IRON BRIGADE makes a COPPER Delivery

[MORE photos below:]

Hello All,


Got out with HB today for a hunt at a new site.  When we first got on the land (1000 acres) it was overwhelming.  I started looking at the geography after we struck out in the first spot, and crossed a drainage ditch in the soybean field.  When HB and I made it up to the next flat, we got iron hits.    HB immediately dug a large buckle that looks like very high quality pewter perhaps.  The only other buckle like it that I have seen was one I dug at a 1700s site two years ago.  The buckle is cast, and it is uneven and crude.  If anyone has some information on this find please let us know.

Well, I then dug a nice hallmarked pewter spoon handle (W M(?) C o)--the "o" looks like a superscript.  So things were looking up.  We knew we were on an old site.  

Then a flat button came up, some musketballs, a thimble, and some other pieces of brass.  HB then gave a big "Oh Boy!" and I knew he had a good one.  When I came over I saw the Beautiful sight of Big Copper beside his dig hole.  











Then HB dug a Civil War era Eagle Button (unfortunately bent into an Eagle Taco by the plow).    Then a few more bits.  I was worried that I was getting skunked.  The sun started going down, casting long shadows on the cut field.  The targets were very thin, and there was hardly any big iron to dig--but what targets there were, were good ones.  I was just wanting one more keeper or two...  Then I got a choppy "blip blip" signal.  I raised up my coil to swat away a piece of soybean stalk that was still clinging to the dirt overtop of the signal and the detector went off "BAM!"  I realized that whatever I had was very shallow and was giving a double signal at close range.  So I stuck my shovel in the dirt--and no sooner did I start to lift up the ground, then a Copper levitated itself up towards my finds pouch!    



















We dug a bit more, and HB got a nice little ball button complete with shank.  Then we were met by the property owner in the field, had a chat with him, said goodbye and thanked him, and headed back to the truck.  


Now this is my kind of Tailgate Party:  















MORE photos below:  

Here are my finds.  My Large Cent was an 1819 (a year I hadn't dug before).  I was also very happy to take a closer look at a piece of brass I found.  It is an Enfield trigger housing.    











And here are HB's finds--his LC was a Super Nice 1848.  Nice large buckle, eagle button taco, excellent decorated flat button, and a mystery piece of metal with writing on it.     (Any help on that one is appreciated.)











Here are close-up shots of the two Largies.  Mine is worn out and holed--but HB gets some serious Congrats for such a sharp coin:















 

Sweet LC!!
Awesome  Assortment Of Relics 
HH!!

Congrats on the nice finds to both of you!   

But how did you figure out that was a piece of a gun??   

That's great detective work!   

Congrats on the nice finds to both of you!   

But how did you figure out that was a piece of a gun??   

That's great detective work!   

Well...you stare at enough parts diagrams to 100-year-old weapons and it all starts to sink in, eventually. 


That's why IDing finds is so important.  I've gone home several times thinking I was skunked, then ID something as the find of the month. 


Thank you for your reply, my friend.


Cheers,



Buckles

Hi buckle Nice finds, Thats 2 things you find quite often which i cannot. Whole buckles and really old buttons. Got any tips .

                                    tinpan



                                     

If only 2 out of 10 days of hunting down fur trade can be sooo productive as your days with HB ,great finds BUD 

  Great day!  I'm not sure if Kirk will post at all now. 

  I believe your buckle dates with the other finds that are well into the 1800s.

Great Bunch of Finds ! Love that Olde Stuff 

Congratulations to the I.B. for such a bountiful hunt. Nice couple of coppers and it's always a winning day to find a coin with a year that you have'nt found yet. I'm really impressed with your identifying expertise. That exploded diagram of the rifle says it all. Makes me wonder about all the times I was stumped with what I can not identify. I'm glad to see that your research is paying dividends.
Chris

Great day out in the Kentucky fields, Buck! You have been rolling lately. It sure is nice to see more coppers being posted.

Kirk

Awesome job BB,
You sir are on a roll. 
Thanks for sharing the parts diagram. I'm going to print that out for reference.
Have a good weekend,
Doug

Hi buckle Nice finds, Thats 2 things you find quite often which i cannot. Whole buckles and really old buttons. Got any tips .

                                    tinpan



                                     

Tin,


I would imagine that there are a good many decorative sash buckles to be found any any gold rush area.  And of course, buttons too.  But perhaps the area is not quite early enough for flat buttons...or maybe they were wearing those new fangled denim jeans.  The only tip I can give on the buttons is minimum discrimination and dig it all. 

The whole buckles will come eventually--especially if you're occasionally finding pieces of them.


Best Wishes,



Buckles

GOod job indeed.

Good finds  love the pictures 

Great finds buckles...Thanks for the diagram   

Buck,

As IP has said many times, once your coil is on fire, it is hard to put it out.  I don't see any skunks coming from you guys in the near future. 

Keep building upon your 2009 Fall success, Buck!  I know we'll be seeing more greenies very soon.

