UNBELIEVABLE FINDS OF A LIFETIME! 1728 SPANISH SILVER & 1722 FRENCH COPPER!!

cjon455

Gold Member
Jun 4, 2012
9,207
11,541
Northeast PA
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
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Detector(s) used
Minelab Etrac
Garrett Propointer
Garrett Propointer-AT
Sampson T handle shovel
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting

Got out today down in good old Philadelphia with George. Started out at a 1700s riverfront home hes hit before, I didn't do to hot there but George made a couple of good finds there, I managed a flat button of sorts and the oil lamp part with the wick still attached , I cant quite make out the patent date. 20150623_202453.jpg After that we tried door knocking and let me tell you how very very old and beautiful these homes were. Tried to get permission at 2 different places before George decided to take me to the site of his 8 reale from a few weeks ago. George wanted me to try his CTX3030 all day and see what I thought, I gotta say im impressed with it, its pretty fast compared to my etrac, similar operations/tones/VDI's, etc though. So we get geared up and went down by the pond, within 10 minutes I got a LOUD AND CLEAR 10-41-ish tone, it was 10 40 something, still a blur, I kinda lost focus for a bit when I popped the plug and saw that familiar glimmer of silver, and upon closer inspection I see SPANISH!!!, I carry it over to George, shaking, near puking, lightheaded etc etc etc, and wiped the dirt off it in front of him to reveal the most beautiful coin I have ever dug, the oldest coin I have ever dug, Three hard fought years of wishing/hoping/dreaming brought me to this point, :headbang: 1728 SPANISH SILVER! :headbang: I cant believe it still!!big reale.jpgUntitledsdf.pngUntitled.png George was nice enough to get in touch with Bill D and he identified it as a Spanish pistareen. I was so pumped to get this, George gave me a hard time a bit because of HIS machine on HIS site but it was all in good fun lol! I cant believe it was only 5 inches down, I could've easily got that with my etrac!, ok anyway after that I had a hard time focusing, I was haphazardly detecting around until I sat, focused, and slowed down, managed a few more decent finds such as the 1889 IH, and a Silver Roosie, and a fired musketball. we had to leave shortly after that but I was in the mood for a little more so I headed to the school from 2 weeks ago and very first signal was this Mystery copper,20150623_204940.jpg20150623_174556.jpg20150623_202610.jpg I think I see FRAN___ something on the 2nd line of the one side of it.20150623_202610.jpg its slightly larger than a US quarter, I got 6 wheats after that and left because the sky opened up on me. 20150623_202403.jpg20150623_204924.jpg I don't know if I can ever top this day, likely not and im OK with that, today was by far the greatest detecting day I have ever had, thank you George!!! super awesome of you to share such a killer site with me, hope I can repay you someday

thanks for looking and hh!!!!
 

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Upvote 65
Any day you find Spanish Silver is a good one !
I remember my first one, a 2R and even caught it on "live" video as it popped out of the clump of dirt.
Find of a lifetime...I think so, but not for the Spanish, the French copper of 1721-22 IMO is the find of a lifetime, and here is why I think so. Only 8,000 stayed in the colonies, most of the issue was returned to France.

The last one I recall seeing posted was BuckleBoy about three years ago, consider where he lives you might expect to maybe find one there. anyway BuckleBoy, Bill D., Steve of PA, to name a couple all have found lots of Spanish, but only one, other than yours has showed up for that French Copper, in at least three years. I'm surprised no one else has mentioned it's rarity.

Anyway you did have a great day in the dirt.

PS again that copper is more rare than a CS plate or 8 Reale, at least to dig, and "IT" is the find of the day. You will find more Spanish I can almost guarantee it, but another 9 deniers...not bloddy likely. If you were lucky enough to get just a bit more condition on it it would be banner...and maybe it is anyway.

You should PM Buckleboy for his opinion, if you don't like / believe what I'm saying.

Rick

Rick,
Thanks so much for the reply, The more time goes on, the more significant that 9 deniers seems to me. I believe theres a INCREDIBLE story to as how that may have gotten there. George went on to tell me that during the revolutionary war there was a battle called the battle of Germantown that took place not to far from where I found this, and the place I found it was potentially a camp for the French soldiers. Of course nothing is documented and it can without a doubt never truly be confirmed, but the possibility that a French soldier during the revolutionary war dropped that coin is very intriguing. yes its considerably older than the timeframe of the battle, but like George said, check your pocket change you have right now, I bet a bunch is from the 80s making it 30+ years old, the same scenario of my deniers age as opposed to the battle time frame.

man this coin is becoming more and more interesting to me, sadly I think its too pitted for anymore detail, but at least I can identify it!!!

thanks again!!
 

I trust your find will be up top soon... although if I had to choose, the French Colonie coin does it for me...congrats:occasion14:
thanks dave!, too bad it doesn't have just a tad more detail, but its obvious what it is so im ok with that!
 

