Another Arkie Site – 6 Coins & 12 Buttons!

[ANTIQUARIAN]

This site was dug by archeologists in 2017 and was only filled in last fall. They ‘sifted’ the site using a motorized sifting screen attachment on the front of a Kubota skid steer… is this what archeology is coming too? Anyway, I decided to try my luck here this morning for 3.5hrs and was surprised at the sheer volume of finds! You can see the site circled in green on the c1870 map, so I was hoping for possibly another railroad baggage tag being located so close to the tracks. These were pulled up in the 1940s for steel for the war effort.

My first find was the c1844 Sporting Button, followed by coin, button, coin, button… ok you get the idea!

Coins found today: 2 — 1837 Upper Canada Half Pennies, 2 — George III late 18thc coppers, a c1833 Upper Canada Halfpenny ‘To Facilitate Trade’ Token and a c1812 Lower Canada Half Penny Token.
I’m definitely going to have to make a return trip here in the fall after the soybean harvest!

Thanks very much for looking,
Dave

 

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[Aureus]

That's a great hunt right there with the nice diversity of coins and relics. I would definitely be going back there. Congrats!

 

[Digger RJ]

Very Nice!!! Congrats!!!

 

[civilman1]

Great looking bunch of finds there Dave!The sporting button is killer Nice job!

 

[CRUSADER]

Thats a nice Hunts Button, not seen that type before.

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

That's a great hunt right there with the nice diversity of coins and relics. I would definitely be going back there. Congrats!

Thanks very much Anton, I sure wish an old silver had been mixed in with all those coppers though.
I'm fairly certain this house burnt, probably in the late 1860s, as nothing here dates after 1870.
Dave

Very Nice!!! Congrats!!!

Thanks Randy!

Great looking bunch of finds there Dave!The sporting button is killer Nice job!

Thanks buddy, all of the buttons came out pretty much complete too.
Hope you're having a good year,
Dave

Thats a nice Hunts Button, bot seen that type before.

Thanks for the information Cru.
I'll have to do some research on this one, at least the maker dated this one for us.

Say hello to your Dad for me,
Dave

 

[Lost Signal]

Great hunt!

 

[Reanm8er]

Extra, Extra read all about it! Dave skunks the Archies yet again!

Rockin hunt Dave, congrats! I love the button with the hunting theme and the beaver beneath the cross of St Andrew is very cool.

Best wishes and many happy returns!

 

[ohp733]

Very nice. !!!

 

[Relicific]

That’s a great hunt Dave.
I’m sure you can’t wait to return there.

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Great hunt!

Thanks very much LS.

Extra, Extra read all about it! Dave skunks the Archies yet again!

Rockin hunt Dave, congrats! I love the button with the hunting theme and the beaver beneath the cross of St Andrew is very cool.

Best wishes and many happy returns!

Thanks very much Phil.
I've now come to realize that archeologists remove the top 12" - 18" of top soil in an effort to reach the 'level of occupation'. This is where our metal detectors find the majority of relics on homestead sites. So when the arkies are finished sifting the level of occupation, they backfill with soil that contain the relics we're seeking.

“A layer of human occupation; this generic and imprecise term is applied to an assumed level of occupation within an archaeological site. It includes any surface that indicates use as a house or camp area, asevidenced by signs of cooking, sleeping, or working at household tasks. In archaeology,this often but not always will be a representation of a former land surface oroccupation level and all associated features that were created into or from this point in time.”

Hope you're having a good year my friend,
Dave

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Very nice. !!!

Thanks very much Mark.

That’s a great hunt Dave.
I’m sure you can’t wait to return there.

Thanks buddy!
I always enjoy seeing your finds as well.
Dave

 

[Joe-Dirt]

Nice job, love those big coppers!!

 

[xcopperstax]

Looks like they missed quite a bit of stuff. Congrats on the great finds!

 

[DigToChina]

Another Arkie Site – 6 Coins & 12 Buttons!

Wow Dave. That is a spectacular hunt and blows the doors off my clad weekend.

Dallas

 

[Steve in PA]

That's a great hunt Dave! You probably got more in 3.5 hours than the archies did on the whole project.

 

[CRUSADER]

''Thanks for the information Cru.

I'll have to do some research on this one, at least the maker dated this one for us. ​

Say hello to your Dad for me,​

Dave''

I don't think I've ever seen a back-mark with a date before. But even without that I would have said 1850.
Just spoke with Cru'dad
​

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Nice job, love those big coppers!!

Thanks very much for your post Bob.
Dave

Looks like they missed quite a bit of stuff. Congrats on the great finds!

Thank you copperstax... I'm also very grateful for the arkies being so careless.
Dave

Wow Dave. That is a spectacular hunt and blows the doors off my clad weekend.

Dallas

Thanks very much Dallas.
I'm just grateful to still be detecting the fields at the end of June.

Best of luck to you in T.O.
Dave

That's a great hunt Dave! You probably got more in 3.5 hours than the archies did on the whole project.

Thanks for your post Steve!
I was actually on-site when they were sifting with the skid steer. The lead arkie showed me the recoveries in the screen attachment... mostly nails, glass and pottery frags.
It was at this point that I offered him my services as a detectorist, if he ever needed any help to find relics missed by the sifting process.
Upon hearing that I did metal detecting, he proceeded to call me "A Thief of History" and asked me to leave the site.

It was at this moment that I made the decision to detect every site where I knew the arkies had been, in an effort to save the history they missed.
I had always been under the assumption that these guys found everything there is to find... not!
Dave

''Thanks for the information Cru.

I'll have to do some research on this one, at least the maker dated this one for us.
​

Say hello to your Dad for me,
​

Dave''

I don't think I've ever seen a back-mark with a date before. But even without that I would have said 1850.
Just spoke with Cru'dad​

Not to get too sappy here Cru, but I've learned a lot from you and your Dad in the 9+ years I've been on Tnet.
I've always been an advocate of educating those who are willing to listen on the importance of not forgetting our local history.
All I can do is save/preserve what little I can in the time I have left.

As some of us well know, history can be an all consuming passion, especially for those of us who detect and not everyone appreciates why we do what we do.

Thank you for saving what you and Cru Dad do for future generations mate.
Dave

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Congrats on the very productive hunt!

 

[Hawks88]

Nice handful of button and coin saves and keepers Dave. Congrats