Trifecta of III Cent Silvers! Could it get any better?

[Elad]

I almost didn't get up this morning. Just the night before, my friend and fellow metal detector hunter Neil, asked me to get up super early (early for me, on a sat ) to do a saturday morning hunt with him and his friend Jason. I almost slept in, but after hitting snooze a few times, I decided to slap that rooster in the face! I hopped out of bed, got ready, kissed the wife goodbye, and off I went. Am I lucky I went....

It was like spring outside. Perfect blue skies for detecting in NJ. Neil picked me up and we went and met up with Jason. Jason had this spot he wanted us all to go to. He told us he had some luck with modern silver in this remote field, and wanted us all to gang hunt it and see what we could dig up.

After some really muddy backroads, we got to the field. We didn't take long to start our hunt.

About 10 minutes in I hit a 13-33 on my E-Trac. I had no idea what I was about to find. It was tiny tiny silver coin with III on it. What were the chances of finding one of these? Pretty good because... not one hour later, Neil finds another one!

Just when we thought it couldn't get any more bizzare or awesome... I find my second 3 cent piece not too far from the first one. Just amazing!

A handful of old buttons, fasterners and other relics were also found. 8)

Neil and I left early, and Jason stayed and treked on. From what I hear, he was lucky he stayed because he ended up finding a half-dime!

This is truly a field that deserves return visits, and our gratitude!

The 1851 3cent was found by Neil, the other 2 me. I wish I had a pic of the half dime Jason found, but I do not.

 

[cntrydncr1]

awesome hunt!! congrats

 

[sandals55]

that's some nice hunting!

 

[wyattrr]

All I can say is Wow!! Cause I'm speechless...Congrats

 

[West Jersey Detecting]

"Trifecta of III Cent Silvers! Could it get any better?"

Well it "could" potentially get a lot better.

The silver is nice, however it's the button that's a little more interesting to me. Are you aware the British 5th Regt. of foot who were in NY, and several other places, issued pewter buttons with a V. The V on your button isn't a match for the patterns in my book, but the fact it's pewter with a pie crust type border, and the constuction appears early, it seems to be right for that time period. Can you post closer pictures of both sides? (If it is a 1 piece pewter button)

I am posting the closeup pics here, but due to the chocolate brown tone, I would be surprised it it was pewter. It also had a VDI of 26, which is above a US nickel. That would seem a bit high for pewter I would think.

It is also approximately 4 or 5 miles from where the British passed on their way to Monmouth after evacuating Philadelphia, so once again I have my doubts. But it would be a pleasant surprise to hear it was, in fact, from the British 5th Reg. of Foot.

 

[West Jersey Detecting]

one more

 

[Iron Patch]

I've seen both pewter buttons and musket balls come out brown so that really doesn't matter. And still there's the question... Is it a V, or something else, and if a V how close does this style of button match any 5th. Still a long way to go but worth checking out.

What color is that corrosion on the back?

 

[West Jersey Detecting]

I've seen both pewter buttons and musket balls come out brown so that really doesn't matter. And still there's the question... Is it a V, or something else, and if a V how close does this style of button match any 5th. Still a long way to go but worth checking out.

What color is that corrosion on the back?

The V is actually made up of 5 dots on each side if you look closely. Almost like it was hand made. There is very little corrosion on the back, the dirt seems to be bonded on it pretty well. There is a bit of flaking on the edges, and the color still appears to be more brown than the usual gray that I am used to seeing in my pewter finds.

 

[Iron Patch]

I've seen both pewter buttons and musket balls come out brown so that really doesn't matter. And still there's the question... Is it a V, or something else, and if a V how close does this style of button match any 5th. Still a long way to go but worth checking out.

What color is that corrosion on the back?

The V is actually made up of 5 dots on each side if you look closely. Almost like it was hand made. There is very little corrosion on the back, the dirt seems to be bonded on it pretty well. There is a bit of flaking on the edges, and the color still appears to be more brown than the usual gray that I am used to seeing in my pewter finds.

Yes, it being like hand punched dots makes it very different than the usual 5th button so that's why it's important to look at the other things to at least know if it has a chance. As for me asking about the color you're missing the general point because whether it's brown or grey means very little, it's brass or copper I want to eliminate, and by the sounds of the oxidation, along with everything else, I'm sure it's a pewter button. Depending of ground conditions, and probably the metal composition, pewter can be dug brown, white, or grey.

Being so crude it probably would be a tough sell as a 5th, and often times these fall into the category of maybe, maybe not, and we'll probably never know. I have friends who have found early buttons clearly marked "XX" but since there is no match the experts don't think much of them. I didn't mean to get your hopes up but knowing the 5th wasn't too far it was worth at least talking about it. Maybe email Troiani and hear a definitive no, and be able to put it to rest. chainshot@aol.com

 

[Brian(upstateNY-Central Fla.)]

Love the coins and button is cool