IRON Brigade: A Belt Plate, Old Coins, Buttons, and the Road Runner

[BuckleBoy]

Hello All,


I decided to take a few minutes to share stories and photos of my last two hunts with some members of my team. A few days ago, I went out with Hill Billy and got permission to hit a nice site in a cut corn field. It was a beautiful sight that I will hold dearly to in the coming six months when the fields are in crop and we are using a machete to tear through the tick-infested woods in search of a site to detect. I will miss this scenery:Acres and Acres of open space.







We found our iron patch--and boy was it thick! I really think that this homestead was used as a barn after it was abandoned. Right away, HB found the one coin for the day--an 1873 "closed 3" variedy Indian Head Cent.







While HB stuck to the iron patch, flailing the junk iron at a pile we were making to haul away later, I wandered out away from the site, on the off chance that we were working a barn site rather than a house. There was no second iron patch anywhere close by, but as I came back towards where HB was, I snapped a good photo of him swinging away.







He made some interesting finds at the site--including a nice 1830s decorative civilian button, a decorative ladies belt buckle, one of the infamous mystery "two-hole brass thingys," and an odd piece that is gilded, with several chains connecting two discs. My Buckleboy mojo was not working, and I ended up with two large decorative brass grates and a small ornamental Victorian brass ornament. :P Here are some photos of the finds on the tailgate of the truck:











And some photos of the finds after cleaning. (What the heck is the thing in the first photo?)
















Oh ya... and we dug a little iron too:









The story and photos of the second hunt appear in the next reply below:

 

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[BuckleBoy]

So yesterday I teamed up with Rodeo Recon to do a bit more hunting. We went to a place where I strongly suspected that two very old roads met (now just a corn stubble field). We got permission from the wonderful owners and got out on a ridge just above the roads. In looking at the lay of the land, I had hoped that a house or tavern might have once been located on the rise, but I knew the site could be sketchy since the field ended so close to the neighbor's back yard. In other words, I was worried that any potential site there might have have a modern house on it. Well, when we got out on that rise, we found Brick, Stoneware pottery, and Glass!


We then started getting the layout of the site. From the melted brass globules on the ridge, we knew that the structure had sat there, and that it had burned long ago. We then started trying to figure out where the front, back, sides, and patterns of traffic on the site were.


I dug a gold gilded brass wedding band up near the top of the hill, so we went downhill in that direction hoping for more. Here's a photo of the wedding band:







In no time I dug a sewing machine "ruffler" and rodeo found an interesting horseshoe-shaped suspender clip:








We then swept back up the site from the other side. At this side, we found a healthy button patch, digging numerous flatties--and I got a nice large, late-1700s button that had been re-used by punching it and sewing it back on a shirt after the shank had broken. (Most of the large, early buttons we find in this area are recycled or re-used in some way--either as medallions or punched and re-sewn onto a garment. I would imagine that the earliest settlers came with their buttons from the Eastern states, and when the buttons broke, replacements were not available. This was the western frontier during those years.) Rodeo also managed to get two nice IH's:











Once the finds started to dwindle on that side, I crossed the crest again, angling down the other side of the hill. I got a huge iron signal, and when I dug down, right below plow depth were horizontally laid stones. I dug a few of them out of the hole, and noticed ash, glass, and LIME underneath! One would never, Ever imagine finding a privy hole in the middle of a plowed field, but it appears that I had just stumbled on one. I saw layers of stoneware pottery, windowpane glass, and iron nails mixed in. I kept a nice piece of stenciled blue and grey stoneware, marked the hole with the GPS, and will ask the property owners next trip if I can dig it out. I kept getting signals in the bottom of the hole, and after 2 1/2 feet, I decided to stop. But I did find the top portion of a change purse.

(Got my fingers crossed!)


While I was digging a hole to China, Rodeo called me over to show me a nice harness boss that he dug:







We kept at it, with the temperatures approaching 90, and Rodeo managed to get a Great find towards the end of the hunt. He called me over, and I when I heard the word "buckle" come out of his mouth I started to get really excited. When I saw it laying in the hole, I Totally expected an 1820s militia plate (square, with a size of 2 1/2 inches on each side).







When he turned it over--it was blank.







The buckle is made of Thick stamped brass, and I suspect that it may be of the same era as the plates I mentioned above--but I really don't know. The clipped corners got me excited until I remembered that the Confederate clipped corner plates were rectangular.

