What is it, why, and how -New Photos -Updated - The Answer -2nd Coin added

Don in SJ

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May 20, 2005
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Of course it is a 1798 Large Cent, but hmmmmmmn, what is that on the right side? How did it get there and why?

This coin found by my son was found at a site that the newest coin found there 1805 Draped Bust Half Cent by me. By the looks of the site, it was abandoned in the early 1800's and forgotten about, so whoever and however the mark got on the coin is a mystery.

I have had one suggestion on how it it was done but I would love to see it done to prove the theory.

It is a unusual find.

Don
 

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Re: What is it, why, and how -Updated - The Answer

Don in SJ said:
It is a unusual find.

Don

i do think you have a mint error,a possible alignment marker is what the cross could well be,as for knife cuts - i have somthing like your coin,ill scan and post when i get a chance!....
 

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Re: What is it, why, and how -Updated - The Answer

Well, forget all theories of it being a mint die error, It was experts from ANR/Stacks that said a knife made the cross and I just saw a small photo of the second cross coin my son found and he says it is definitely scratched in, very similar to the raised one I posted but the scratches are still visible. I asked for him to send me a photo of that coin and I will put it side by side with the raised cross one for comparison, by the way, he found them a few years apart but only inches from each other...

I cannot post the photo since he sent it to me in PDF format since he has his old coins photographed and logged in on a MS Word document that is rather large..

Don

PS, If I do not get a jpg from him by tomorrow I will take a photo of the coin on the computer screen from the PDF file and post that, although it is a small photo but might be good enough.
 

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Re: What is it, why, and how -Updated - The Answer

Don in SJ said:
Well, forget all theories of it being a mint die error, It was experts from ANR/Stacks that said a knife made the cross and I just saw a small photo of the second cross coin my son found and he says it is definitely scratched in, very similar to the raised one I posted but the scratches are still visible. I asked for him to send me a photo of that coin and I will put it side by side with the raised cross one for comparison, by the way, he found them a few years apart but only inches from each other...

I cannot post the photo since he sent it to me in PDF format since he has his old coins photographed and logged in on a MS Word document that is rather large..

Don

PS, If I do not get a jpg from him by tomorrow I will take a photo of the coin on the computer screen from the PDF file and post that, although it is a small photo but might be good enough.

Or print it off & scan it back in?
 

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Re: What is it, why, and how -Updated - The Answer Plus 2nd Coin

OK, I took a photo from my sons virtual coin book he emailed me, again, it is a PDF file so I could not save the pics and post so I took a photo of my computer screen, and then cropped them and put them into one photo.

The first one he found is a scratched Cross, the second one is raised, where the metal started to fold over due to wear as stated in an earlier post.

Why the individual did this, who knows, if it were a cache of Large Cents, only two were found, most likely he was bored and that was his thing to do. :)

If and when my son sends a good quality photo of the first cross cent I will post them here for better viewing.

Don
 

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Re: What is it, why, and how -Updated - The Answer -2nd Coin added

Try reverse hunting or using mixed mode if you've got a mixed mode capability with your detector to explore for deeper signals. If you happen accross another one of those coins you can almost bet that someone was marking their coins for security...whether or not their cache was here is another question. Could be from someones cache that they liquidated and someone or more than one someone happened to drop these in the same spot. Sergei has a few tips at the below link on cache location and recovery. Pretty interesting. Let us know how you make out becasue hey...our ground is going to frozen in a month or so and we will have to get our fix drooling over your finds.
http://metaldetectingworld.com/recovery_of_coin_cache_in_the_field_p1.shtml
 

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Re: What is it, why, and how -Updated - The Answer -2nd Coin added

When I originally posted the first coin with the cross on it, I was not aware that my son found two coins in the exact same spot so now with the added information provided by both ANR/Stacks personnel and the photo and what my son has said about the second coin, seems to confirm what ANR has said that the coins were scratched with a knife and that wear over time allows the metal to blend over the scratch giving it the appearance of an added raised marking.

The additional coin my son found is basically a scratched X, which means either it was not worn as much or the individual did not go as deep into the metal as he did on the other one.

I would think the wear would indicate the coins are not part of a current hidden cache there since the one indicates a bit of wear on the cross to get that effect. What the true story behind these two coins is, I am sure will never be known, but they are interesting to say the least.

Without a doubt the same individual inscribed both coins and most likely lost both coins at the same place.

Since I am currently hunting in or near that area I have slight hope of finding a third one, now that would be cool.

Don
 

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i dont know....i gotta see the coin in hand to determine....
but if your getting 2 or 3 with the same cross on it then its from someone markin thier property.....good luck
 

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