Spanish Silver, American Copper, CW, and lots in-between.

[OutdoorAdv]

I was having one of those "Vino Hunts" today... that's where no matter where you dig your plug, something awesome is under it. I was on such a roll, I think I could have just put down my detector and randomly dug holes.

Today started off slow and a few hours in, all I had were 2 flat buttons. I finally wandered far away from my typical hot spot and got a nice whisper and out came my nicest Draped Bust Large Cent ever... an 1803. My Draped Busts are always super toasty, so I was pretty happy. I worked my way into a grid on an area I've already hit from two directions many times. For whatever reason today, I was able to isolate "targets" that were not really targets... a blip... or click... with no iron. These were all deep and on the verge of detection. I got a nice CW cuff button, a nice 1830 LC and a load of other relics this way. Some of the smallest and deepest targets I've ever dug.

I've been on a silver drought since I dug the Pistareen back in May. It had gotten a bit ridiculous, but the places I like to hunt are older, so I get more coppers. I sent Vino a text last night and said "Tomorrow, something silver is going to surface. That's the plan." This morning, while detecting, I stopped by my pack to grab a drink and I saw I had a text from Vino that said "Silver silver silver silver!!".

Turns out his good luck works through text too.



It was a great way to end my drought. Both the 2 reale and 1 reale were clicks... no real signal and very deep. Because of this, the 2 reale got nicked on the back and I was pretty upset... a few steps away, the 1 reale popped out and I was instantly happy again.

Lots of shoe buckle frame pieces (one with makers mark), CW General service cuff button, ANOTHER piece to my Calvary shoulder scales, a few tombac's, an eagle backed flat button and a large bore pipe stem... oh, and a nice plated suspender buckle.





Very happy with the DBLC. Lots of detail left on this one... its too bad this one wasn't dropped in the soil I dug the 1817 from a few days ago. It would be perfect.







Any idea on this makers mark? Its on the back of one of the shoe buckle frame fragments.



My growing shoulder scales... all the scales are in the same 20x20' area, but they are very masked so its tough to find them... hopefully I'll end up with most of it when I'm all done.



This blows me away, but I have found shoe buckle pieces, in different areas at this site, that actually fit together. Two pieces from today fit together with some other fragments I dug in past hunts.



Any clue what these are?? I have 5 of them now from the same site. Do they sit on top of a wood handle and an iron tool would go through the square hole?... like a file, or sickle, or draw knife.



Happy Hunting and Merry Christmas T-Net!

 

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[Vino]

Wow, what a hunt Brad!!!
You were in the zone today..
LCs, Spanish 2×. Buttons buckles, you name it..
And to tops things off this is your pounded site. .
Sounds like you have the ear for the deus now!!!!
Them round disc's could be 1700s furniture hardware
Congrats on your overdue Silvers.
Glad my mojo worked out..lol

 

[Loco-Digger]

Awesome hunt ODA. I love each and every item in the pic. Id say you had a "Vino day"

 

[Palmetto]

Good gracious-fantastic digs and congrats on the two Spanish silvers.

Russ

 

[mikefromIllinois]

WOW. Nice digs, good write up, and really like the coins, especially those 2 silvers. Congrats.

 

[bearbqd]

THAT is an excellent hunt and site. Congrats on all of it.

 

[ironhorse]

Nice looking bunch of finds!
I like the coins, it's the stuff I like to find!

 

[Bill D. (VA)]

Brad - I know we've already talked a couple times today, but I can't say enough about your fantastic day. I know its a great feeling to be able to keep going back to a site knowing that just about anything could pop out. And while you and George duke it out for T'Net king I'm left behind in your dust ... haha! But you've provided me and many others with motivation to get out there and make something happen. You sure did today. Good luck hitting that spot again tomorrow.

 

[Brian W]

Wow that's quite the haul...love the buckle pieces and coppers...2 Spanish Silvers that's incredible...Congrats on a stellar day

 

[bluegrass digger]

Fantastic finds! TWO Spanish silvers, wow. I would sift that area. No telling what you would find. Congrats!

 

[detectahead]

Very impressive! Love those clicks! Congrats!

 

[Gridwalker306]

Impressive hunt, all quality stuff...and I love the Spanish!!

