1825 Bust & Harp Token, Horse bell, misc. coinage

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Yesterday I returned for a couple of hours to a house permission that I’ve hunted on and off for the past few years. I started by changing the settings on my Deus to ‘0’ discrim, reduced to 12htz and increased the sensitivity to 95. The finds weren’t exactly stellar, but I did find an extremely worn c1825 Bust & Harp Halfpenny, a horse harness bell and a small cuff button. Next week I’m going to concentrate on the back portion of the house, which is extremely trashy.

Bust & Harp - c1825

In 1825 a halfpenny token was struck in Great Britain on Canadian order even though the currency regulations enacted in 1825 forbade the further importation of private tokens into Canada. However, nothing in the currency regulations interfered with importing tokens dated before 1825. These tokens became extremely popular with the Irish immigrants of Lower Canada and were soon widely imitated in brass and competed with legitimate colonial coinage for 20 years. There is great variation in workmanship and weight. This token was imitated and circulated for at least 20 years.
Obverse
Laureate head depicts King George IV in cuirass (body armour) facing left.
Reverse
A harp incorporating the body of a winged female facing left, date 1820.


Thanks very much for looking,
Dave

 

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[WannaDig3687]

Sweet little bell and cool coins. Good hunt, Antiquarian! The back does look a little challenging. Congratulations and good luck in the back of the house.

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Sweet little bell and cool coins. Good hunt, Antiquarian! The back does look a little challenging. Congratulations and good luck in the back of the house.

Thanks for your post WD.
I can see where a septic system was installed in the backyard about 20' from the house, so detecting in this area will be rather pointless.
There are a couple of old apple trees and some fields beyond, but the fields haven't been cut in years.

Have a great day... and call your Dad!
Dave

 

[Digger RJ]

Very Nice!!! Congrats!!!

 

[E-Trac-Ohio]

Great finds - congrats !

 

[Steve in PA]

You guys have a really cool variety bank and monetary tokens in Canada. Some really cool designs. Too bad that one's toast. Have you found that particular token before?

 

[WannaDig3687]

1825 Bust & Harp Token, Horse bell, misc. coinage

Thanks for your post WD.
I can see where a septic system was installed in the backyard about 20' from the house, so detecting in this area will be rather pointless.
There are a couple of old apple trees and some fields beyond, but the fields haven't been cut in years.

Have a great day... and call your Dad!
Dave

Lol actually on my way to take him a burger! Stay safe and HH.

 

[Professor of Engineering]

You did very well, congrats!

 

[JeffInMass]

Great finds- Congrats! GL on the rest of the house.

 

[Aureus]

Very nice finds Dave. I've never seen this particular variety of Bust and Harp, the profile seems different from the ones I find.

 

[silverfreak]

Wow...that is an awesome hunt!!

 

[diggingthe1]

Those are great finds, very interesting coin! I can't wait to see what's in the trashy side!

 

[DigToChina]

Awesome finds Dave! That token is awesome. Guessing the reverse was facing up because the obverse is so well protected?

The pennies are certainly the right age to come up with silver. Just another five needed before the Ratio Gods give one up but don’t lose yourself in that jungle trying [emoji23]

 

[ToddsPoint]

I can see where a septic system was installed in the backyard about 20' from the house, so detecting in this area will be rather pointless.

In IL, about 40 yrs. ago, a guy was working on a septic tank on one of his rental houses and unearthed a stash of 200 gold double eagles with his backhoe. Septic tank area might be worth a look. Gary

 

[washingtonian]

Cool old house. Looks like fun hunting grounds!

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Very Nice!!! Congrats!!!

Thanks Randy!

Great finds - congrats !

Thanks very much!

You guys have a really cool variety bank and monetary tokens in Canada. Some really cool designs. Too bad that one's toast. Have you found that particular token before?

You're telling me Steve, every token that comes up I have to research exactly what it is!
This particular token is well known for having been made by a number of different companies in the 19thc and the quality of the metals they used varied widely.

I've found this token 3 - 4 times over the past 10 years, the original stamped version (issued in 1825) tends to be the version that stands up the best.
These were made very thin, almost have a thick as the 'standard' halfpenny produced, consequently the details tend to wear heavily in the ground.

I'll post a pic of what this token originally looked like at the bottom of this thread.
Dave

Lol actually on my way to take him a burger! Stay safe and HH.

Glad to hear it, hope your Dad is doing well.

My Mom is 86and lives on her own in downtown Toronto, once a month I take her a Tim Horton's club wrap and a small decaf coffee for lunch and a chat.
I miss doing that.
Dave

You did very well, congrats!

Thank you for your post Professor.

Great finds- Congrats! GL on the rest of the house.

Thank you Jeff.
Hope you're having a great year in Cape Cod so far,
Dave

Very nice finds Dave. I've never seen this particular variety of Bust and Harp, the profile seems different from the ones I find.

Thanks Anton, this token had at least 24 varieties produced.
It was created in 1825, it was imitated and circulated for at least 20 years.
Dave

Wow...that is an awesome hunt!!

Thanks very much for your post Bryce.

Those are great finds, very interesting coin! I can't wait to see what's in the trashy side!

Thanks buddy!
You read my mind exactly, I now have to attack the trashy sides of the house.

Will let you know if anything interesting pops up.
Dave

Awesome finds Dave! That token is awesome. Guessing the reverse was facing up because the obverse is so well protected?

The pennies are certainly the right age to come up with silver. Just another five needed before the Ratio Gods give one up but don’t lose yourself in that jungle trying [emoji23]

Nice analogy buddy... "Just another five needed before the Ratio Gods give one up but don’t lose yourself in that jungle trying."

Incidentally, the pennies were all very scratchy signals that were 8 - 10" deep.
I can only hope there's a silver still hiding there somewhere.

Now get out there and hunt the sites I suggested to you.
Dave

In IL, about 40 yrs. ago, a guy was working on a septic tank on one of his rental houses and unearthed a stash of 200 gold double eagles with his backhoe. Septic tank area might be worth a look. Gary

Sounds like I might need to detect the septic tank area Gary.
Thanks for the advice buddy,
Dave

Cool old house. Looks like fun hunting grounds!

For some reason, the back of this house has a 'haunting affect' on me... I've always had the feeling that something is watching me.
Take care bud,
Dave

 

[WannaDig3687]

Glad to hear it, hope your Dad is doing well.

My Mom is 86and lives on her own in downtown Toronto, once a month I take her a Tim Horton's club wrap and a small decaf coffee for lunch and a chat.
I miss doing that.
Dave

Hopefully you will be able to do that soon!

 

[SWINGER1969]

Nice finds congrats. What are the reed looking things to the left of the harness bell, i have found several but unsure what they are?

 

[grasshopper]

Nice finds congrats. What are the reed looking things to the left of the harness bell, i have found several but unsure what they are?

I think they're from accordions/"squeeze boxes"

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Nice finds congrats. What are the reed looking things to the left of the harness bell, i have found several but unsure what they are?

My buddy grasshopper below beat me to it with 'musical reeds'.
These pop up regularly on old home sites.

Thanks for your post and for your question.
Dave

I think they're from accordions/"squeeze boxes"

Exactly, almost as common as harmonica reeds are on these sites.