1810's Russian copper and 1881 $10 gold

[Cal_Cobra]

A couple of weeks ago I dug a rare $1 1856-S gold coin that I posted here: http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/t...indian-princess-rare-silver-lady-liberty.html

Oddly I guess rare gold coins no longer make the cut for banner here, but last weekend Tom_in_CA and myself got out for some detecting and dang nabbit if he didn't also dig a gold coin!! I dug an interesting big Russian 2 Kopecks copper coin the size of a U.S. large cent from the reign of Aleksandr I, can't quite make out the date, but they only minted the coin between 1810-1830. Great site, unfortunately the nice California weather is already facilitating excessive grass growth, so we were severely handicapped at a significant portion of our site, but we'll definitely be back

Here's the finds:






GL&HH,
Cal

 

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[pa-dirt_nc-sand]

You guys are on some amazing ground. Incredible finds. Congrats!

 

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[unclemac]

For me that is a Fort Ross Russian fur trade used coin! Way more interesting and historic than a gold coin.

 

[Silver Tree Chaser]

Cal - Your $1 gold coin may still make banner. As Steve in PA noted, the banner hasn't been updated in a while, so it's possibly just a matter of time before the mods take note of your contribution to the forum. Regardless, the find of a gold coin is epic with or without a banner. And if it doesn't happen, go get something older, rarer, etc. It's all just a swing away. ........

 

[Silvermonkey]

Sounds like Cali must be paved in golden goodness....Congrats on finding a gold coin! It's something that I dream of...

 

[NZ49er]

Beautiful BIG gold. Awesome find!

 

[IMAUDIGGER]

Your Indian Princess coin was certainly deserving of special recognition for sure.

Thank you for sharing your finds..I’d love to hear a little more about the setting in which they were found. Not location...just setting.

I’ve yet to see a worn out California gold coin...that one seems to be in pretty good condition.
The Russian coin is intriguing and might be explained by early occupation...but likely just fits in with the fact of that prior to the gold rush, the US was experiencing a shortage of coinage and it was typical for foreign coins to have been circulated for 50-75 years or more resulting in smooth coins.

 

[unclemac]

...trust me, that Russian coin is no random spare change...

 

[Cal_Cobra]

Nice rare coin. Like you said it seems everyone is digging gold coins these days. I would be happy with either coin that you dug. I know Tom has dug a lot of them.

Believe me, I'm happy with the Russian coin, it's a piece of early California fur trading history. Of course I wouldn't have minded finding the gold coin either, I mean he is up to 16 now, so I doubt he'd been to upset if I got it instead

 

[Cal_Cobra]

you found a 1 dollar gold princess recently and now a 10 dollar gold eagle?! Holy cow that's incredible and totally unfair. I want to find one too! Jeez. Huge congrats to you!

Thanks, but to be clear, I dug the Russian coin, Tom_in_CA got the $10 gold.

 

[Cal_Cobra]

Man I wish I could find just ONE gold anything. Coin, ring ect. Huge congrats to you. You are a lucky man.

To bad your first didn't make banner. Also a super awesome find. My guess is because there is already a gold coin up there.

Yeah disappointing to say the least the first one didn't make it. Believe me it was a hard earned coin from a site we've pounded to death, so it was amazing to see it pop out of the ground!

The $10 Tom_in_CA dug, I dug the large Russian fur trade copper.

 

[Cal_Cobra]

I do see an awful lot of gold coins posted nowadays. Although one of the greatest goals in detecting, I think they’re falling off the rarity bell curve just a hair. My buddy dug a mid-1800’s10-franc gold coin last year and it missed banner. And he’s the only one in my very accomplished group that’s dug one. Crusader has dug 2000year old gold that didn’t make banner. That said, I’m pretty envious of that $10 gold you dug. It’s an incredible find

Personally I think any dug gold coin deserves banner, it's a badge of honor, a feat that many will never be lucky enough to accomplish, but not for a lack of trying

I suspect as sites get more and more depleted, and we're left with all the leftovers, more gold coins will surface as they've either been masked, or such a low TID that many skipped them, patience truly is a virtue in this hobby!

