Virgin cellar hole leads to 4 firsts and unknown coin. Draped bust, 2 tined fork, tombac, bale seal

DownEast_Detecting

Sr. Member
Feb 26, 2020
428
1,102
Maine
Detector(s) used
Garrett AT Pro, Minelab CTX 3030
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
So i found this cellar hole while i was helping someone on here with this Need help interpreting LIDAR post. Karma actually working, hurray. I was showing what would definitely be a cellar hole. Using imagery of a known abandoned 1800's town site. When all of the sudden i noticed this other potential site away from the town all on its own. So one late afternoon last week i wondered out there to check it out. Its just barley still on the same property as the 1800's town, so no new permission required. It was getting dark but i was able to confirm that it was indeed a cellar hole. Thats when i found #8 the bale seal. Yesterday i went back out there to do a proper search. This place is kinda cool and reminds me of a fortified position. They way it is at the precibus of the hill and back against the stonewall. Its definitely an older site than the rest of the town and far enough away to be separate. i couldnt even figure out where the road use to be to get to this house. Any finds without their own way point label on the map were found inside the actual cellar hole. My guess is it was built in the 1700's and probably abandoned during Maine's greatest population decrease during the 1840's-50's. How old do you think the site is based on my finds? Colonial?
DD90E956-DDE2-4A5C-A910-FF00465929C4.jpeg

51EA7E70-78A4-44D0-B31C-1DD409396D3D.jpeg


So #1 is my first tombac button right? Pictures are before and after cleaning.
2D7A7C24-4EF0-4F64-9775-D7EA74908128.jpeg


#2 is my first 2 tined or 2 pronged fork. Which is colonial age right?
#3 In the same hole i think i found the matching knife
50729773-D3A1-484D-8E11-B2CB07E8C955.jpeg


#4 is a small button with a design on front. This is a 2 piece iron back right? Im thinking its off a shoe or cuff
#5 is a piece of a pewter spoon bowl. Which i thought i broke while digging but couldnt find any other pieces. So i think it broke a long time ago and was tossed.
2D5CFEBF-57B8-421E-BD7C-6DEC0BFE890F.jpeg


#6 I need help with. But i think its gonna be another first for me. It looks like a possible figure of Britannia with a harp. i think she is sitting, but then i will look again and i see a figure standing. If she is sitting with a harp i was leaning towards one of those woods Hibernia half pennies but the amount of lettering around the coin and their positioning doesnt add up at all. Its the closest thing i could match it to in my red book but i dont think that's it at all. The other side is toasted except for a few letters near the edge i cant make out. I will post this in "what is it" if nobody chimes in. But i bet someone will recognize it. The following pictures are its journey through cleaning last night. I feel like i should not go any further and i might of gone to far already.
450FBB0B-5AB8-42B1-A51C-C1B0CED6709A.jpeg


#7 is my first Draped Bust! Its an 1803 not sure if you can see the date in the pics but i can just barley make out the 3 IRL. Probably no way to tell if its the large date huh? Also i see a lot of space between the 1 and the fraction bar. is it a small or large fraction variety? Pictures below are its journey through the cleaning process.
4C56D72E-E512-4163-947E-FC1DE91E6718.jpeg


and #8 is the Russian customs bale seal i found last week on my first visit to this site. After no one could identify what kind or origin on here. I found an amazing group on facebook. All they do is lead bale/bag seal ID and history. A few days after posting it someone finally responded and absolutely nailed it. "This is a Russian customs seal. Each year a different letter or symbol was used. For the year 1807 the Cyrillic letter "B" was used. It's also dated 1807 on the seal itself. Its a long way from home"
Detailed Table of Annual Signs on Custom Seals of the Russian Empire
93EED2BF-2AFC-4055-A69D-FE5960F1207F.jpeg

3151EE3F-2B30-4DE8-B7B4-6CB38617E46E.jpeg


On my way out to this remote site i came across some vibrant forest plants and a magical mossy area in the woods. So quiet and peaceful there.
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That is a cool setting and some great finds! Gotta love the karma! :icon_thumright:
 

That is a cool setting and some great finds! Gotta love the karma! :icon_thumright:
yeah it was you i was helping! lol so thanks
Great job on the research and congrats on the FANTASTIC finds ! :occasion14:
Thanks Etrac
I’m thinking an Irish half penny token? The words are right. Good finds all around!View attachment 2105469
thank you so much LandSeig! that does indeed seem to be the same coin. Which makes it another first for me. My first coin from the 1700's, finally. The only thing not adding up is the weight its off by 2 grams or so. Think that matters? there were a lot of different varieties.
Congrats on the round of firsts.. You had the day I dreamed about- a spectacular day..
thanks mike! it was one of my best so far.
 

