A Scot, NS, Georgie, Louie, and 3 Ships

[Iron Patch]

Out with IH today and things didn't go quite as planned, but we did find two sites and dug some targets. Condition was not my friend on most, but the coins are... NS Half Cent (1860s),George III Halfpenny (1770-1775) French Sol (1770s/80s), and 3 Ships Colonies tokens. (1830s)

The early military button came fast.... walked in the field, turned on the detector, took a few swings, and bang. In the field the design didn't make sense to me, but I was pretty sure it was military seeing the starburst, but when I got home I finally turned it the right way and there it was, early Scottish. Probably Royal Scots, something like that, and even though poor still a whole lot better than what I thought I had. (a rotted button I'd never be able to ID)


Hey Romeo, look at this little orange beauty. Even better than the green ones! You can now officially keep that shovel.

 

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[Iron Patch]

Now that's more like the typical digs from a day out, not too shabby.
Gone orange I see, the green one is still kicking for me-well after a replacement because it broke on the very next outing after you mention about them breaking.... I'm thinking a little curse?

You sure it's the same heavy type we use here? 10 years using these and prying my fair share of rocks and big iron and never broke one. It was like seeing an old copper in the hole when I seen this on the shelf.... ok an orange copper in the hole! I think I'll buy the last one there because I will never use anything else.

 

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[46Wheat]

Thank you for sharing your hunt and those pictures with us

 

[pepperj]

You sure it's the same heavy type we use here? 10 years using these and prying my fair share of rocks and big iron and never broke one. It was like seeing an old copper in the hole when I seen this on the shelf.... ok an orange copper in the hole! I think I'll buy the last one there because I will never use anything else.

Green-loop handle-stainless-Lee Valley shovel. Snapped the handle digging sod, and I didn't even see a greenie in the hole, come to think about it. Getting the right equipment makes the task more enjoyable when the digging gets tough.

 

[collector01]

Good hunt!

 

[Iron Patch]

Green-loop handle-stainless-Lee Valley shovel. Snapped the handle digging sod, and I didn't even see a greenie in the hole, come to think about it. Getting the right equipment makes the task more enjoyable when the digging gets tough.

Nope, can't be the same. These are about 3 times as heavy as a typical shovel and I've used them to pry plenty of large cellar hole stones over the years without an issue. I originally started using this type of shovel one Spring about 10 years ago when I broke three in three hunts digging through frost. I had no plans of lugging this heavy thing around for good, but got used to the weight and never looked back. Now Ironhorse uses one, Romeo, and a few more too.

 

[Old Dude]

You're not going to find it if you don't get out. You're one hunt closer to that big one you're after. Pretty cool finds and a nice bunch of rewards.

 

[Rick (Nova Scotia)]

Does it ever go as planned ?

Again lots of targets. Glad you got something different to add to the collection. Don't know a thing about rarity, but certainly don't see many of those buttons.

 

[Iron Patch]

Does it ever go as planned ?

Again lots of targets. Glad you got something different to add to the collection. Don't know a thing about rarity, but certainly don't see many of those buttons.

Yes, fairly often it actually does go as planned in the sense that I have a list of ideas and some might not work out, but the others do. Yesterday we ran into some fields that were still planted, decided to pass on one for whatever reason, and another I got a brain cramp exactly where it was I wanted to be, and IH's phone wasn't catching any service to check... and even when it did, the old map just wasn't speaking to me, but now looking at the aerials I see my mistake. So that's probably a good place to start next time. After all that we ended up doing the fairly long drive to check a place we hit quite a few years ago, but on the way stopped at a spot I researched about 5 years back, but we never did it, until yesterday. It seems to have dated about 1830-1940 and the majority of what we found was from there, with the exception of the flat buttons.... which came from a big field we did next that I've been wanting to try for several years now. There was an old site, just not a whole lot to dig. So in the end we never made to to our back up destination, but I'm sure we will at some point. In another 2 weeks I'm guessing we won't be stopped near as much by planted fields.

I would guess that unit did not see service in North America. When I see another I'm sure I will recognize it, because the only place for the name is around the top.

 

[Bill D. (VA)]

I've never even heard of ships colonies tokens. Very cool find as is the rest of your stuff.

I use a large contractor's shovel with steps welded on for easier pushing into the ground, not to mention easy on the boots. Most of my recoveries can be made with a single scoop. I like to shove it all the way into the ground, pull back on the handle, then slide it back toward me. That way I don't have to bend over which saves the back when you're digging hundreds of holes a day, at least not until you're bending down to recover the target. Plus a big shovel is needed to dig test holes and pits. I also screwed a large hook into the top of the handle and then hook it to the hammer loop on my goodie pouch (which is basically a Lowe's tool belt). That way I can drag it around which is much easier than constantly flipping it up and down off my shoulder. A couple years ago I ended up with shoulder problems from that, but I was hunting 15-20 hours a week too. And if there's cut corn or cotton I have no choice but to carry it, but dragging is great for soybean and peanut fields, woods and pastures. My shovel is quite heavy, but I feel like I need something heavy duty for any type of digging that I may encounter. Be nice to hear what others are using.