Colonial Silver!!!!

[Brendan M.]

Hello and Happy Belated Memorial Day!!!

This weekend I went back to the old park where I found all those nice coppers last week (http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,158514.msg1150241.html#msg1150241). I thought I was going to have a slim haul, when I hit a nice pocket of older finds on Monday afternoon. What happened next was beyond my wildest expectations.

What's funny about the place is that for all the coppers I've found there (4 LCs, 6-7 IHs, a CW trade token, and more), I've yet to dig a single piece of old silver, and the only silver I've found at all was a 1943 War Nickel. I would've been doing a jig over a Barber, let alone a Seated or something like that.

So, I start checking this spot with a lot of old tree roots still showing (the tree is long gone) and I get this really nice penny/dime signal at about 6 inches. I had a feeling it would be something good, so I carefully dug a decent sized plug and scooped the loose soil onto my ground sheet. Then I scanned the hole and noticed the target had moved into the dirt pile. My pulse quickened when I saw a little glisten of silver amid the dark soil, and when I reached for it out came a 1738 Spanish 1 Reale!!! I stared at it with disbelief. Not only was this my first pre-1800s coin, it blew away my prior oldest coin by 70 years!

Obviously nothing else I found this weekend even comes close to the reale (nothing else this year, for that matter), but overall it was a good Memorial Day. Here's the highlight reel:

• 1738 Spanish 1 Reale
• Large gilded flat button
• Antique brass skeleton key
• Thick men's ID bracelet
• Heavy glazed porcelain doorknob (the metal in the socket is what triggered the detector)
• Unknown dime-sized metal circle (could be silver). Has a hole at the top for a chain or string. Nearly thought I had another reale! Any guesses anyone?

As you can imagine. It was a fantastic holiday!

Thanks for looking.

Cheers and HH,
Brendan

 

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[Brendan M.]

What a bloody ripper mate, well done.

I'm not entirely sure what that means, but I like the sound of it! Thanks my friend.

Cheers,
B

 

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[Brendan M.]

That is one heck of a coin!

I really think that last disc may be a holed, beat-up half-real or trime...ya never know. What ID number does it give on the XLT?


Regards,


Buckleboy

Thanks Buckle!

Yeah I think you're right about that holed one. It definitely looks and feels like like silver... I'll let you know what Mr. XLT says after I fire him up and check VDI readings.

Cheers,
B

 

[Brendan M.]

Awesome finds, its hard to tell those are coins, means its really old. The last one someone drilled a hole through to put on a chain.

It MUST be old. The thing is worn smooth!

Thanks,
B

 

[christ-first]

my dream coin. i've always wanted to find a reale. maybe one day. congrats.

 

[Colonial Zoyboy]

You found yourself a Spanish cross pistareen. From what I've been reading about, they did not circulate a lot in the areas north of the Chesapeake Bay (i.e., PA, NY, VT, etc.). Hunters in VA seem to find them on just about every Colonial site.

This is a great reference: http://www.numismatics.org/cnl/Pistareens.pdf

Kyle

 

[Joe G]

Awesome dude! I knew that EVENTUALLY one of us had to pull some silver out of the spots where there's colonial stuff. NICE find! Congrats!

Now, go for the gold

 

[dgaughan]

wow brendan sweet find congrats and hh

 

[LI Tom]

That is just awesome,Brendan!!!!I knew you would strike some old silver there,sooner or later,but it does'nt get much older than that!Big Congrats.

 

[West Jersey Detecting]

Brendan,

Congrats on your fantastic May! That Reale is a beauty!

 

[Captn SE]

Wow, never heard of someone pulling such an old coin from a park.
Beautiful Reale!!!

Major congrats,
CAPTN SE
Dan

 

[vpone]

AWESOME FIND !

nice colonial silver - silver is good anytime, barber, seated and most definately spanish

big congrats !

vp

 

[Brendan M.]

You found yourself a Spanish cross pistareen. From what I've been reading about, they did not circulate a lot in the areas north of the Chesapeake Bay (i.e., PA, NY, VT, etc.). Hunters in VA seem to find them on just about every Colonial site.

This is a great reference: http://www.numismatics.org/cnl/Pistareens.pdf

Kyle

Thanks for the info Kyle. That document is a great resource.

Cheers and HH,
B

 

[Brendan M.]

Awesome dude! I knew that EVENTUALLY one of us had to pull some silver out of the spots where there's colonial stuff. NICE find! Congrats!

Now, go for the gold

Yeah right? It was almost kind of discouraging when none of our gang had found anything like that. At least now I know I'm not pipe dreaming. If it takes me another 3 years to get the next one, that'll be fine!

You still got me beat though age-wise with that British copper of yours. Man, I would LOVE to crack into the 1600s... But yes, gold is nice too! 8)

Thanks again buddy!

Cheers and HH,
B

 

[Brendan M.]

wow brendan sweet find congrats and hh

Thanks, D. Tally one for Strong Island, right?

I bet there's some good spots up by you, yes?

Cheers and HH,
B

 

[N.J.THer]

Great finds...love the Reale. These are the types of posts that get meout hunting whenever I get the chance. Thanks

NJ

 

[halfdime]

What a beauty! I'm with Bob on the holed mystery coin.

 

[Brendan M.]

That is just awesome,Brendan!!!!I knew you would strike some old silver there,sooner or later,but it does'nt get much older than that!Big Congrats.

Thanks Tom! As I was looking at the coin for the first time, I definitely thought for a second, "I can't wait to show this to Tom." You and Ricardo are my Mr. Miyagi's of silver hunting, so this one's for you buddy!

Cheers and HH,
B

 

[Brendan M.]

Wow, never heard of someone pulling such an old coin from a park.
Beautiful Reale!!!

Major congrats,
CAPTN SE
Dan

Yes it is kind of interesting. The reason is that the place wasn't always a park -- there's a long local history to it, and the area was used/owned by a number of entities over the years. It's kind of fun to have a place like that with so many layers of possible finds. You just have to keep digging the decent signals until you hit a keeper. But still, never imagined this!

Thanks for the Congrats, Dan.

Cheers and HH,
B

 

[Brendan M.]

AWESOME FIND !

nice colonial silver - silver is good anytime, barber, seated and most definately spanish

big congrats !

vp

Thanks VP! Again, you're another of the guys I KNOW can appreciate a find like this. What an unforgettable moment! Thanks for the congrats!

Cheers and HH,
B

 

[Brendan M.]

Great finds...love the Reale. These are the types of posts that get meout hunting whenever I get the chance. Thanks

NJ

My pleasure, NJ. I'm sure you've got some killer places to hit out by you, as well. Go get 'em!

This spot was a blessing for me this season, not just because of the finds but because I can actually HUNT it this time of year. My area has a big tick problem in the warm months, so my spots dwindle. It can kind of be a bummer if you don't find someplace new...Man did I luck out.

Thanks!

Cheers and HH,
B