Yesterdays hunt - William & Mary Copper and a lead filled day!

HomeGuardDan

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Yesterday's hunt - William & Mary Copper and a lead filled day!

I got out yesterday with my good pal Beau for a day of checking new sites. The first site was almost a complete bust - there should have been plenty of CW stuff to find, but there were no signs. I did manage to dig the pitched revolver - though I am fairly certain that it was not civil war era - it was cool and a bit of a thrill to dig. When I first dug it I thought it might have been a cavalry revolver.

The back up plan was to head to a colonial site that I had recently researched and boy am I glad we did. It too started off slow, but then we zeroed in on a hot spot that began first with a William & Mary Copper (I can make out 169?) on the date and it is well worn and tough to make detail out. I wish it came from the same spot as the very next coin that I dug, the well worn, but shinny 1790's half cent (I can see the outline of the bust). It came a foot farther down and in a nice clay layer that preserved it much better.

During the Revolutionary War, there were troops that were present and resupplied there and we found their drops, plenty of .70 and .50 musket balls to go around. I love the crude spru and seam marks on them. They were fun to dig and made for a fun day. I also managed a handful of buttons and colonial buckles and parts.

All in all I recovered 23 musket balls, 5 buttons (including a pewter tudor rose and early blown-hole button) and other odds and ends. While the W&M copper is a rough one - it is a coin that I have wanted to dig for a very long time - especially since I work at the College of William & Mary. Can't wait to go back!

HH

Dan
 

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Upvote 11
Sadly - I think you might be correct on that. I thought I could make out the face of two busts when I first dug it, and under the light it looks as if, but the detail around the first (or only) bust does indeed look more like the William III. Still 1600's, but would mean I need to still knock that one off my list. I will take a closer look at it again this evening.

I hope I'm wrong Dan as I really know how much you've been wanting to dig a W&M. Oh well, at least it will give you the motivation to intensify your quest to dig one next season. Let me know what you think this evening after you've had a chance to check out the details.
 

Ha ha you guys are awesome! Funny how much the ribbon can tell you. I found the same halfpenny this spring and the ribbon gave it away. I can't find Spanish silver in a museum but I must have a thing for that king!
 

Awesome digs Dan. Great assortment of quality finds and congrats on the coins.
 

Congrats on your finds Dan, your research definitely paid off big time! :occasion14:

Thanks for posting your finds, :thumbsup:
Dave
 

Nice assortment of finds Dan. I do believe your are right, you will find some silver in that area.
Good luck,
ZDD
 

Dan - I can't make out the details of your coin from the pic, but to me it appears you may have a William III half penny, not a W&M. It looks like I can see just a single, large bust with the split hair ribbon to the lower left which is consistent with a William III coin. That part of the coin is completely different on the W&M variety. I'm attaching a pic of each below along with pics of the one I dug 3-4 months ago for comparison. I could be incorrect, but that's what it looks like to me. What do you think? If it turns out to be the William III it could be dated either 1695 thru 1698.

View attachment 1020422

View attachment 1020429

View attachment 1020430

View attachment 1020431

Yeap, I was just about to post that, good spot.
 

Yea - i got too excited when I saw William - forgot about his wife ha ha. I looked at the shoulders and it is a dead giveaway. Oh well - will have to go find a W&M another trip.
 

Cool finds, great job on the William & Mary you don't find those every day. I have only dug one in 36 years of hunting.

Steve
 

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