid specimen and dig a whole spoon. I look forward to getting your book - very exciting news.

 

[doninbrewster]

Capped bust dime, silver cuff link and spectacular spoon handle. What a day! Early silver like that spoon is really rare to come up with. Love it!

 

[Argentium]

Wow ! The personal touch of the engraved silver spoon handle is priceless - very homespun, not professionally done . The other silvers are not exactly chopped liver either !

 

[Cal_Cobra]

That's a great day of digging, congrats on three great old finds

hh,
Cal

 

[metalev4]

Always nice to have a successful hunt when you least expect it. Some truly rare and historic finds there Bill. That spoon is probably a once in a lifetime piece. I'm partial to the button, really tough to find silver buttons. Seems like the occupants had means, I'm guessing there is a killer coin still hiding in the iron.

 

[CASPER-2]

 

[CRUSADER]

You are correct about the R-C-A, it was the standard in 17th C. Seen it on many items including my 17th C tokens.

 

[trapperart]

Congrats on a great bunch of finds

 

[fredbug 67]

Great history there. The spoon handle, cuff link and coins are excellent finds.