BTW Tom_in_CA got the $10 coin, I got the Russian copper fur trade coin. Thanks for looking!

 

[Cal_Cobra]

Great finds!
Russian coin: Mintmark Е.М. = Ekaterinburg Mint.
Don...

Thanks Don, appreciate that info

 

[Cal_Cobra]

Wow those coins are freakin cool that gold coin is banner banner banner all day long. Thanks for sharing those. Keep em coming. Tommy

Thanks Tommy!

 

[Cal_Cobra]

For me that is a Fort Ross Russian fur trade used coin! Way more interesting and historic than a gold coin.

Not to diminish Tom_in_CA's find, but I couldn't agree with you more

 

[Cal_Cobra]

Cal - Your $1 gold coin may still make banner. As Steve in PA noted, the banner hasn't been updated in a while, so it's possibly just a matter of time before the mods take note of your contribution to the forum. Regardless, the find of a gold coin is epic with or without a banner. And if it doesn't happen, go get something older, rarer, etc. It's all just a swing away. ........

Thanks, and you're right, banner or not, I keep on truckin'

I'm still in awe of your colonial finds

 

[Cal_Cobra]

Your Indian Princess coin was certainly deserving of special recognition for sure.

Thank you for sharing your finds..I’d love to hear a little more about the setting in which they were found. Not location...just setting.

I’ve yet to see a worn out California gold coin...that one seems to be in pretty good condition.
The Russian coin is intriguing and might be explained by early occupation...but likely just fits in with the fact of that prior to the gold rush, the US was experiencing a shortage of coinage and it was typical for foreign coins to have been circulated for 50-75 years or more resulting in smooth coins.

Thanks, and you're right, the gold coins typically seem to be in pretty good shape. Silver coins, typically not so much as a rule of thumb, so good observation and I can only guess that the gold coins were typically used more for the heavy lifting, so were less transnational than most silver coins, but that's just my unscientific guess.

The gold coins came from two very different sites, although they are both are about equally as old, and both have some commonalities, and although it's unlikely that anyone from either site crossed paths, I suppose it's not out of the question as there really wasn't much out west in the early 1800's pre-gold rush.

The $1 coin came from a site that had Spanish influence, not a mission or anything like that, but an outpost in the middle of absolutely nowhere. This particular site had Indian, Spanish and traveler influence. We have found trade silver there before, mission period Spanish religious trinkets, a wide variety of coins from 1700's Spanish reales, early Mexican copper fractional reales, pre-gold rush era Mexican silver reales, U.S. Liberty seated half dimes, dimes and quarters, as well as IHPs and my gold coin. Ten years of finds from this site certainly paint an interesting story with a wide variety of buttons from 1700's flat buttons, to pre-civil war and later U.S. Eagle buttons, and a really wide variety of relics. We believe there may have been a trading post nearby, although we're not sure of the X marks the spot location.

The site the Russian coin came from is a completely different kind of site, yet it still had some Spanish influence (what didn't in the early 1800's Western Frontier?). I think just about any site beyond a single family homestead back then would've had a mercantile / trade flavor to it. This site certainly saw some usage during the gold rush as we found an area with gold rush era buckles as well as other period finds. It hasn't been as forthcoming with coins, yet they are there. We've dug British, Spanish, American, French, Chinese, and probably others I'm not recalling.

I wish I could say more then that, but be it as it may, there's just too many people trying to poach your sites, and believe me sites like these are few and far between on the left coast. I will post my other finds from last weekend if you want to see them. Nothing terribly exciting, but some interesting bits and bobs and one item I'd love to get an ID on.

Thanks for looking!
Cal

 

[Cal_Cobra]

...trust me, that Russian coin is no random spare change...

Thanks Uncle Mac. Tom_in_CA and I were both surprised and excited to see that coin when I dug it, as neither of us has dug a Russian fur trade era coin, so that's a new one to us

 

[Cal_Cobra]

Here's my finds Tom_in_CA and I's hunt.

