BIG 2 REALES and a PELICAN, and Shanegalang with TWO OUNCES of SILVER!

BuckleBoy

Gold Member
Jun 12, 2006
18,132
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Moonlight and Magnolias
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Detector(s) used
Fisher F75, Whites DualField PI, Fisher 1266-X and Tesoro Silver uMax
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Hello All,

Been so busy we have to marathon hunt when we can. Got out for two hunts in a row, and the first hunt we were doing some scouting at a site where we saw some scant signs on a previous trip, but couldn't come up with anything decent. Well, we went back for a second look, and glad we did. It was Shanegalag's day that day. He dug a HUGE silver spoon hallmarked in New Orleans in the 1850s. No doubt the handle from the spoon will come up on a future hunt. It weighs almost two ounces!

spoon.jpg

My consolation prize was a tiny green trade bead that gave me some hope for older relics and coins. I also picked up an old Catholic medallion (brass), which is par for the course for South Louisiana. Snagged a couple of the ever-present tax tokens. Man, they sound good. I was really pleased with the ornate keyhole cover from a smokehouse lock. At any rate, here are my finds from that day:

HPIM4747.JPGHPIM4749.JPG

OK, so then the next thing I know, Shanegalang is yelling "Hi Ho!" (SILVER!!) and I'm thinking this was not my day. I start walking in his direction. OK, so on a side note, seems like everyone I've ever dug with has dug a Barber Quarter. Often right in front of me. Or over to the side. Or where I was just detecting. I have never found one. Kindafoundabuckle dug THREE of them in twice as many hunts, mere feet away from where I was digging. Then Diggergirl's second silver was a pristine, beautiful Barber Quarter. I was enjoying the fact that neither Shane nor I had dug one...

but of course, when I walk over to him, he's grinning and holding a Barber Quarter in his hands. :D

1896 barber obv.jpg1896 barber rev.jpg


The Next Day, we're both up early, to catch the early morning hours since it's gonna be 95 degrees and rain coming by mid-day. Well, it was a comedy of errors. Shanegalang had car trouble, then caught in traffic. I forgot my Camelbak (NOT smart, with such heat and humidity!). Then on the drive to a new site, it started to rain. :( The forecast still said 0%. Damned weather channel!

We got to the site, and luckily it stopped raining. We got to work. Shanegalang dug what we think is a sword hanger. Then I got a couple heel plates. Nice complete ones. :) Next I dug one of those "mickey mouse" style small locks. Those are very old, if I'm not mistaken. Then I got a garbled iron-like signal. When I isolated the lower part of it, and narrowed my swing, the F75 locked right in on "80" and started to sing! :headbang: It was crazy. Swinging across both targets I got an awful signal. But there was a honey of a signal right beside. It pinpointed to two inches. When I flipped the clod out, I was staring at BIG SILVER!

HPIM4750.JPG

It was an 1826 TWO REALES!! I was jumping up and down in the sugar cane field in the 100 degree heat. :laughing9:

HPIM4755.JPGHPIM4758.JPG

Shanegalang dug a 1936 Buffalo Nickel. I then swiftly collected a 1901 V and an 186? Shield for the nickel trifecta. :)

HPIM4768.JPGHPIM4769.JPGHPIM4770.JPG

We broke for a quick box of fried chicken, then came back and no sooner than I'd hiked into the center of the field did I get a nice brass signal and pop out a bent button. When I was halfway bent over to pick it up I saw the rope border and knew what I had! A CIVIL WAR LOUISIANA PELICAN BUTTON!!! Unbelievable!

HPIM4760.JPG

Then if things couldn't get any better, we located a trash pit or privy. Oyster shells compacted in there, and no good tools to begin the excavation. We dug just enough to confirm what the pit was, and I recovered some sort of small brass bucket or similar. Strange thing, is it looks like it had two spouts brasied on. :dontknow: Any clues? Bound to be pre-CW, due to the age of the glass in the pit.

HPIM4775.JPGHPIM4776.JPGHPIM4777.JPGHPIM4778.JPG

I also dug a pewter mystery item with a design.

HPIM4779.JPG

And here is a photo of my finds from the second hunt:

HPIM4771.JPG

And the 1826 2 Reales:

HPIM4767.JPGHPIM4766.JPG

And the plow-struck Louisiana Pelican CW Button

HPIM4764.JPG

Take it from me, don't leave your camelbak at home. :-\ Seriously though, stay safe, and be careful out there.

Best Wishes,


Buck

Cane Bandits.jpg
The CaneField Bandits
 

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Upvote 31
WTG Bud!!! That is a heck of a day and a fine coin!

Thanks for your reply, my friend. I figured I ought to at least make a showing. Been a GREAT summer of some truly exceptional finds on the forum, yours included!
 

Killer hunt Buck! Field hunting at it's finest and as always a pleasure to read your post! :icon_thumleft:
 

All great finds, and congrats on that big beautiful silver!!
 

Hey Buck!! Looks as if You and Shane Smoked them again!! CONGRATS!! HOT AS FIRECRACKERS!! Hope you guys are doing well and your still Married!! He He!! Anyway, GOOD LUCK and GOOD HUNTING!! VERDE!!
 

You guys all made some great finds Buck. Funny about the lack of barber quarters finding their way into your pouch but that Spanish silver sure knew how to get there. Congrats! :thumbsup:
 

Great hunt for both of you.
 

