🥇 BANNER Is Mercury the Detecting God? :) First Ace 250 hunt! LOL

Iron Patch

Gold Member
Sep 28, 2007
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🥇 Banner finds
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Out today with Ironhorse, didn't think I would be as my Explorer has major issues and will have to hit the repair center. I decided I was done, but as the week went on I decided not to quit and borrow back a Garrett Ace I bought for a friend to use. So not only was this a kind or strange and lucky day, it almost never happened! Interestingly enough, the other 17mm version of this button find I currently have was also dug on a day I probably shouldn't have been out, but plans changed, I got the call, and out the door I went. That coincidence just hit me as I'm writing, but it's actually another connection I'll choose to write about, since I already filled in the subject line. :laughing7:


So IH and I get to a new field to try, him as usual with the Explorer, and me with my Ace. In a stupid way I was almost thinking I hope this is not the day we find a great site feeling that I was heavily outgunned, but those thoughts never stick because I would much rather see good stuff come out regardless of who gets it, then both of us go home with nothing. So we walk around this large field not getting much but some modern trash and the occasional old sign. I then see IH making his way to the other end, so I start to head that way and about half way there I get the famous Garrett belltone, like in the old days when I first started hunting.... dug it up and it was my first Merc dime. 13 years and it took an Ace 250 for me to find it, and at a place there didn't seem like there was much else. We did walk to the end of the field, got nothing, then made our way back towards the car and I dug two more signals and both were large cents! I'm thinking this 250 might not be so bad after all. :laughing7: Still not enough, and not old enough for our taste so we decided to hit an old favorite site and see if there was a keeper or two left. By this time, after 3 coins in a row my confidence was booming and just had that feeling I was going to dig something good.... but even with that feeling I didn't believe it because this particular spot has been hit hard for near 10 years. Anyway, we get to the 2nd site,make our way across the field, I start swinging over the iron patch and am sort of trying to digest what the detector is telling me, and within a few minutes dug a bell tone and the sound vanished once I got the dirt out, and my thinking was.... here we go, digging iron all day with this thing. As I was kicking the dirt back in the hole the detector swung back around and detected another target, this time it wasn't a belltone so I was more confident, dug the dirt and had a sudden flashback to 2001!


In 2001 I dug the best button I have ever found. It was a coat size Rev War King's American Regiment button with near all the gilt. I sent pics to a major collector who's reply was... The Detecting Gods have smiled upon you. Today when I found this button which is cuff size (17mm) seeing the gold gilt and then reading the words gave me a total flashback to 2001. So... it only makes sense that Mercury must be the Detecting God that collector talked about all those years ago. :laughing7: If you've read this far, and have read some of my previous posts you've probably seen me say a couple of times that it seems like history is repeating itself, or I am detecting back to the future. Well yet here is another hunt that has that same weird vibe, and makes me feel after my 2 years away from the hobby it was the right time to come back.


And without further ado.... Here is that awesome 1926 Merc dime! ;) But the button probably pays for the detector about 4 or 5 times over... not bad for the first day!

http://www.royalprovincial.com/military/rhist/kar/karlist.htm
 

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Upvote 49
Great condition on that one! Congrats. Like seeing all the different sizes together. 'Course I wouldn't have had them all long enough to have a pic taken, all together.:laughing7: Glad to see ya find somethin' good. Hogge
 

Good lord! I can't believe you found another one. CTX 3030 anyone? :)

Way to go Iron Patch. Not to take anything away from the Ace 250, but like you told me a long time ago, it's all about the site! You are the master
 

IP,

Glad to see you came up with a serious keeper.....If I've learned anything over the years....the toughest part is getting
the coil over the great finds regardless of machine used....lol.

btw...congratulations on making banner.....you, Rick and Backbacon are all up there at the same time.....looks like the Canucks are punching above their weight....lol.

Regards + HH

Bill
 

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...so after two years away from the hobby, is the addiction back? Seriously, that was one awesome find and a terrific post. Couldn't be happier for you.
 

IP, how come the latest button has gold gilding right to the border, and the others don't :icon_scratch:

SS


That's because the lettering, beaded circle, and crown are recessed into the button... meaning the dark portions are the high areas where the gilt no longer remains. That's why this latest button is in rare condition because it still retains a lot of gilt on the high points.
 

That banner find is the ultimate anachronism. I just have a gut feeling that an untarnished museum sparkler would not put a chill down my spine like those, found in the field.
 

