Wildest 18th Century coin I have ever found

smokeythecat

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PLEASE SCROLL DOWN THE THREAD TO SEE THE REST OF THE FINDS.

I teamed up with another Tnet member, and we went to a pretty non-descript farm not all that far from here. Fields were just tilled and sewn, winter wheat is just starting to come up and we have permission It is a colonial to present site. As soon as my favorite field is cut, we're going Civil War digging up here. Well, The metal in the ground was unbelievable. It was everywhere. Good stuff, no silver, and lots of shotgun shell bases and aluminum to boot. CW Buttons, 18th century musket balls, and just stuff. From what we could ascertain, there were at least three houses in the field. It's a big field. This was a grueling 6 hour hunt. I'll try to show more of the innumerable goodies tomorrow, but the buzzards are thinking of circling my house as they found out the old toad here was digging for six hours. I wanted to share one item. One unexpected find, but isn't that always the way it is?

After hour #2, I got a decent signal and out popped a what I hoped was a button. Well, it was not a button. I really like buttons. No shank. So, it's a quarter sized copper coin. A Farthing? No, it is in great shape, and I finally saw the hole in the center! Wait! The hole in the CENTER! And all those squiggly lines? It's a Chinese coin. So give me a break, a CHINESE coin in the corn field. Man, they've been sending stuff over here since like forever. It has great detail and I have left the dirt in the recesses as it shows the coin off better.

It is a Chinese Ch'ing Dynasty coin, the Emperor was Kao Tsung who reigned from 1736 to 1795. This particular one is called Ch'ien Lung. So, who would have thought? An 18th century CHINESE coin, and very well made to say the least! It's almost nap time, thankfully.

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Peyton Manning

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sheesh, don't you ever have a dry spell?
you live in detecting heaven
 

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smokeythecat

smokeythecat

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Yes, I live in detecting heaven. I only found one keeper last Sunday. Most days I'm happy if I find 1 keeper. (Zincolns not included.) I have dry spells when I'm asleep. Jeff, I'll try to get pics of the haul tomorrow. Promise you will freak out. Nothing EXPENSIVE found, but just good honest detecting, good company and a lot of fun. No silver, no gold, but I did find three fried Indian Cents. Now here's a first, I have never found three Indians in a YEAR before, and now three well toasted ones today. The people who apparently lived in these houses were poor. Houses are gone, people are gone, what little they had is in the ground, and will soon be cleaned up and put in a display box.
 

scruggs

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Interesting find in the middle of know where! Remember...treasure is where you find it! Congratulations!
 

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smokeythecat

smokeythecat

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Treasure is indeed where you find it. When I find a long gone house, or set of houses, sometimes I think of those people, and what their lives must have been like.
 

JackalopeZL1

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That's awesome!! I think I found that same one..
 

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Peyton Manning

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bingo! that is a great part of detecting
 

CASPER-2

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they brought them over to Cali. by the boat load and were used in Asian camps during gold rush and railroad building
Ive got a few identical to yours - when they stopped be used as legal tender between them - when they started making actuall US coinage
- they traded or sold them off as good luck tokens - they are found from one end of the country to the other - they used them to make
jewelry and wind chimes etc.
 

Chuck Norris

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Cool......found 2 of them in my backyard here in Jersey Screenshot_20171105-015322~2.png
 

Vldetecting

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Always really unexpected to see a 1700's coin from halfway across the world in your hole...
 

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smokeythecat

smokeythecat

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Thanks all. Of course there are a zillion out there. No, they're not worth much of anything, but it's nice to find the occasional oddball. Found 50' from a Civil War Officer's "I" button. I think I have another one like this one. My dad had one for years. It's lost in the house somewhere, I had it a few weeks ago trying to look up the inscription. I put stuff away and lose it, sometimes for months. Only "permanently" lost two cheapo items over the years, a little glass boat and a small quartz crystal. Still drives me nuts. Saw them last in 1975 when I moved. Right now I'm missing a slabbed gold coin I bought a couple years ago, you'd think slabbed it would not be hard to find, a flintlock pistol and a clay marble. Yes, go there about the lost marbles.

And JackalopeZL1 that is the identical coin. Well, at least I'm not tempted to collect Chinese coins. Since I found a couple tiny Roman coins recently, now that's a temptation for me.
 

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Congratualtions on the beautiful old coin! :occasion14:

You always have wonderful finds, your coil is a keeper magnet! :icon_thumright:
 

Trezurehunter

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Nice find. The Chinese coins are actually fairly common in the fields of Illinois.
 

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smokeythecat

smokeythecat

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So here's the best of the rest. Also got small whatzits. Last picture is the colonial/Revolutionary war period items, including redware and a piece of Chinese export porcelain. The large musket ball is .75 caliber and is American made as it is made of pewter. The key is 18th or 19th century.

First three photos are the 19th century items. Three toasted Indian head cents, minie ball, Eagle "I" button, back of a general service button, complete general service button, flat buttons, center of a pocket watch.
Horsie buckle, small leather buckle, brass leather studs, buttons, blue and grey stoneware pieces, parasol slide and perhaps a lead pencil.

View attachment 1512698

Last photo is 18th century.
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smokeythecat

smokeythecat

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Trezurehunter, what happened in Illinois to get so many? Any idea?
 

Kurios1

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Ah So, the Chinese Cash Coin. I have found two of them and yes, they are most likely my oldest "coins" to date. Worthless they are pretty much but, beautiful display pieces with lovely patina. Nice score from the wheat field. I'll include a picture of one of mine as I used it to compare to another person who found one the other day on a FaceBook Metal Detecting sight. Cool find mate.:icon_thumright:

Chinese Cash Coin 003.JPG Chinese Cash Coin 002.JPG
 

Kurios1

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So here's the best of the rest. Also got small whatzits. First picture is the colonial/Revolutionary war period items, including redware and a piece of Chinese export porcelain. The large musket ball is .75 caliber and is American made as it is made of pewter. View attachment 1512696 View attachment 1512696 The key is 18th or 19th century.

Second and third photos are the 19th century items. Horsie buckle, small leather buckle, brass leather studs, buttons, blue and grey stoneware pieces, parasol slide and perhaps a lead pencil.

View attachment 1512698

Last photo is more 19th century. Three toasted Indian head cents, minie ball, Eagle "I" button, back of a general service button, complete general service button, flat buttons, center of a pocket watch.

View attachment 1512699 View attachment 1512703 View attachment 1512703

Ha ha! That's the third Gold Gilded Eagle I button I have seen dug here on T-net this weekend. I got one today and love it! Well done.:headbang:
 

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