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What a fantastic find and story! I bet you were stoked. Welcome to the 1700's club
 

Rick,
Thanks so much for the reply, The more time goes on, the more significant that 9 deniers seems to me. I believe theres a INCREDIBLE story to as how that may have gotten there. George went on to tell me that during the revolutionary war there was a battle called the battle of Germantown that took place not to far from where I found this, and the place I found it was potentially a camp for the French soldiers. Of course nothing is documented and it can without a doubt never truly be confirmed, but the possibility that a French soldier during the revolutionary war dropped that coin is very intriguing. yes its considerably older than the timeframe of the battle, but like George said, check your pocket change you have right now, I bet a bunch is from the 80s making it 30+ years old, the same scenario of my deniers age as opposed to the battle time frame.

man this coin is becoming more and more interesting to me, sadly I think its too pitted for anymore detail, but at least I can identify it!!!

thanks again!!

I have it on good authority that coin belonged to ,
MARQUIS DE LAFAYETTE! !!!!
Let someone prove otherwise. .lol
George
 

I have it on good authority that coin belonged to ,
MARQUIS DE LAFAYETTE! !!!!
Let someone prove otherwise. .lol
George

I cannot confirm nor deny this information lol
 

What a fantastic find and story! I bet you were stoked. Welcome to the 1700's club

yes sir, still am!!!, I had a 1794 half reale last year, these 2 coins crushed my prior oldest coin
 

Congratulations Cjohn that is one awesome coin. Beat my Spanish 2 Reale by 17 years (1747). By the way I got mine on a site that Vino invited me to hunt. He a class act and very generous. Keep up the good work. Happy hunting.
 

Awesome job cjon. Amazing finds.:notworthy:
 

Congratulations Cjohn that is one awesome coin. Beat my Spanish 2 Reale by 17 years (1747). By the way I got mine on a site that Vino invited me to hunt. He a class act and very generous. Keep up the good work. Happy hunting.
thanks rick!, I gotta admit when he said what part of the property he wanted to hit, I was like "ehh, maybe some mercs or roosies" was NOT expecting the super old colonial stuff we both found!!!
 

Great finds !!! What a coin, I'd be shaking too!!
 

Great finds !!! What a coin, I'd be shaking too!!

thank you DD, I cant believe it still, I keep playing that moment over and over in my head when I popped the plug and yelled "SPANISH!!!"
 

That is one beautiful, downright GORGEOUS coin.

Looks like your wishing, hoping, dreaming and most of all, 3 years of HARD WORK and presistence has paid off handsomely.
Congratulations.

You earned that one so don't be afraid to show it off and even brag a little.
 

That is one beautiful, downright GORGEOUS coin.

Looks like your wishing, hoping, dreaming and most of all, 3 years of HARD WORK and presistence has paid off handsomely.
Congratulations.

You earned that one so don't be afraid to show it off and even brag a little.
Thank you garrett, its not everyday I can post a gamechanger, lifetime dream coin that I found!, the best part about this whole treasurenet thing is me being able to share such an experience with literally thousands of enthusiasts just like me. Wish I could've put together a better video of it though, I was so frantic after finding it I just forgot!

Whoo Hoo!
Congrats.
thank ya sir4.jpg
 

I think that copper is rarer

thanks duke, I had no idea what it was and how rare it is until I saw the stream of replies coming in, it appears to be a 1721 or 22 French 9 deniers
super pumped to have a part of the revolutionary war, even though its a small, non military part, it was found right near the battle of Germantown
during the revolutionary war. the place I found it was a 1914 school that way back when was a potential camp for the soldiers! how cool is that!
 

Much More Duke.

Wow Rick I just looked into that coin.
You are so right!! Thats is Rare.
Maybe only a hand full of them left over here..
That is so a BANNER FIND!!!!
My vote is going in..
You Dog Chris!!!
 

Thank you garrett, its not everyday I can post a gamechanger, lifetime dream coin that I found!, the best part about this whole treasurenet thing is me being able to share such an experience with literally thousands of enthusiasts just like me. Wish I could've put together a better video of it though, I was so frantic after finding it I just forgot!


thank ya sirView attachment 1179155

It's definitely appreciated here on T'Net; that's for sure.

Plus, when I see a find like yours I get inspired. If it happened to you than that means it can happen to me or anyone else.

I just hit my one year anniversary in this hobby last Saturday. One year ago I had no clue that I would have a nice jewelry collection going on and have coins in my collection that are over 200 years old, all by just being persistent in going out and digging them up.

So I can definitely imagine what you must be feeling on this one. It's an incredible find. Bask in the glory of it for a while.

But remember, it won't be long at all before you're out looking for the next big find. That's the nature of this crazy addiction.
 

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