- Joined
- Mar 30, 2020
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- Primary Interest:
- All Treasure Hunting
I started metal detecting about five years ago. But around 9 years ago while working on a nearby colonial house, I found a 1794 and an 1799\1800 over stamp US large cents under the front and back door treads. They looked as though they were placed there for good luck.
It is one of the oldest surviving homes in my area, a 1700's two story colonial saltbox with gabled roof, a classic New England residence made with mortise and tenon pegged frame. A multigenerational cemetery is behind the house with headstones ranging between mid-1700s to early 1800s. It overlooks a still undeveloped bay and estuary.
A New York Ad Exec bought the house. Thankfully he wanted to restore the house whereas most people would have torn it down and built an obnoxious monster-sized home. So he had the home moved to the back of the lot away from the road and dropped it on a new full foundation with attached addition. I did some structural work in the basement and replaced 8 of the old windows. I had a custom fabricator duplicate the old windows in mahogany, but with modern features such as thermal pane and drop down frames for indoor cleaning. I didn't want to go with pine because of the ocean NE winds. They are a beautiful match.
The house is a gem of a timepiece. Horsehair plaster, Roman numeral marked joints and tapered wooden pegs. Low ceilings. Fireplaces. Chair rail. Eelgrass seaweed insulation. The old foundation stones where piled out back and I could recognize they were old ship ballast stones. Smooth, well-rounded, and many not from our area made of basalt. Working at the house I could feel it was haunted. In a good, approving, way. Like someone watching you work over your shoulder. I used to sometimes greet the people whose names were on the gravestones out back.
One of the last things I did there was refinish the old flooring. The back door had some water damage rot so I had to replace some wood. While pulling up the door tread I spotted the 1799\1800 Draped Bust Cent posted here. It was a bit corroded from being damp. When pulling up the front tread, I found a near mint and dry 1794 Cent. There was a tradition of people putting money under the door treads for good luck. I presented them to the homeowner and he was ecstatic! He saved that home and he felt like he made a direction connection with objects from the original owners.
Now that I am a metal detectorist, I get a special thrill when I find one of these early US Cents. My first year I found a crisp 1798 posted here. I have now found several. A couple of years ago on my birthday, I found an1802 Draped Bust with a gorgeous verdigris patina. When I got to my site, I was joking out loud with the resident spirits saying: "You know it's my birthday...and it would be nice to get a present although I am not asking for one." I have found many nice and valuable objects metal detecting, but the 1802 means a lot to me. I feel the good karma for giving the owner his coins has come back to me.
It is one of the oldest surviving homes in my area, a 1700's two story colonial saltbox with gabled roof, a classic New England residence made with mortise and tenon pegged frame. A multigenerational cemetery is behind the house with headstones ranging between mid-1700s to early 1800s. It overlooks a still undeveloped bay and estuary.
A New York Ad Exec bought the house. Thankfully he wanted to restore the house whereas most people would have torn it down and built an obnoxious monster-sized home. So he had the home moved to the back of the lot away from the road and dropped it on a new full foundation with attached addition. I did some structural work in the basement and replaced 8 of the old windows. I had a custom fabricator duplicate the old windows in mahogany, but with modern features such as thermal pane and drop down frames for indoor cleaning. I didn't want to go with pine because of the ocean NE winds. They are a beautiful match.
The house is a gem of a timepiece. Horsehair plaster, Roman numeral marked joints and tapered wooden pegs. Low ceilings. Fireplaces. Chair rail. Eelgrass seaweed insulation. The old foundation stones where piled out back and I could recognize they were old ship ballast stones. Smooth, well-rounded, and many not from our area made of basalt. Working at the house I could feel it was haunted. In a good, approving, way. Like someone watching you work over your shoulder. I used to sometimes greet the people whose names were on the gravestones out back.
One of the last things I did there was refinish the old flooring. The back door had some water damage rot so I had to replace some wood. While pulling up the door tread I spotted the 1799\1800 Draped Bust Cent posted here. It was a bit corroded from being damp. When pulling up the front tread, I found a near mint and dry 1794 Cent. There was a tradition of people putting money under the door treads for good luck. I presented them to the homeowner and he was ecstatic! He saved that home and he felt like he made a direction connection with objects from the original owners.
Now that I am a metal detectorist, I get a special thrill when I find one of these early US Cents. My first year I found a crisp 1798 posted here. I have now found several. A couple of years ago on my birthday, I found an1802 Draped Bust with a gorgeous verdigris patina. When I got to my site, I was joking out loud with the resident spirits saying: "You know it's my birthday...and it would be nice to get a present although I am not asking for one." I have found many nice and valuable objects metal detecting, but the 1802 means a lot to me. I feel the good karma for giving the owner his coins has come back to me.
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