Digging COLONIAL Ship Wharf

[Patriot Relics]

Hey guys,

Back from overseas and knee deep in lowcountry pluff mud The coastal site that I targeted was an old ship building location dating from the mid 1700s. Previous hunts have produced a few nice relics, however the site is covered in copper, hand forged, nails. Unlike iron which is easily recognizable, every one of these copper nails rings in on the CTX in the copper coinage/button range and thus must be dug haha. Few more weeks and I may have it cleared out.



That being said, persistence was rewarded with a few goodies. Among the digs were a few buckle fragments, musket ball, and flat buttons. The nicest looks as is it was dropped yesterday.



My favorite recovery had me puzzled until I got it home and cleaned it up. It is made of a heavy copper alloy with much of the silver wash still intact. Given the hooks on the back I'm guessing it is an early leather ornament or saddle boss. I've seen mid 19th century saddle shields posted here before, but I suspect this one is much earlier given the comparables online.



Up for debate is this small whatiz? It is made of brass and about 1.5 inches in length.



Thanks for looking!

 

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[CRUSADER]

Your right on the late 18th C horse harness mount.

 

[Pennsylvania Treasures]

Awesome finds!! That small gun relic is amazing! Maybe it's horse tack or some kind of pin?

 

[Patriot Relics]

Your right on the late 18th C horse harness mount.

Thanks for the confirmation Cru, this is the same site that produced an 18th century court sword so the dirt definitely has the age.

 

[Patriot Relics]

Awesome finds!! That small gun relic is amazing! Maybe it's horse tack or some kind of pin?

Thanks Penn,

Yes the copper item is an 18th Century harness mount. The gun shaped relic is a mystery for now

 

[ironhorse]

I too recently had a hunt on an old ship building site.
my take for the day was a pile of copper/ brass nails just like yours!
nice hunt

 

[Patriot Relics]

I too recently had a hunt on an old ship building site.
my take for the day was a pile of copper/ brass nails just like yours!
nice hunt

Thanks Iron horse, after digging the first 20 I just started tossing the rest in my trash pile.

 

[trapperart]

Nice bunch of finds congrats

 

[Bill D. (VA)]

Very interesting site. I've found similar leather ornaments at colonial sites but without the silver gilt. Definitely a 1700s find. And I rarely find copper nails or spikes at the land sites I hunt, but they're a given when hunting a shipyard or wharf site as they'd be in big trouble if they used iron nails in their ships.

 

[Old Dude]

As a landlocked Hunter, I really like the copper spikes/nails. As you said, they may be masking more goodies. Good luck!

 

[lowcountry]

very cool!!!

 

[Patriot Relics]

Very interesting site. I've found similar leather ornaments at colonial sites but without the silver gilt. Definitely a 1700s find. And I rarely find copper nails or spikes at the land sites I hunt, but they're a given when hunting a shipyard or wharf site as they'd be in big trouble if they used iron nails in their ships.

Thanks Bill, the silver wash is much better in person. Crazy how some copper alloys survive and some are destroyed by the salt water.

 

[Gridwalker306]

Good stuff vmi, looks like a promising spot. And hey, I really do like the old copper nails!

 

[Rick (Nova Scotia)]

Cool site your working.
With all the activity that no doubt went on on a site like that there is certainly more to find. We, ZDD, and me found a similar site, but gave it up for now as we moved on after getting a couple dozen each of the copper nails. My thoughts are someone must have lost a coin there, same as your site, a spanish silver, or even a gold could show up.

Good luck.

 

[Patriot Relics]

Good stuff vmi, looks like a promising spot. And hey, I really do like the old copper nails!

Hey J, certainly better than getting skunked...have a bag of them.

 

[Patriot Relics]

Cool site your working.
With all the activity that no doubt went on on a site like that there is certainly more to find. We, ZDD, and me found a similar site, but gave it up for now as we moved on after getting a couple dozen each of the copper nails. My thoughts are someone must have lost a coin there, same as your site, a spanish silver, or even a gold could show up.

Good luck.

I had a similar thought, the notion that there may be a silver or gold cob keeps me going back.