New 1600s site produces silver coin

Bill D. (VA)

Silver Member
Oct 7, 2008
4,711
6,212
SE Virginia
🥇 Banner finds
6
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
2
Detector(s) used
F75 SE (land); CZ-21 (saltwater)
Primary Interest:
Other
But not the kind I was looking for. This is a site I researched last summer that was high on my priority list. There was a mill at this location on the CW era maps, and I was able to trace occupation at the site back to the mid-to-late 1600s. The soybeans weren’t cut until late Jan for some reason, and I didn’t get a chance to knock on the door until a couple weeks ago. After getting permission I walked out in this small field and up the front face of this really nice looking knoll. At that point I started getting into a little bit of iron, and I was quite excited at the prospects for this place. But after 2.5 hours of hunting that first day the finds were extremely disappointing, and very few and far between. I almost wrote it off that day, but decided to go back for another visit this afternoon. Spent another 3.5 hours there and most of that time was spent gridding the top of the knoll. After finding virtually nothing there I slowly made my way down one of the sides of the knoll and eventually got a great hit in the low-to-mid 80s on my F75. And it was very deep too. I figured it was either a copper or a large silver coin. I finally threw it out of the hole after digging down 12” to recover it, and saw a large silver disk glaring through the sandy soil. I was hoping for a 2 reale or something comparable, but wasn’t real pleased when I saw that I had a SLQ. But it was in great shape with very sharp detail so all was not lost. A little later I dug parts of a 1600s buckle and 1700s barrel tap which confirmed the age of the site. I also found a spoon bowl that doesn't appear to be very old, but it does have an interesting mark on it. Anyone recognize that one? It’s like the place had been hunted to death, but the owner had told me he had lived there right next to the field for 40-50 years and had never seen anyone with a detector there. Guess I’ll try and hit it one more time before planting starts as there’s always the chance for a nice little cut piece to pop out at any time.
 

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Upvote 11
Not bad finds at all! Good luck when you go next time! I always enjoy seeing your finds.
 

nice finds bill, i like the hallmark on the spoon, dress weight and of course the slq. targets may be deeper than your 75 will go, if the slq was 12 inches perhaps the older stuff is deeper still. maybe time for the PI. great digs
 

Very nice looking Quarter! Not what youre looking for, but taking home a silver is a good thing! You got some good signs for some older relics so crisscross that place and find out where the old stuff is hidden! Wish you luck! :icon_thumright:
 

Nice score on SLQ Bill ! ... I bet there is a sweet spot there somewhere , who knows maybe when they turned the ground for the winter the buried the good stuff deep ,could be a matter of waiting till they turn it for the spring crop before the plant ...
 

Nice SLQ Bill. Been a while since I dug one of those.
 

Sweet finds Bill.really like that coin and big ole spoon.way to go buddy.
 

So rare to see an SLQ with that beaded rim on the obverse - really a tough find (dug up ) in these grades - I do remember
seeing one a couple years ago or so , that had to have been in almost uncirculated condition - excellent find !
 

Awesome finds, quarter is outstanding. Never found a sl in that good of condition, congratulations
 

Bill D. (VA),
Just to add my compliments to your tenacity to continue trying, that is one fine quarter for your efforts. I've never seen an SLQ in that good of shape!! It would be nice if you could locate an old plat map at the county recorders office for this land that would locate houses and out buildings!! Good success in the future. The story was great and so are the pictures, thanks for a great share............63bkpkr
 

That spoon bowl is the best find of the day for me - that is from a trefid spoon circa mid to late 1600's
I would go back to that site because of that piece alone - I have a bunch of trefid spoon bowls and parts - and one complete one
that is a marking have not seen yet - if complete that spoon could bring up to $400 probaly if not more
maybe ask Crusader if he can help identify that mark

On another note - I was hunting an old farm field yrs back with a friend- we had gotten many coppers and was one of our better fields for reales too
I had gotten a 1 reale an a copper - my friendhad a 1/2 reale and a few coppers
I get an 87+ reading on my XLT - I yell to my friend "Hey I got a steady 87 on my screen" "its at 8 inches" I'm all excited - Im thinking I got a good colonial silver = i dig the hole and see edge of a good size silver and yell to my buddy - "its silver" - he comes a running
I pick it up and wipe dirt of - same as you - standing liberty quarter - what a downer - but hey it could have been a hunk of lead
Congrats on a good hunt and good finds - I'd be back in there with those 1600's finds
 

nice finds bill, i like the hallmark on the spoon, dress weight and of course the slq. targets may be deeper than your 75 will go, if the slq was 12 inches perhaps the older stuff is deeper still. maybe time for the PI. great digs

Unfortunately, I sold my Minelab GPX a couple months ago. It would probably have been a good machine to use at this site as its relatively trash and iron free. But like at most sites, some of the targets are deep and some are right on the surface. That 1600s buckle I dug yesterday was no more than an inch or two deep. I do have a 14" coil for the F75 and maybe I should try that next time.
 

That spoon bowl is the best find of the day for me - that is from a trefid spoon circa mid to late 1600's
I would go back to that site because of that piece alone - I have a bunch of trefid spoon bowls and parts - and one complete one
that is a marking have not seen yet - if complete that spoon could bring up to $400 probaly if not more
maybe ask Crusader if he can help identify that mark

On another note - I was hunting an old farm field yrs back with a friend- we had gotten many coppers and was one of our better fields for reales too
I had gotten a 1 reale an a copper - my friendhad a 1/2 reale and a few coppers
I get an 87+ reading on my XLT - I yell to my friend "Hey I got a steady 87 on my screen" "its at 8 inches" I'm all excited - Im thinking I got a good colonial silver = i dig the hole and see edge of a good size silver and yell to my buddy - "its silver" - he comes a running
I pick it up and wipe dirt of - same as you - standing liberty quarter - what a downer - but hey it could have been a hunk of lead
Congrats on a good hunt and good finds - I'd be back in there with those 1600's finds

Thanks Casper. I thought that was nothing more than a cheap silver plated spoon bowl from the 1800s. Weren't most of the trefid spoons made of silver? I tried looking up the maker's mark online and didn't have any luck. There's definitely a "D" there with what looks like the image of some kind of small bird. Guess I'll post it over on the "What Is It" forum and see if someone can positively ID it. Thanks again for your input.
 

The last time I dug a SLQ was back in the 1990s. And it was dateless. I'd take a nice one any day. Sure, we're out for the older stuff, but it's a nice surprise.

Looks like there's some possibility there in terms of the age of the place.

Cheers,

Buck
 

The Buckle is a good one. The 17th C Spoon bowl could have been lost much later but its a good sign.
 

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