Do you coat them with anything? They look like they have a sheen. I've got a couple buttons with similar gilt remaining that I would like to do the same.
 

Do you coat them with anything? They look like they have a sheen. I've got a couple buttons with similar gilt remaining that I would like to do the same.


They are waxed. I don't have the same stuff I used to use, but have a button I can test tomorrow with the same process and see how it comes out. I suspect the type of wax will make a difference, but we'll see.

It basically just gives the button the wet look so you can easily tell if it's worth doing by just giving them a quick rinse. If there's risk to losing patina doing that rinse, that's a sign that maybe the wax isn't a good idea. I usually just do it on buttons with lots of silver or gilt. I explain more tomorrow.
 

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They are waxed. I don't have the same stuff I used to use, but have a button I can test tomorrow with the same process and see how it comes out. I suspect the type of wax will make a difference, but we'll see.

It basically just gives the button the wet look so you can easily tell if it's worth doing by just giving them a quick rinse. If there's risk to losing patina doing that rinse, that's a sign that maybe the wax isn't a good idea. I usually just do it on buttons with lots of silver or gilt. I explain more tomorrow.
Not advisable to rinse any copper/alloy item in tap water, distilled water is better.

SS
 

Congrats on your spectacular button, IP. :hello2: Fabulous piece of history saved and in exceptional condition. :icon_thumleft:

So does this mean I can still rely on my Ace 250 as a dependable back up? :wink:

HH
 

Congratulations sir - very nice!!
 

Congrats on your spectacular button, IP. :hello2: Fabulous piece of history saved and in exceptional condition. :icon_thumleft:

So does this mean I can still rely on my Ace 250 as a dependable back up? :wink:

HH


Yeah, if you can rely on your sites as a dependable back up. :) The reason I mentioned the detector was to prove the point that sites matter more than detectors.... but detectors still matter. The next trip there I plan to use IH's GTI 1500 as I think it will be a little better and is what I used before changing to an explorer. The truth of the matter is even an $80 radio shack unit would have probably detected that button.
 

Congrats on this spectacular button find. That one would have made my year!
Keith
 

Do you coat them with anything? They look like they have a sheen. I've got a couple buttons with similar gilt remaining that I would like to do the same.

The order of the pics is messed up but easy enough to figure out.

Here ya go. This is the first time I've used Renaissance wax this way, but seems to be good enough. The stuff I used before was great, but not really for melting so the fumes concerned me and I no longer use it. But I'm good with this so will stick with it.


Pic 1 - Button that needs cleaning.

Pic 2 - Cleaned and starting to dry out, like yours are.

Pic 3 - Turn the broiler on in your oven, and coat the button with wax.

Pic 4 - Place in the over on a cookie sheet or whatever. I just put foil down so the wax drips on it. It doesn't take long and I usually close the door just for maybe 10 seconds and it's melted. Take it out and blow an excess off right away. Then put back in the oven for a few seconds to melt the final trace and you're good to go.

Pic 5 - Let cool and then buff with a soft brush. A cloth is too risky because it will snag easy and possibly take some gilt off.

Pic 6 - Done. Don't like it, boil some water and in a few seconds you're back to where you were.
 

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Talk about a find to get me motivated! Aside from a few hunts every once in a while, i've taken the past couple years off from detecting due to recurring neck problems. I can't help but get excited after reading this post and seeing how much this find means to you. The odds of you finding another one of these buttons is truely rare, but to find it in a hunted out site......in the condition its in.......with a back up machine.......blows me away. All I can say is way to go IP, a very well deserved banner find yet again.

James.
HomesteadHunter.
 

Talk about a find to get me motivated! Aside from a few hunts every once in a while, i've taken the past couple years off from detecting due to recurring neck problems. I can't help but get excited after reading this post and seeing how much this find means to you. The odds of you finding another one of these buttons is truely rare, but to find it in a hunted out site......in the condition its in.......with a back up machine.......blows me away. All I can say is way to go IP, a very well deserved banner find yet again.

James.
HomesteadHunter.


Well there's a stranger for sure, and now I realize you haven't been around at all. I thought for a while my knees would be a major issue but not really bothering me much now. Hope you can get back out there, gotta be a few 89ths Rick left behind!

There's definitely King's buttons to be found. Back in the day I was really over the moon to find one of these, and because I was possibly the first in recent times to do it, they will always put me in a great mood. The condition is the big bonus and means it will be a keeper and go in my case.
 

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