I finally got a button.

littlebill31

Full Member
Jul 2, 2011
199
10
Southern Delaware
Detector(s) used
Garrett Ace 350
So on my 5th day ever of hunting, I went to the house next door. The people moved out 3 years ago and it's been for sale. I live in a modern mobile home park, but there are still some oldies left. I found 2 nickles (1990 and 1997) and then under a tree got a good signal. About 5 inches down was this,
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I'm not sure if it's modern or old, but it's my first button, so I'm happy.
It is exactly the same diameter as a quarter.
 

Upvote 0
Welcome :hello:
Congrats on finding your button :hello2:
Looks like a one piece brass,
Appears to have a steel/iron shank, I haven't seen this before :icon_scratch:
Nice Find, I wouldn't call it modern..
keep on diggin, treasure can be around the corner!
HH :thumbsup:
 

Thanks. I'm excited about it. Just finding something different, possibly old is just plain neat.

I also found a 1927 penny in my cash register at work today. My eyes are now peeled for anything and everything.
 

I'm such a dork when I first started i'd thoroughly clean every clad coin. Then look them up in my book. Glad you've discovered metal detecting. It's amazing what's out there to find. Keep it up_neat button :headbang:
 

Very Cool......Nice Flatty!!! Congrat's :thumbsup:
 

Sorry about that, I found ya. It's thicker than mine, but I think it dates to the same era or slightly later (1820's?). It's a little hard for me to tell just how big it is. There was no exact match in my books, but that's not real surprising considering how many manufactures there were out there. Mind you, I am not a button expert. It's a old one!
 

Nice going on the button! It is probably early 1800's based on the shank...maybe a bit older.

You are in a great area for old finds. I remember seeing Spanish cobs dug in the areas not far from Rehoboth.

Now that you have broken the ice I am sure you will find many more. I have one site that has produced more than 300 buttons and many old silver and copper coins from that same era.

All you need to do is walk over it with your detector!
 

Neil in West Jersey said:
Nice going on the button! It is probably early 1800's based on the shank...maybe a bit older.

I agree, could be 1790s-1820s ish. Its a strange one, as it looks like a tombac from that period, has the colour of a copper-alloy type but not the remains of gilt or backmark. So maybe a discoloured tombac due to soil conditions, but hard to tell from photo. Good new is that is definately pre-1840 whatever.
 

Thanks a ton all!!! I'm so addicted to this I haven't worked on my bikes in more than a week. And that's bad. (I have to finish 2 engines for clients) LOL.
The Lewes area here, which includes Cape Henlopen State Park, was settled in 1631 by the Dutch. It's also called "The first town in the first state".
There is also Fort Miles, which was a coastal battery during WWII, at Cape Henlopen S.P. Many UXO are found every year on the beach. Of course you can only hunt on the beaches, east of the dunes, but there are several areas around here that saw very large numbers of movement, either travelers or settlers, and look to be very promising sites. I just need to talk to some of the local landowners to get permission to hunt on their property.

I still laugh because that button was, literally, 30 feet from my house in the old neighbors yard.

Thanks again for everyone's help and for such a great site!
 

littlebill31 said:
Thanks a ton all!!! I'm so addicted to this I haven't worked on my bikes in more than a week. And that's bad. (I have to finish 2 engines for clients) LOL.
The Lewes area here, which includes Cape Henlopen State Park, was settled in 1631 by the Dutch. It's also called "The first town in the first state".
There is also Fort Miles, which was a coastal battery during WWII, at Cape Henlopen S.P. Many UXO are found every year on the beach. Of course you can only hunt on the beaches, east of the dunes, but there are several areas around here that saw very large numbers of movement, either travelers or settlers, and look to be very promising sites. I just need to talk to some of the local landowners to get permission to hunt on their property.

I still laugh because that button was, literally, 30 feet from my house in the old neighbors yard.

Thanks again for everyone's help and for such a great site!

Try any ploughed or previously ploughed fields nearest the oldest occuption :wink: :icon_thumright:
 

I'm working on getting permission. Many of these land owners are always leary of people asking for things. Unfortunately, many people have gotten permission to hunt (wildlife), cut wood, camp, ect and destroy, leave trashed, or over-stay their welcome. Over 50% of Delaware is agricultural, so there is a lot of areas to hunt. But with legal issues, such as "I broke my leg and now I'm gonna sue", owners, fearfully, just tell you to get the hell off their property. I even made a little written contract and liability release, for their piece of mind, but many are still a no-go.
There are a couple 18th century stone buildings, surrounded by plowed fields, that have been uninhabited for a long time that I would love to hunt around.
Hopefully my pleasant attitude will pay off.
 

littlebill31 said:
I'm working on getting permission. Many of these land owners are always leary of people asking for things. Unfortunately, many people have gotten permission to hunt (wildlife), cut wood, camp, ect and destroy, leave trashed, or over-stay their welcome. Over 50% of Delaware is agricultural, so there is a lot of areas to hunt. But with legal issues, such as "I broke my leg and now I'm gonna sue", owners, fearfully, just tell you to get the hell off their property. I even made a little written contract and liability release, for their piece of mind, but many are still a no-go.
There are a couple 18th century stone buildings, surrounded by plowed fields, that have been uninhabited for a long time that I would love to hunt around.
Hopefully my pleasant attitude will pay off.

Over here we have cheap public liability insurance for detecting, maybe you can get this as well? Thankfully I have never needed it as our culture hasn't quite caught up. If I hurt myself its my own fault. (none of the many farmers I know have worried about that issue)
 

littlebill31 said:
I'm working on getting permission. Many of these land owners are always leary of people asking for things. Unfortunately, many people have gotten permission to hunt (wildlife), cut wood, camp, ect and destroy, leave trashed, or over-stay their welcome. Over 50% of Delaware is agricultural, so there is a lot of areas to hunt. But with legal issues, such as "I broke my leg and now I'm gonna sue", owners, fearfully, just tell you to get the hell off their property. I even made a little written contract and liability release, for their piece of mind, but many are still a no-go.
There are a couple 18th century stone buildings, surrounded by plowed fields, that have been uninhabited for a long time that I would love to hunt around.
Hopefully my pleasant attitude will pay off.
You'll do just fine,you got a good attitude!
 

Over here we have cheap public liability insurance for detecting, maybe you can get this as well? Thankfully I have never needed it as our culture hasn't quite caught up. If I hurt myself its my own fault. (none of the many farmers I know have worried about that issue)
[/quote]

Oh I agree. If I break my leg it's my own damn fault, but these money grubbing criers make it hard for the others by always wanting a hand-out.
I talked to an older gentleman about bees, (I also keep honeybee's), and setting a couple hives near his farmette. He was extremely worried about me hurting myself. He told me a man had asked to deer hunt and the guy fell out of the stand. He didn't have a harness on and broke his leg. He then sued the landowner because he had to have surgery. He claimed that the landowner had a lock on a fence gate, he couldn't get it open, and he had to crawl to his truck, causing a longer time to receive medical treatment. The landowner won the case luckily, but now is very weary of people on his property.
It took me 2 years and a lot of helping around his farmette to finally plant some hives.
 

Worldtalker,
His "homestead" is quite modern. I've detected it with only a few scraps and about a dollar in clad. He placed a modular home on it in the mid-'90's. He said it was just brambles and shrubs until he cleaned it up. I live in a very marshy, sandy area.
 

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