CLOSED-OUT 2013 WITH A SPANISH COB & CATCH-UP PHOTOS – COLONIAL RELICS & LIBERTY SEAT

[Silver Tree Chaser]

CLOSED-OUT 2013 WITH A SPANISH COB & CATCH-UP PHOTOS – COLONIAL RELICS & LIBERTY SEAT

I found this half real Spanish silver cob last week at one of my best sites. The same site produced a 1725 Spanish cob in 2012 and an Oak Tree shilling several years ago. It can’t be dated as it’s missing the date likely due to clipping. The king’s monogram is incomplete as well. My guess is late 17th Century to early 18th Century. It obviously has some wear and tear, but I couldn’t be happier to see that Cross of Spain on the coin when it came out of the hole. Spanish cobs are not so easily found in New England.


Spanish cob - obverse


Spanish cob - reverse

Sorry – I don’t get the time to post frequently; I’ve been busy with work and other matters – I just finished writing a draft for a magazine article submission on those colonial-period cufflinks I found last year (I really don’t want to say good-by to 2013, as it was such a great year for digging). Anyway, I haven’t been able to keep up with posting, but here’s the better finds that I’ve recovered since November. I was able to get out a good deal.

Here some before (water rinse) & after treatment (cooked) photos of a few Liberty Seated coins. I use to rub such coins w/ wet baking soda to clean them - never again!




1856 Liberty Seated Quarter obverse - it's a bit nicked up unfortunately.




1856 Quarter reverse


Lots of heavy toning


1847 Liberty Seated Half Dime - toning removed without heavy rubbing




1847 Dime reverse


small silver button - early 18th Century?


same silver button with gas hole vents as described by Hume


early Trifid spoon handle - 17th - 18th Century


decorative tombac button


leather mount


eyeball find - piece of flint for a musket


spur buckle fragment (no idea on age), unusual oval shaped leather mount - 17th - 18th Century - Can anybody ID the find at the top left corner? I've seen them posted before on TNet.


same finds - opposite side


nice early nipple buttons - 17th century - Anybody know the age on that buckle fragment?


Plowing was tough on the shoe & spur buckles - lots of fragments but nothing whole, but I still consider the tractor to be a big help.


All the info. on the internet can be too informative. I thought I had a Civil War hat insignia, but a little research determined that it was circa. 1903.

Any info. on some ID's and dates is greatly appreciated. Thanks for looking & good hunting to all in 2014.

 

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[Coilcrazy2]

Wow ww? A bunch of beautiful coins and relics you got there! That little cob could have been missed by many detectorists...great work Silver tree chaser!!
~CC

 

[CASPER-2]

 

[bofusmosby]

Nice finds!

Can you elaborate on your "cooking" method?

 

[Msbeepbeep]

I can see why you hate to let go of 2013! Just think of it as moving on to bigger and better finds in 2014!
Congrats! Those are some really nice finds! Looking forward to reading your article! GL & HH in 2014!

 

[Steve in PA]

fantastic group of finds there. You have some very early sites to hunt.

 

[Valley Ranger]

Great finds and nice variety!

 

[borntohunt460]

yes please elaborate on your "cooking" method....those coins look great

 

[BuckleBoy]

The pewter piece is a drawer pull, and I have a hunch they are Georgian era. I have dug several that were identical to the one you posted above.

Congrats on a great wrap-up!

Best Wishes,

Buck

 

[Bass]

Congrats on another successful year of recovery. Your finds are fantastic as usual. Hope 2014 brings even more great finds for you. Good luck

Sent from my iPhone using TreasureNet

 

[Silver Tree Chaser]

Nice finds!

Can you elaborate on your "cooking" method?

This website does a good job of describing the electrolysis process:

Cleaning coins and metal detecting finds using Electrolysis.

You can find many other sites like it for putting together an electrolysis setup. It's simple to do, and the results are worth the little bit of effort required. You won't need to wear out your fingertips and two pounds of baking soda to clean unsightly toning, while wearing away detail on a good coin.

I cook my coins with a cut away charger (6-volt) from an old cordless phone. Separate the wires to the power cord. One wire is hooked up to the coin, while the other goes to a galvanized bolt (not stainless steel). I put it in water with a few generous dashes of soda wash. I only needed to cook the half-dime for about 45 seconds to remove all the toning without any heavy rubbing. Make sure you test the wires with a junk silver coin to ensure that the wires are hooked up properly for the cathode & anode connections. Here's the most important thing - remove the coin after 30 - 45 seconds of cooking and give it the lightest rub in mineral oil with your fingers - the toning comes off evenly, instantly, and with very light pressure. Finish it off with a nice soft piece of cloth to wipe away any slight toning that remains. A good buddy advised me of this method. It's not necessary to clean the coin with baking soda or anything else with abrasive properties. Baking soda will scour the coin to a gleaming shine that just doesn't look right. Electrolysis is the best approach for changing a dark and ugly coin to a much improve coin with eye appeal without losing sharp detail. Use electrolysis on silver coins. It will not work well on copper coins. I hope this helps.

 

[Zodiacdiverdave]

Mind blowing stuff right there. Congrats and hope you have a great 2014.
ZDD

 

[bofusmosby]

This website does a good job of describing the electrolysis process:

Cleaning coins and metal detecting finds using Electrolysis.

You can find many other sites like it for putting together an electrolysis setup. It's simple to do, and the results are worth the little bit of effort required. You won't need to wear out your fingertips and two pounds of baking soda to clean unsightly toning, while wearing away detail on a good coin.

I cook my coins with a cut away charger (6-volt) from an old cordless phone. Separate the wires to the power cord. One wire is hooked up to the coin, while the other goes to a galvanized bolt (not stainless steel). I put it in water with a few generous dashes of soda wash. I only needed to cook the half-dime for about 45 seconds to remove all the toning without any heavy rubbing. Make sure you test the wires with a junk silver coin to ensure that the wires are hooked up properly for the cathode & anode connections. Here's the most important thing - remove the coin after 30 - 45 seconds of cooking and give it the lightest rub in mineral oil with your fingers - the toning comes off evenly, instantly, and with very light pressure. Finish it off with a nice soft piece of cloth to wipe away any slight toning that remains. A good buddy advised me of this method. It's not necessary to clean the coin with baking soda or anything else with abrasive properties. Baking soda will scour the coin to a gleaming shine that just doesn't look right. Electrolysis is the best approach for changing a dark and ugly coin to a much improve coin with eye appeal without losing sharp detail. Use electrolysis on silver coins. It will not work well on copper coins. I hope this helps.

Thank you! Yes, I have been using this method for many many years. I didn't know that what what you ere referring to. The secret is, not to "cook" them too long. I also clean a lot of the iron artifacts this way. The results can be outstanding!

 

[pepperj]

Great way of ending the season off nice going on the Cob and the other silvers.

The one item that's with the mount reminds me of a tobacco jar lid handle, have a look at the link.

UK Finds Database - - - UKDFD

 

[Silver Tree Chaser]

Great way of ending the season off nice going on the Cob and the other silvers.

The one item that's with the mount reminds me of a tobacco jar lid handle, have a look at the link.

UK Finds Database - - - UKDFD

PepperJ - Thanks for the ID, the flower design on one of the handles from the UK Database is a perfect match. As Buckleboy had suggested, I was thinking a drawer pull as well, except that its lead composition did not fit for such an object.