 

[UnderMiner]

Very neat, those silver Reales are really cool looking. The 2 Reale especially, it has a very sharp image. Wonder if they were minted in Mexico, this is the most common origin of Spanish silver in the American colonies. Another popular Spanish mint was the Potosi mint in Bolivia. I consider all Spanish silver from the 16th-early 19th century to be blood money as many enslaved natives died mining it, Potosi was especially notorious. I read one story that said the mules that the Spanish used to pull the ore from the mountain at Potosi would die so often from overwork that the Spanish eventually replaced the mules with African slaves, which apparently were worth less to the Spanish than were the mules. The native South American slaves of the Spanish in Potosi were called the "Mita", they were the descendants of Incan peasants who were also forced to dig for silver in their time, not by the Spanish, but by the Incan king himself. So when we say the Spanish were cruel to the natives, they were in fact no more cruel to the natives than were the Incan kings who came before them. As it turns out, the original Incan government created the Mita system of slave labor, the Spanish arrived and simply kept it going. Crazy part is the original mines at Potosi are still operating today, and it seems working conditions haven't really improved that much.

 

[OutdoorAdv]

Wow, what a hunt Brad!!!
You were in the zone today..
LCs, Spanish 2×. Buttons buckles, you name it..
And to tops things off this is your pounded site. .
Sounds like you have the ear for the deus now!!!!
Them round disc's could be 1700s furniture hardware
Congrats on your overdue Silvers.
Glad my mojo worked out..lol

Thanks a TON man. Your mojo really did work... I'm not superstitious, but I know that a positive attitude and good mindset can make or break a hunt. Until yesterday I had been misinterpreting what you've been telling me about these types of signals on the Deus. I thought they had to actually be faint signals... I found myself digging plugs because I had a "feeling" and it really paid off. Then, hearing you tell me about your $5 gold was just icing on the cake. Thanks again George.

 

[Isaac]

Congrats!!! That seriously is awesome!!! The feeling when you keep going back to a site and knowing what you missed is astonishing! You wouldn't believe it until you REALLY listen. That also motivates me as well for today! Two full Reales in one day is mind blowing!

 

[OutdoorAdv]

Awesome hunt ODA. I love each and every item in the pic. Id say you had a "Vino day"

View attachment 1250399

Thanks Loco! Vino's been having such an incredible\outstanding\amazing year, I've started to use "Vino" as an adjective to describe something awesome. When I got that 1817 LC the other day I told him it was "in vino condition".

 

[Ahab8]

Amazing brother! Super happy for you man. What a day you had. I am such a sucker for Spanish silver. And all of the relics are just incredible. I'm about to step out of my truck. I hope I have just a little of the luck you had bud. Congrats

 

[OutdoorAdv]

Good gracious-fantastic digs and congrats on the two Spanish silvers.

Russ

Thank you Russ! When I realized I hit the 2 reale the first thing I thought of was the awesome 4 reale you just dug. I was thankful mine was pretty worn and not nearly as old or nice as yours... it would have broken my heart if it was an old one and I destroyed it.

WOW. Nice digs, good write up, and really like the coins, especially those 2 silvers. Congrats.

Thanks Mike! It gives me renewed hope that there's more there waiting for me.

THAT is an excellent hunt and site. Congrats on all of it.

Thanks bearbqd! This site has been something special. It's produced some of the best relics I've found.

Nice looking bunch of finds!
I like the coins, it's the stuff I like to find!

Thanks IH! It's been a while since I had a hunt where I ran out of container space to pack things up. Sure is a blast to dig that many keepers.

Brad - I know we've already talked a couple times today, but I can't say enough about your fantastic day. I know its a great feeling to be able to keep going back to a site knowing that just about anything could pop out. And while you and George duke it out for T'Net king I'm left behind in your dust ... haha! But you've provided me and many others with motivation to get out there and make something happen. You sure did today. Good luck hitting that spot again tomorrow.

Thanks a ton Bill. I've dug dozens of tombacs that look like reales in a dirt ball, so it was just awesome to actually get some reales for a change... and back-to-back plugs at that. Hitting the back of the 2 reale was a real bummer, but thankfully it was just a Carlous III and not something older. George is King of Mt. Everest and I'm king of the dirt pile left behind after a construction project. haha

 

[Old Dude]

Congrats on a killer day! Let's just ignore George and his single little gold coin. You're king for the day! Lol. I was wondering if maybe those square holed items were some type of escutcheon but I see George already suggested that. He even beats me there!
Great, great finds!

 

[Steve in PA]

Incredible day Brad, double Spanish days don't happen too often. You had a nice coin day. All your other relics are great as well. I have heard those round items with square holes are saddle conchos.