LandSeig[/USER]! that does indeed seem to be the same coin. Which makes it another first for me. My first coin from the 1700's, finally. The only thing not adding up is the weight its off by 2 grams or so. Think that matters? there were a lot of different varieties.
I’m not sure about the weight it might be a different variety or value. I researched online until I found something that matched close to what you had, the only coins I find are clad lol. I’m sure there are folks on here that will know, especially the U.K. or east US. Glad I could help with a starting place anyway.
 

So i found this cellar hole while i was helping someone on here with this Need help interpreting LIDAR post. Karma actually working, hurray. I was showing what would definitely be a cellar hole. Using imagery of a known abandoned 1800's town site. When all of the sudden i noticed this other potential site away from the town all on its own. So one late afternoon last week i wondered out there to check it out. Its just barley still on the same property as the 1800's town, so no new permission required. It was getting dark but i was able to confirm that it was indeed a cellar hole. Thats when i found #8 the bale seal. Yesterday i went back out there to do a proper search. This place is kinda cool and reminds me of a fortified position. They way it is at the precibus of the hill and back against the stonewall. Its definitely an older site than the rest of the town and far enough away to be separate. i couldnt even figure out where the road use to be to get to this house. Any finds without their own way point label on the map were found inside the actual cellar hole. My guess is it was built in the 1700's and probably abandoned during Maine's greatest population decrease during the 1840's-50's. How old do you think the site is based on my finds? Colonial?
View attachment 2105435
View attachment 2105434

So #1 is my first tombac button right? Pictures are before and after cleaning.
View attachment 2105436

#2 is my first 2 tined or 2 pronged fork. Which is colonial age right?
#3 In the same hole i think i found the matching knife
View attachment 2105438

#4 is a small button with a design on front. This is a 2 piece iron back right? Im thinking its off a shoe or cuff
#5 is a piece of a pewter spoon bowl. Which i thought i broke while digging but couldnt find any other pieces. So i think it broke a long time ago and was tossed.
View attachment 2105437

#6 I need help with. But i think its gonna be another first for me. It looks like a possible figure of Britannia with a harp. i think she is sitting, but then i will look again and i see a figure standing. If she is sitting with a harp i was leaning towards one of those woods Hibernia half pennies but the amount of lettering around the coin and their positioning doesnt add up at all. Its the closest thing i could match it to in my red book but i dont think that's it at all. The other side is toasted except for a few letters near the edge i cant make out. I will post this in "what is it" if nobody chimes in. But i bet someone will recognize it. The following pictures are its journey through cleaning last night. I feel like i should not go any further and i might of gone to far already.
View attachment 2105439

#7 is my first Draped Bust! Its an 1803 not sure if you can see the date in the pics but i can just barley make out the 3 IRL. Probably no way to tell if its the large date huh? Also i see a lot of space between the 1 and the fraction bar. is it a small or large fraction variety? Pictures below are its journey through the cleaning process.
View attachment 2105440

and #8 is the Russian customs bale seal i found last week on my first visit to this site. After no one could identify what kind or origin on here. I found an amazing group on facebook. All they do is lead bale/bag seal ID and history. A few days after posting it someone finally responded and absolutely nailed it. "This is a Russian customs seal. Each year a different letter or symbol was used. For the year 1807 the Cyrillic letter "B" was used. It's also dated 1807 on the seal itself. Its a long way from home"
Detailed Table of Annual Signs on Custom Seals of the Russian Empire
View attachment 2105441
View attachment 2105442

On my way out to this remote site i came across some vibrant forest plants and a magical mossy area in the woods. So quiet and peaceful there.
View attachment 2105433
View attachment 2105432
Very Cool!!! Congrats!!!
 

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