🥇 BANNER 1600s Spanish 8 REALES COB!, KG III Halfpenny, 1773 VA Halfpenny, Pewter Spoon Bowl

joeyfresh

Bronze Member
Dec 19, 2006
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1,399
Colonial Virginia
🥇 Banner finds
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Teknetics T2
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1600's Spanish 8 REALES COB!, KG III Halfpenny, 1773 VA Halfpenny, Pewter Spoon Bowl

What a beautiful day! Low tide was at 9am so I headed out around 8 in hopes to catch it at it's lowest so I could dig around in the muck close to where I located a potential trash pit last week. When I got to the gate that leads to the field I ran into a member of the hunt club that hunts on the property. He was there trimming some orchard trees and offered to give me a ride the site which is over a mile and a half down the old colonial road. He told me he metal detected as well and had hunted the site that he was taking me to numerous times but didn't really find much other than a few modern coins. He did admit that he never detected around the old 1600s house site :icon_scratch:.

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The tide was really low but the muck was so thick that I called it quits within 5 minutes. There's a spring that feeds into the creek where the old ship landing is so it makes the muck extra thick from the bank to the water. I'll have to wait until the summer to kayak to the spot I want to go to.

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I decided to head back up the bank to field and do some detecting close to the house site. The area is laden with iron which is a good sign but I assumed that it's been pounded to death over the years so I didn't really give it a thorough check last week. The fact that the hunt club guy told me he didn't detect around the house site gave me some hope so I decided to turn my sensitivity down and grid the area really slow and I'm glad I did. Almost immediately I hit a solid high tone and dug a smooth KG III:

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Then 10 feet away I get another solid high tone and dug a nice 1773 VA Halfpenny:

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Next I got scratchy high tone that was being masked by some iron so I hit it from another direction and it's a solid 93-95 on my T2 vdi. I dug a plug and rechecked my hole and it's still a solid 93 on my vdi. I'm not guessing it's Spanish silver because they come in lower so I'm thinking it's a Standing Liberty but in the back of my mind I'm thinking this may be something special. I pull out my knife and dig a big wide scoop out of the side of the hole and BAM!

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Now I've dug quite a few cobs but I've never dug a monster 8 reales like this!

The rest of the day was a blur. Somewhere along I dug a few buttons, buckles and a pewter spoon bowl with a maker's mark. I had planned on digging until the sun went down but my dumb butt left my water in the car which was a mile and a half way so I decided to call it quits and trek on back.

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Look how big this freaking thing is!! It's almost an oz.

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THANKS FOR LOOKING!
 

Upvote 91
That's an absolutely amazing find Joey!!! I'm definitely voting banner on this one. Its very rare to see a complete 8 reale cob found except as a shipwreck coin. My hat's off to you buddy, and glad to see all your research and hard work paid off. Love all the other finds too including that 1650-1700 latten spoon bowl. Again, congrats on an unbelievable day!
 

Awesome finds! The copper looks more like a William III to me than it does a George III. That cob is SWEEEET! Congrats! :thumbsup:

I was wondering that. I just put it up against a KG III and it's different.
 

Excellent recoveries! That cob will look great in your collection. Hope the weather stays fair and you can get back out. My vote is in
 

Awesome finds! The copper looks more like a William III to me than it does a George III. That cob is SWEEEET! Congrats! :thumbsup:

I agree Joey. Check it out a little more closely and you may find that its about 75 years older than you thought.
 

No Doubt about it, that is a BANNER coin. What a find!
That is about as good as it gets right there, Congrats. I would say thet the rest of your finds are not too shabby as well, I would be very happy with just those.
OK enouph yammering, got to put my vote in.
ZDD
 

I agree the other finds were great but that silver is beautiful. I would tell the hunt club they were right. It seems to be hunted out. I bet you find much more there. Looks like a great spot. Not pack your water and a snickers and go back!
Congrats Joey.
 

No Doubt about it, that is a BANNER coin. What a find!
That is about as good as it gets right there, Congrats. I would say thet the rest of your finds are not too shabby as well, I would be very happy with just those.
OK enouph yammering, got to put my vote in.
ZDD

Thanks Dave. For the little I've been able to get out this definitely made up for it.
 

That's an absolutely amazing find Joey!!! I'm definitely voting banner on this one. Its very rare to see a complete 8 reale cob found except as a shipwreck coin. My hat's off to you buddy, and glad to see all your research and hard work paid off. Love all the other finds too including that 1650-1700 latten spoon bowl. Again, congrats on an unbelievable day!

Thanks Bill. For all of the research I've done on my own county, I was always end up detecting somewhere else. It felt good to stay close to home and dig something good.

That's right, latten not pewter. I always forget that :)
 

I agree the other finds were great but that silver is beautiful. I would tell the hunt club they were right. It seems to be hunted out. I bet you find much more there. Looks like a great spot. Not pack your water and a snickers and go back!
Congrats Joey.

Yeah, that wasn't smart leaving my water in the car, lol.
 

I,m still fairly new to detecting and didn,t realize the rarity of that cob....sry

My BANNER vote is in also...CONGRATS.... now i know what I,m looking for this next 10 years.!!!!
 

I,m still fairly new to detecting and didn,t realize the rarity of that cob....sry

My BANNER vote is in also...CONGRATS.... now i know what I,m looking for this next 10 years.!!!!

You'll be amazed at what you find over the next ten years. That's why this hobby is so addictive, you never know what's in the next hole.
 

Very cool finds, I'd love to be able to go out and dig, between the freezing temps and the snow that just won't seem to stop and go away!!!!! Congrats on your great finds!!!
 

Now thats a cob ! Job well done looks like you live in the right place for finds like that ! You got my vote !
 

Wow, less than 4 hrs to get to the top!!! Thats a fantastic cob, congrats on that big beautifull hunk of silver!! We have alot of history here in good ole Virginia!!
 

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