Dirty old coins found by a dirty and surly middle aged man

[plehbah2]

My friends,

I have been lurking in the local fields, beating the Rabbitbrush with my magical stick, and digging various pits in the ground looking for old trash. These efforts have met with some success, and now my computer desk is covered with relics from the 1870s and the dirt which has dried and fallen off of them. I have esoteric taste in junk, and have been having lots of fun, but am only including some items here with more mass appeal.

I am lucky to own some land in and around the old business district of an 1870s ghost town with lots of old store sites and cabin sites, so I always have an old cellar or privy I am digging, along with metal detecting in the weeds. The main field is across the county road and about a 30 second walk for me, so I go there a for a little while on a nice evening and hunt for a bit. The little 1853 with arrows Seated Liberty half dime I found last night on a 10 minute hunt. It is the first silver with my new Deus II which did a great job of picking it out of an ungodly amount of square nails. The other coins are from the same little spot in the field where the post office stood, and from a little 5 foot by 4 foot by 4 foot deep cellar which I excavated. That hole gave up a couple of Shield nickels, the Indian Head penny, and some nice old bottles, including the second known example of the best bottle from my area. I didn't include a picture of that because it has the town name on it!

The coins are an 1854 with arrows dime, the 1853 with arrows half dime, a couple of 1866 Shield nickels with rays, a couple of 1867 Shield nickels, an 1872 Shield nickel, and an 1865 Indian Head penny. Also pictured is a lock plate from an old black powder rifle or shotgun, and a neat little bottle I dug out of an 1870s privy a couple of days ago for Dr. Sage's and Dr. Pierce's Catarrh Remedy. That privy also gave up an early 1870s Dr. Hostetter's stomach bitters, half a dozen mining assay cupels, and some lesser but very old bottles for around here. It is hard to find early 1870s bottles in Colorado these days, so I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity.

I have even pictured the finds on a mid-quality paper plate like a pro!

 

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[plehbah2]

Wow that bottle is amazing. Quite the find with the label mostly intact. Thanks for the information and the picture. Top shelf find for sure. I've dug some that had the paper labels but they immediately disintegrated.

I'm glad that you liked it. I was slightly worried that it would be underwhelming being a ratty paper label. I am very rabid about collecting of exonumia and ephemera from my ghost town and actually have a very nice collection of stuff, so an example of the local beer was high on my want list and something I figured I would never get a chance at. As always, finding it with the accompanying journey and memories always beats buying it at an auction. When I dug that bottle my mama was there, as well as a couple of friends/neighbors just hanging around by the pit shooting the breeze, so it was all in all a very special thing. I was very blessed on that day!

 

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[plehbah2]

Well done on the detecting and digging.
Nothing beats doing both on your own land.

It is very nice being able to roam and dig as I please. It was a long road getting to this point, and I am very fortunate that life has worked out as well as it has. I did not always make the wisest of choices and certainly had some mis-steps along the way. I thank God and my family every day for the chance to be the steward of these old fields full of interest and history for awhile. It is a real treat to be able to go across the street or out my back door and have the chance to maybe find an arrowhead, or some old bottles, a nice trade token, or a Seated Liberty silver coin. Heck, I could even find a gold coin! I am thankful beyond belief, and I know that I am living the dream of many people. I do not take a single moment for granted. I make sure to enjoy the clouds, the sky, the mountains, the animals, the breeze, the sun, the shade, and everything else going on.

Thanks for your comment.

 

[plehbah2]

My wife likes the term old cermudgen when referring to me. ....looks like you are in a metal detector's dream spot and those are beautiful recoveries. Thumbs up!

That sounds about right. Sometimes I struggle with getting crusty and cynical about the world at large, but my wife reminds me that I am not allowed to live in a piece of paradise and descend into abject saltiness. She tries to keep me from reading too much current events, and if it starts to catch up to me I turn off and head into the hills to get centered and ignore everything outside of my immediate surroundings. I try not to be too curmudgeonly, but damn if I don't seem to be naturally good at it sometimes!

Thanks for the comment, brother.

 

[Coinstar magnet]

That sounds about right. Sometimes I struggle with getting crusty and cynical about the world at large, but my wife reminds me that I am not allowed to live in a piece of paradise and descend into abject saltiness. She tries to keep me from reading too much current events, and if it starts to catch up to me I turn off and head into the hills to get centered and ignore everything outside of my immediate surroundings. I try not to be too curmudgeonly, but damn if I don't seem to be naturally good at it sometimes!

Thanks for the comment, brother.

Always welcome my fellow curmudgeon!

 

[nagant]

cupels? had to look that up Wouldn't mind seeing some more from your museum, Thanks for the great story.