DownNDirty
Bronze Member
Last weekend I returned to the field where I have located three home sites. I had hit one of the older sites pretty hard with my 5X8 coil and decided to go back and work it again with the 8X11 (for a little bit of extra depth). A lot of times, at these older sites the smaller coil is just out of range of some of the relics and an extra inch or so in depth can make a big difference. One of the relics I had previously found at the site was a coat-sized SC militia button; I'll post that hunt later (I must be stuck in the continuum lol).
Well I started out by finding a couple of coins-a 1934 quarter (my first silver quarter) and a 1910 wheatie that is in decent shape.
Working through the site I found a flat button, then a two-piece civilian button. Then, after digging some trash targets I picked up a good signal and dug a small two-piece button. Right away I noticed an intricate raised design on the front . A gentle wipe with my finger revealed a palmetto tree and I instantly knew that I had dug a cuff-sized South Carolina button.
I could tell that it was in excellent condition and had a lot of silver wash still on it; I knew it would clean up well. At the end of the hunt I wiped off the back and read the back mark: "Hayden Gregg & Co/Charleston." Later research told me that this firm was a jeweler/silversmith in Charleston that produced silver and other items under that name from 1838 to 1843. The history of the company makes no mention of them producing buttons. Albert's lists a one-piece SC militia button for Hayden Gregg & Co but no two piece version; apparently this is a pretty rare button. It is in exceptional condition and completely intact; here it is after cleanup
So back to the hunt...
I continued to work the site with the larger coil. A couple of two-piece buttons, the back of another one, a keyhole cover, etc. Then the AT Pro rang out a solid mid tone of 67 . I dug the hole, pinpointed, and pulled out (to my surprise) another SC militia button-this one coat sized
This one has a "Shuyler H&G/New York" back mark-the same as the militia button I found on a previous hunt. Buttons with that back mark date to the 1850s, and many of them were made by Scovill
This is the fifth SC militia button I've found this year plus one last year
Here are my finds for the day.
Well I guess I know where I'll be hunting this weekend
Well I started out by finding a couple of coins-a 1934 quarter (my first silver quarter) and a 1910 wheatie that is in decent shape.
Working through the site I found a flat button, then a two-piece civilian button. Then, after digging some trash targets I picked up a good signal and dug a small two-piece button. Right away I noticed an intricate raised design on the front . A gentle wipe with my finger revealed a palmetto tree and I instantly knew that I had dug a cuff-sized South Carolina button.
I could tell that it was in excellent condition and had a lot of silver wash still on it; I knew it would clean up well. At the end of the hunt I wiped off the back and read the back mark: "Hayden Gregg & Co/Charleston." Later research told me that this firm was a jeweler/silversmith in Charleston that produced silver and other items under that name from 1838 to 1843. The history of the company makes no mention of them producing buttons. Albert's lists a one-piece SC militia button for Hayden Gregg & Co but no two piece version; apparently this is a pretty rare button. It is in exceptional condition and completely intact; here it is after cleanup
So back to the hunt...
I continued to work the site with the larger coil. A couple of two-piece buttons, the back of another one, a keyhole cover, etc. Then the AT Pro rang out a solid mid tone of 67 . I dug the hole, pinpointed, and pulled out (to my surprise) another SC militia button-this one coat sized
This one has a "Shuyler H&G/New York" back mark-the same as the militia button I found on a previous hunt. Buttons with that back mark date to the 1850s, and many of them were made by Scovill
This is the fifth SC militia button I've found this year plus one last year
Here are my finds for the day.
Well I guess I know where I'll be hunting this weekend
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Those SC buttons are fantastic. If it wasn't for me having an extreme bias towards the button design of my home state of VA, then the SC would be my favorite. Haha. I really like the palmetto tree design on those. Now I just need to find a VA and SC. Another awesome hunt man... Looking forward to the next.
) and I noticed that the shine that I had put on it carefully with metal polish had dulled noticeably, as silver often does. So today I had it tested by a jeweler and found out that it is indeed made of solid silver! Pretty unusual; I have never heard of a South Carolina button with a solid silver top. But if you think about it, the maker was a silversmith so this kind of makes sense; my guess is that it was made of coin silver.