The tongue on the back of this plate is also very wide--and after cleaning, it appears that the plate was holed in several spots or modified in some way.

I'm curious to see what others think about this find.


Here's a photo of all our finds. Please note the Road Runner HotWheels toy in the photo. (Talk about a surprise target! ):







And a few photos after cleaning. (At this point, the Road Runner had been Banished from the kingdom.)











The ring I found, I was rather pleased with. Coming from a plowed field, and still having a full layer of gilding is Very impressive. I can't even find gilded brass wedding bands in the woods that are that nice. There is some sort of a hallmark on the ring. It says "14" followed by three symbols that look like crowns, followed by a zero within a shield outline. If anyone has information about the meaning of these marks, please let me know.








And a photo of the back of Rodeo's buckle:







Best Wishes,



Buckleboy

 

[Detectingfreak]

Sounds like you had another fantastic hunt buckleboy!

 

[STH69]

Thats some hard work

 

[coltdavis]

Awesome finds! congrats on some sweet relics and old coins as well best of luck and HH

 

[RPG]

Nice couple of hunts. Do you think that may possibly be a colonial hotwheels.

It's amazing what you find mixed in with relics that are a couple of hundred years old.
Looks like Hill Billy got part of a baitcast reel mixed with his.

Randy

 

[RPG]

Sounds like you had another fantastic hunt buckleboy! Some of your pictures were not working unfortunatly

Try again. Didn't work for me the first time. When I went out and got back in they worked.

 

[BuckleBoy]

Sounds like you had another fantastic hunt buckleboy! Some of your pictures were not working unfortunatly

Try again. Didn't work for me the first time. When I went out and got back in they worked.

Yes, it took me 30 seconds or so to load the rest of the photos.


And I saw that piece that HB found, above his coins in the uncleaned finds photo on the truck tailgate. I had no idea what it was until he told me. Maybe someone else was doing some Dirt Fishing with the wrong kind of rod.



Best Wishes,



Buckles

 

[fortbball9]

Looks like you had a couple of very good hunts,Congrats to Hill Billy on the nice Injun.
I know that you can't wait until you can get back there to MD again.And yes it won't
be long before all of them pest (ticks and Mosquito) will be out in full force.
Hope to see some more pics

fortbball9

 

[Colonialhunter]

It is all about the iron patch. If it is there you get coins. That is how I found old Pine/Oak Tree halfpence.

Ronald

 

[RPG]

Hey BuckleBoy...Keep us posted on the privy dig. Curious to see what you find there. Sounds like they filled it up before they quit using it. Lot a stuff in that one.

I've got to buy a probe.

Randy

 

[mlhudson]

great job , buckles
congrates on the really nice finds there, and congrates to HB, too

IRON BRIGADE STRICKS AGAIN-LOL


ps: tell recon good job too-lol

happy hunting all

mlhudson

 

[aa battery]

 

[VOL1266-X]

Nice ring and finds BB!! It takes a lot of experience to look at a potential site AND recover relics there. I see a part of an old pocket watch in one pic. The Iron Brigade always seems to find a part of a watch or clock on your expeditions. HH.

 

[Finman]

The Iron Brigade Rules!! WTG guys, as always great finds and a beautiful ring!! Congrats!!

HH Joe

 

[DD-777]

Great digs all around Buck - I'm sure your "mojo" will return ten-fold the next trip out. Those brass grates will make beautiful end pieces in a display case...

 

[ModernMiner]

BB,
Some nice field finds from the IB again. All the makings of a great hunt; old coins, buckle, jewelry, shards, mystery relics, and the infamous two holed oval pice. Is that a parasol piece I see hiding too?
Loved the pictures. DD-777 and I detected Saturday a bit. I had one tick, and he had about 4. Andy's a larger target so that's expected.
-MM-

 

[DD-777]

BB,
Some nice field finds from the IB again. All the makings of a great hunt; old coins, buckle, jewelry, shards, mystery relics, and the infamous two holed oval pice. Is that a parasol piece I see hiding too?
Loved the pictures. DD-777 and I detected Saturday a bit. I had one tick, and he had about 4. Andy's a larger target so that's expected.
-MM-

It wasn't so bad catching them before they start feasting - it's when you catch at home half-cocked that really bothers me... :P

 

[Old River]

Looks like you hit a gold mine BB. Congradulations....

 

[tsgman]

Very nice relic finds guy's! Congrats and have a great Summer!