[FONT=&quot]There's quite a few more bits and bobs, but mainly more of the same, bits of scrap copper, and other misc conductors.[/FONT]




Does anyone know what the hook looking thing is on the bottom to the left of the coin? I feel like it might be a gun part??

Thanks for looking, Cal

 

[IMAUDIGGER]

Thanks, and you're right, the gold coins typically see to be in pretty good shape. Silver coins, typically not so much as a rule of thumb, so good observation and I can only guess that the gold coins were typically used more for the heavy lifting, so were less transactional than most silver coins, but that's just my unscientific guess.

The gold coins came from two very different sites, although they are both are about equally as old, and both have some commonalities, and although it's unlikely that anyone from either site crossed paths, I suppose it's not out of the question as there really wasn't much out west in the early 1800's pre-gold rush.

The $1 coin came from a site that had Spanish influence, not a mission or anything like that, but an outpost in the middle of absolutely nowhere. This particular site had Indian, Spanish and traveler influence. We have found trade silver there before, mission period Spanish religious trinkets, a wide variety of coins from 1700's Spanish reales, early Mexican copper fractional reales, pre-gold rush era Mexican silver reales, U.S. Liberty seated half dimes, dimes and quarters, as well as IHPs and my gold coin. Ten years of finds from this site certainly paint an interesting story with a wide variety of buttons from 1700's flat buttons, to pre-civil war and later U.S. Eagle buttons, and a really wide variety of relics. We believe there may have been a trading post nearby, although we're not sure of the X marks the spot location.

The site the Russian coin came from is a completely different kind of site, yet it still had some Spanish influence (what didn't in the early 1800's Western Frontier?). I think just about any site beyond a single family homestead back then would've had a mercantile / trade flavor to it. This site certainly saw some usage during the gold rush as we found an area with gold rush era buckles as well as other period finds. It hasn't been as forthcoming with coins, yet they are there. We've dug British, Spanish, American, French, Chinese, and probably others I'm not recalling.

I wish I could say more then that, but be it as it may, there's just too many people trying to poach your sites, and believe me sites like these are few and far between on the left coast. I will post my other finds from last weekend if you want to see them. Nothing terribly exciting, but some interesting bits and bobs and one item I'd love to get an ID on.

Thanks for looking!
Cal

Interesting. The areas I’m used to detecting, rarely produce coins.
No matter how “virgin” the site appears to be.

They also typically were only occupied between 1850 to 1900. Native American occupation prior to that.
Not to say there were not trappers here, I’ve yet to come across a trapper cabin.

When I made a trip down to San Luis Obispo a few years back, it really made me wish I had brought a detector with me. Lots more history in California, the further south you go.

I’d like to see the relics you are finding. Always interesting.

Back to the gold coins....there was also a lot of commerce driven by raw gold. Still prices of goods were so high, gold coins HAD to be used for supply purchases (rather than silver coins).

 

[Cal_Cobra]

Interesting. The areas I’m used to detecting, rarely produce coins.
No matter how “virgin” the site appears to be.

They also typically were only occupied between 1850 to 1900. Native American occupation prior to that.
Not to say there were not trappers here, I’ve yet to come across a trapper cabin.

When I made a trip down to San Luis Obispo a few years back, it really made me wish I had brought a detector with me. Lots more history in California, the further south you go.

I’d like to see the relics you are finding. Always interesting.

Back to the gold coins....there was also a lot of commerce driven by raw gold. Still prices of goods were so high, gold coins HAD to be used for supply purchases (rather than silver coins).

I think that's why you don't see many large cents found out here. Tom has a theory, and I think he's quite correct, that people that were going from the east to the west, were bringing their life savings. They were bringing their heavy lifting funds, and a large gold coin that was the same physical size as a large cent, took a lot less space with exponentially more buying power, so I think the small change was, for the most part, left behind in favor of the buying power of gold and silver. I've now found two gold coins, and seen Tom dig four, and I've observed a few others dig them as well over the years, but i have not personally observed one person dig a large cent. I know they are found on occasion, but I personally have yet to dig or witness one dug.