Buck,

Great finds! I'm really intrigued by the trade beads you often recover. Do you have any general information to share on their age and why they turn up in your area?
 

You guys all made some great finds Buck. Funny about the lack of barber quarters finding their way into your pouch but that Spanish silver sure knew how to get there. Congrats! :thumbsup:

Seems like we're all got that "thing I've never dug." I've never had a 3 cent piece either. Probably had a shot at one in Virginia or KY, but the only one I'd be likely to dig down here is the lone New Orleans minted 3c silver. Seems like I'd be much more likely to dig a Barber quarter than a 3 cent. I mean, I figured I'd never ever recover a Franklin Half, due to me detecting so few sites that dated that late, but lo and behold I dug a Franklin year before last.

It's always peculiar to see what we dig or don't dig. One never knows. It's both a great--and a frustrating thing about the hobby! :D
 

Buck,

Great finds! I'm really intrigued by the trade beads you often recover. Do you have any general information to share on their age and why they turn up in your area?

Some of these beads are legitimate trade beads ("Russian blues", etc.). The Russian Blues are mis-named. They're really Bohemian hand faceted beads. Often traded for goods as well. The plain one in the post above was a simple green bead cut from a tube of glass, bearing a strong resemblance to the Murano bead in the center of this photo:

murano.jpg

I have a strong hunch that some of these are actually rosary beads that were lost or tossed and scattered. I've even found one tiny rosary centerpiece (eyeballed, it was such thin brass I'd have never dug the signal if it wasn't really close to the top). It might seem strange to think about so many of these beads being rosary beads, but not so difficult when one realizes how very Catholic South Louisiana is. I've also dug some type of catholic medallion in every single field I've detected down here. Those were all attached to something, and my bet is a rosary. Also, it's not really a large number of beads found. I have eyeballed probably 6 faceted "Russian Blue" or faceted green beads from one site, and probably 1 or 2 different types of beads from a couple other sites each. Of course where there's 1 or two, there are bound to be more. I'm actually surprised that I haven't found any "gooseberry beads" yet.

P.S.--the "Russian blue" beads are well worth picking up. Here are two little strands of them for $120.00:

Antique Beads

Here's a Pinterest board with lots of beads and information:

http://www.pinterest.com/baublesandbeads/beads-with-a-past/


And here's something much more scholarly to read (see especially the "Mississippi Delta Region" and "Southeastern Region" headings.

http://www.academia.edu/769174/Trade_Bead_Migration_into_North_America
 

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Killer finds!!! The silver reale is the best. Keep searching!!!!!!!!
 

Thx for the reply, Catherine!

Best Wishes,

Buck
 

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Great job on the silver ya'll, the bigger the better. How the plow manages to find those buttons and coins makes me amazed, but not amused. The plow can be the relic hunters best friend or worst enemy!
 

Great job on the silver ya'll, the bigger the better. How the plow manages to find those buttons and coins makes me amazed, but not amused. The plow can be the relic hunters best friend or worst enemy!

So true. Often it's both friend and foe. Brings finds up to the surface, but also bends, breaks, and destroys. Shame on the button, but I'm going to send it off to restore.

Best Wishes,

Buck
 

Some of these beads are legitimate trade beads ("Russian blues", etc.). The Russian Blues are mis-named. They're really Bohemian hand faceted beads. Often traded for goods as well. The plain one in the post above was a simple green bead cut from a tube of glass, bearing a strong resemblance to the Murano bead in the center of this photo:

View attachment 1039940

I have a strong hunch that some of these are actually rosary beads that were lost or tossed and scattered. I've even found one tiny rosary centerpiece (eyeballed, it was such thin brass I'd have never dug the signal if it wasn't really close to the top). It might seem strange to think about so many of these beads being rosary beads, but not so difficult when one realizes how very Catholic South Louisiana is. I've also dug some type of catholic medallion in every single field I've detected down here. Those were all attached to something, and my bet is a rosary. Also, it's not really a large number of beads found. I have eyeballed probably 6 faceted "Russian Blue" or faceted green beads from one site, and probably 1 or 2 different types of beads from a couple other sites each. Of course where there's 1 or two, there are bound to be more. I'm actually surprised that I haven't found any "gooseberry beads" yet.

P.S.--the "Russian blue" beads are well worth picking up. Here are two little strands of them for $120.00:

Antique Beads

Here's a Pinterest board with lots of beads and information:

Beads with a past on Pinterest | 97 Pins


And here's something much more scholarly to read (see especially the "Mississippi Delta Region" and "Southeastern Region" headings.

Trade Bead Migration into North America | Robert Jirka - Academia.edu

Buck:


Thanks so much for your informative reply. The info. on Trade Bead Migration is definitely worth a close look.

Here's my one and only bead find from Southern New England.

17th Century Dutch glass trade bead (with  penny for scale).JPG

I have one friend who recovered many beads along a section of shoreline; however, I don't know of any other beads being found in my area. The Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony had as 1620's trading post located only several miles from where I found the bead pictured here. It's a bit larger than I would have expected for a bead size. A professional (I'm not sure of his exact credentials) told me it was 19th century, but the site that produced the bead also offered up a good number of contact-period arrowheads to the property owner.
 

You guys had a productive hunt that's for sure, Congrats BB. I haven't been out much lately either and when we finally did get out to hit one of our fields Rick pulled out a monster 8 reale. I hope that this autumn is good to you guys (and me too). Yours seems to be off to a good start.
HH,
ZDD
 

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