Family Property is Older then we thought! Coppers, Silver and Relics!

[BeenFishin]

So my family is in the process of fixing the foundation on our grandparents house. It supposedly dates back to the 1850s and I have found a few old coppers, indian head pennies, wheats, and mercs there before any construction was done. On Thursday 7/18 my friend called me and said that someone was digging up the front and back yard around the house. I was excited, left work about an hour early and headed home to try to save some history. When i got there the crew had left but they cleared about a foot or two around the whole house. I hit the front yard and found a sweet New York State Artillery Button from 1820s-1835 made by Robinson Jones & Co., several indian head pennies, and the last target in the front was a big copper slug that i can just make out the outline of liberty with cap. Hit the side yard up to where the crew left the excavator and found a 1813 Largie. That kinda wrapped it up for day one. I thought it was a pretty good haul considering that i was only there for an hour.
I went back with a friend on monday 7/22 and he picked up a 1854 large cent. I found another indian head, a 1866 shield nickel, a 1896 V Nickel, a KG III, and what i believe to be a half reale with no details. All those targets were around the area that the excavator was sitting on the previous time.
Then it poured for a day and the crew installed the steel beams in the basement and moved the dirt around so i went back again yesterday (Wednesday 7/24) after work. Picked up a 1923 Merc and a stunning 1787 Connecticut Copper! Also im including a picture of all the buttons and other relics i found while there that i didnt mention above. Im gonna keep an eye on the property and see what happens. We havent found the bottle dump yet either.....to be continued...



Lantern Part, Old Lock, Old Bottle Neck, A couple buckles, some pipe stems, a weird thing that im thinking is either an old irrigation tip or cigar holder for smoking it because the angled tips are fluted and seem to be made of similar clay to the pipe stems, Boy Scouts neck thing, a corner to an old shoe buckle frame, copper thimble, some weird watch winder thing?, and a whole butt load of buttons. If you look closely there are two exact buttons that say "RICH ORANGE".




Its a 1820s-1835 New York State Artillery Button. It says "Excelcior" on the top, "N.Y.S.A." in the Banner, "National Guard" on the bottom and "Robinson Jones & Co A" on the back. Found the button info on http://www.georgewashingtoninaugura...ious-state-militia-buttonsinfantry-artillery/




Super sweet 1787 CT Copper. Date is sooooooo visible, not like the pesky KG III below.




1866 Shield Nickel with Rays and Stars!




The Four Big Coppers. 1813 top Left, KG III Top Right, Liberty with Cap no date bottom Left, CT Copped Bottom Right.




Shield again, 1896 V Nickel, 1862, 1882, 1905, 1880 Indians, most likely a half reale, and a 1923 Merc.

 

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[BeenFishin]

WOW!!!!!! Get back and dig!!!!

Im going back today with a ground probe to try to find the privy/bottle dump. And of course see if the crew moved anymore dirt around.

 

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[BeenFishin]

Argh! Gasp! A whole collection you've got there! And the stuff is in great shape!

Yea man. The dirt around the house is very sandy. Most of the coppers come out nice.

 

[BeenFishin]

Congrats on your finds BF.
This is an interesting looking sash buckle.

Dave

I agree Dave. The whole thing is one piece and its very fragile. Not sure what it would go to. Maybe a fancy woman thing?

 

[BeenFishin]

Really nice finds and to be possibly lost by a relative? Priceless family history there!

Ahhhh, i think my relatives were still back in poland at that time. I dont think they immigrated here until the 1850s or so. This stuff has dates going back to the late 1700s and records of the property only go back to around 1840-1870. The basement has stone walls where we think the original foundation was. The rock walls would make the house way smaller then it was when my grandparents moved in. Which is typical of Long Island farm houses. They built a main room then kept adding on when able.

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Wow! Great hunt with some cool relics and fantastic coins, congrats!

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

I agree Dave. The whole thing is one piece and its very fragile. Not sure what it would go to. Maybe a fancy woman thing?

Your buckle is made of stamped brass, with a silver wash and likely dates to the first quarter of the 20thc. It was typically worn around a ladies waist and is a common find on homestead sites. These started to appear in the late-Georgian Period and lasted over 100 years until the 1930s when clothing styles changed. We often see similar stamped brass items, although without this type of fancy decoration, with either two or three teeth. These were the adjustment slides on 19thc belts, to take up slack thereby creating a tight fit. In recent years, detectorists and collectors have come to refer to these as belt "keepers" or "adjusters". From researching period advertisements of the era, I've noted they were known then as belt "slides". These may have been worn as an adjustment slide on a Victorian era belt, or in this case, serving as the entire buckle for a fancy women's belt. My impression is that these are most likely women's civilian items.

Dave

 

[washingtonian]

Wow! A half real? Great haul overall. That’s a lot of good coins.

 

[The Rebel]

Awesome hunt!

 

[Bad Knees Bob]

What great finds. Congrats.
Time to put an executive “stop work” order on the remodel and spend a few days pounding the yard. Do this every time they move dirt around !
Keep posting your finds.

 

[smallfoot]

That was some fine hunting!

 

[BeenFishin]

Your buckle is made of stamped brass, with a silver wash and likely dates to the first quarter of the 20thc. It was typically worn around a ladies waist and is a common find on homestead sites. These started to appear in the late-Georgian Period and lasted over 100 years until the 1930s when clothing styles changed. We often see similar stamped brass items, although without this type of fancy decoration, with either two or three teeth. These were the adjustment slides on 19thc belts, to take up slack thereby creating a tight fit. In recent years, detectorists and collectors have come to refer to these as belt "keepers" or "adjusters". From researching period advertisements of the era, I've noted they were known then as belt "slides". These may have been worn as an adjustment slide on a Victorian era belt, or in this case, serving as the entire buckle for a fancy women's belt. My impression is that these are most likely women's civilian items.

Dave

So i was right? It IS a fancy woman thing? Thanks for the info Dave! I always love how the t net community dishes out the facts!

 

[BeenFishin]

What great finds. Congrats.
Time to put an executive “stop work” order on the remodel and spend a few days pounding the yard. Do this every time they move dirt around !
Keep posting your finds.

Yea, they mixed in and spread out some insulation from the basement that had one side of flaky aluminum or some kind of metal. Went back yesterday and only found a dandy button. Rest is masqed by the trash but im waiting on a ground probe to locate the privy!