More coins, buttons and relics from early colonial site

[Bill D. (VA)]

My buddy Dan already did a great job laying out how our day went yesterday in his post, but I wanted to add my 2 cents as well as a few pics of my finds. First I just wanted to say that I'm in complete awe of this site and the relics and coins it's produced in just 3-4 trips there. You just never know what the next signal will bring, and that thrill can be very motivating and exciting. My finds yesterday are fairly comparable to Dan's with the usual exception of the coins where he got the best of me again. I did end up with a nice 1737 cut piece, and some sort of early copper. It has a large left-facing bust, and I thought it might be of the William & Mary variety but that's a total guess as I haven't had time to dig into my coin books yet. I'm sure some of you will recognize this one immediately. Unfortunately, the back is covered with this hard, gritty crud that us coin hunters always hate to see. Not sure how I'm going to approach cleaning it up, but hopefully that will reveal additional detail to help with the ID. I also dug a ton of buttons and early buckle pieces along with the usual colonial doo-dads. One of my favorite finds was this watch winder with a fish design. You can clearly see the mouth, eye and scales. Not sure if it's as old as many of the other finds, but it's a very cool piece regardless. I was also able to locate a small trash or fire pit in the new hotspot Dan mentioned. I was able to find it through hearing a deep iron signal, and it turned out to be an early colonial hoe blade minus the collar. We marked the spot and will go back and dig it out soon. Anyway, we're going to enjoy this ride as far as it will take us, and the next stop will hopefully be very soon. Until next time, HH ......

 

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[Don in SJ]

Bill, again, a killer hunt and finds! I cannot see enough of your copper to say for sure, but it might be a Charles II copper (1670s). Will look some more, not familar with those that early. (If not it could be one of the French coppers (Louis XVI 1780s?)which again, I am not too familar with, but IP will chime in I am sure)


Don

 

[grasshopper]

Man, I love seeing you post your assortments of colonial goodies!

Those buckles (even though they're broken) look awesome!!

Keep up the good work...

 

[1Radr4lf]

Very cool finds

 

[The Sanddigger]

Watch winder is very cool. Like the cut silver too! Good job!

 

[CRUSADER]

That dolphin eating its tail (Watch Winder) is really cool, I like it!

The 2 half buckles are both 17th C, sadly broken as I normally get them as well.

Not much I don't like out of that lot.

 

[HomeGuardDan]

I did not see the watch winder man, that was cool! Had a blast, and will be back at it soon. For now it is back to the M-F grind at the College.

Dan

 

[Bill D. (VA)]

That dolphin eating its tail (Watch Winder) is really cool, I like it!

The 2 half buckles are both 17th C, sadly broken as I normally get them as well.

Not much I don't like out of that lot.

Thanks Cru. Are you sure that's a dolphin since it has scales??

 

[matt092079]

Gotta love when you get the cut piece with the date! I've been lucky enough to find 2 cut spanish silver and both have the dates.

 

[Bill D. (VA)]

Bill, again, a killer hunt and finds! I cannot see enough of your copper to say for sure, but it might be a Charles II copper (1670s). Will look some more, not familar with those that early. (If not it could be one of the French coppers (Louis XVI 1780s?)which again, I am not too familar with, but IP will chime in I am sure)


Don

Thanks for responding Don. Here's a couple pics of the reverse. The first one is the way it came out of the ground with that hard, gritty crud. I didn't want to wet it, so I used a small wooden stick to scrape off as much of the crud as I could. Still not much detail, but it might provide a few clues and help to narrow things down a bit. Appreciate any additional help you or anyone out there can provide.

 

[lonewolfe]

Excellent! Looks like a great place to dirt fish for sure!

HH

 

[CRUSADER]

Thanks Cru. Are you sure that's a dolphin since it has scales??

roman dolphin - Google Search
I reconsize it as in the Roman 'Style'. During the period this winder was made, anything Greek or Roman was copied.

Although might be Asian Carp, copied from the China ware.

 

[HomeGuardDan]

Bill, I think your coin is a Charles II Bawbee, as the back looks like the thistle that it would contain. Very cool man!

 

[Don in SJ]

Bill, I think your coin is a Charles II Bawbee, as the back looks like the thistle that it would contain. Very cool man!

I think I would have to agree, but Bill has it in hand and perhaps compare with this photo should tell all............nice going if it is! 1649-1685 era.

Don

 

[stewielouie]

Love that watch winder... Congrats on that nice haul!

 

[detroitdigger]

Very cools I finds!

 

[Bill D. (VA)]

Bill, I think your coin is a Charles II Bawbee, as the back looks like the thistle that it would contain. Very cool man!

Great catch Dan! I took a closer look and I'm 100% sure your ID is correct - it's definitely a Scottish Charles II Bawbee 6 pence copper coin. It measures just under the 25mm as listed in the Krause book. Unfortunately I'm not going to be able to get a date off it, but according to the book they were minted between 1677-79 and 1691-97 so it's definitely 17th century. Thanks again for taking the time to check this out. I haven't had the time to figure it out for myself, but I seriously doubt I would have considered that is was Scottish. I tell ya, the process of cleaning and ID'ing the finds is almost as fun as finding them.

 

[Bill D. (VA)]

I think I would have to agree, but Bill has it in hand and perhaps compare with this photo should tell all............nice going if it is! 1649-1685 era.

Don

Don - you can see my reply to Dan's post confirming that his ID was correct. But I wanted to ask you if you thought it would be wise to consider the warm hydrogen peroxide bath for this coin. It has a nice green patina now, and I'd hate to ruin that. And I'm not sure I'm going to get any more details regardless of how its cleaned. So I'm leaning toward leaving as is unless you can convince me otherwise. Thanks again for your help and expertise ..... Bill

 

[Steve in PA]

Another fantastic hunt Bill with a seldom seen coin turning up once again. Love those early buckles and the watch winder is killer!

 

[Bill D. (VA)]

Great catch Dan! I took a closer look and I'm 100% sure your ID is correct - it's definitely a Scottish Charles II Bawbee 6 pence copper coin. It measures just under the 25mm as listed in the Krause book. Unfortunately I'm not going to be able to get a date off it, but according to the book they were minted between 1677-79 and 1691-97 so it's definitely 17th century. Thanks again for taking the time to check this out. I haven't had the time to figure it out for myself, but I seriously doubt I would have considered that is was Scottish. I tell ya, the process of cleaning and ID'ing the finds is almost as fun as finding them.

Another observation and comment. The Krause book dates I mentioned above need to be qualified. The 1677-79 coins were for Charles II (facing left). The 1691-94 were the coinjoined busts of William & Mary (and that's not what I have). The 1695-97 were William III (also facing left). So how can you distinguish between the Charles II and William III varieties without seeing a date? Guess I need to consult some other reference sources and see if there's any notable differences in the bust. But even if so I doubt I could distinguish between the two due to its condition.