Kyle

Congrats on finding a new ,old  site and your 1819 has "Liberty" nice!!!  Look at that spoon !!I can imagine a huge John Deere pulling a 60 blade disc harrow making tacos out of stuff in that field ,happens here too,  hope it didn't wack any   old coins  .  

nice job! Gotta love digging those coppers!

  Thats a nice variety of finds you both found  congrats
Am i the only one that notices the letters carved in HB's 1848 LC ?



         good luck diggin    Mike

  Thats a nice variety of finds you both found  congrats
Am i the only one that notices the letters carved in HB's 1848 LC ?

[ ERROR: SPECIFIED ATTACHMENT MISSING ]

         good luck diggin    Mike

GREAT eye, Mike.  I think I see a "T" and maybe an "E" as well.

BB,

Nice work. Do you think you will be able to straighten out the taco, er, eagle button?

Congrats on another great hunt, its always nice to get a nice variety like that and that's a nice half an arrowhead!

You must have found the spot where the gunsmith made field repairs.

Nice hunt and finds!

Once again, very nice finds!! You've inspired me to hunt some fields, although I am a bit hesitent to leave the lawn. In fact , we're having a Dayton Diggers' group hunt at an old farm in OH tomorrow. 1871 county atlas suggests it may be fun. 

  Thats a nice variety of finds you both found  congrats
Am i the only one that notices the letters carved in HB's 1848 LC ?

[ ERROR: SPECIFIED ATTACHMENT MISSING ]

         good luck diggin    Mike

GREAT eye, Mike.  I think I see a "T" and maybe an "E" as well.

Looks like that LC belonged to "Walter."   


I don't know if the taco can be straightened without the shield popping out...any progress, HB?

Very nice recoveries!!
Good ID on the rifle piece!

  Thats a nice variety of finds you both found  congrats
Am i the only one that notices the letters carved in HB's 1848 LC ?

[ ERROR: SPECIFIED ATTACHMENT MISSING ]

         good luck diggin    Mike

I've been trying to figure out what it say's but can't make it out.
It does look like "Walter" but it's not, sorry PA guys.

  Thats a nice variety of finds you both found  congrats
Am i the only one that notices the letters carved in HB's 1848 LC ?

[ ERROR: SPECIFIED ATTACHMENT MISSING ]

         good luck diggin    Mike

GREAT eye, Mike.  I think I see a "T" and maybe an "E" as well.

Looks like that LC belonged to "Walter."   


I don't know if the taco can be straightened without the shield popping out...any progress, HB?

The "taco" is what it is. Haven't tried to straighten it, sorry.

I find that rubbing some charcoal  (burnt cork) into the letter helps them stand out and makes it easier to read.  Great finds.

Congrats on another great hunt, its always nice to get a nice variety like that and that's a nice half an arrowhead!

What arrowhead?
Don't recall any arrowheads being found?

I find that rubbing some charcoal  (burnt cork) into the letter helps them stand out and makes it easier to read.  Great finds.

Will have to try that. Thanks

Congrats on those sweet finds Buckles

The "taco" is what it is. Haven't tried to straighten it, sorry.

Probably wise.  You have the rarest Eagle Button of any of us--the Goddard backmark one.  So that's some consolation, I guess.  Those shields pop out very easily, and that ain't no little dent.


-BB

   Hill Billy if you can't read the letters with a loupe if it was me i'd leave it the
way it is  it's a great find and the letters make it more special  I just read your
state had civil war activity from 1862 - 1865  Beings you found an eagle button
and Buckle Boy found an enfield rifle piece   I'm thinking maybe a soldier had a
little time on his hands and carved those initials
   You both scored a copper and i'd call that a great day for both of you

            good luck diggin to both of you   Mike

   

thats some great finds ya got there!!!  gonna try that charcoal thing. congrats!!  willy

Another good hunt by the IB and another good post BB.   Iron Brigade has been having a great year for coins and relics.

Don

If only 2 out of 10 days of hunting down fur trade can be sooo productive as your days with HB ,great finds BUD  

Hardy, you do great work with the recovery of fur trade items.  I just happened to get into a nice streak of coppers here recently.  This one was #5 in 10 days for me alone.  HB really had a nice hunt this time.  I think the Eagle and the buckle are both great finds in addition to his nice LC.  

  Great day!  I'm not sure if Kirk will post at all now.  

  I believe your buckle dates with the other finds that are well into the 1800s.

Have you found a buckle made of similar material as this before, or are you basing your age determination on the style of the piece?  Early 1800s or mid-century?  

Congratulations to the I.B. for such a bountiful hunt. Nice couple of coppers and it's always a winning day to find a coin with a year that you have'nt found yet. I'm really impressed with your identifying expertise. That exploded diagram of the rifle says it all. Makes me wonder about all the times I was stumped with what I can not identify. I'm glad to see that your research is paying dividends.
Chris

That's why I post all, Chris.  I figure even those lumps that I can't ID, someone will help.  And either way, even if I ID them a year, or five years later, I still have a photo and can remember where and when I found the piece.  That is really important, because I will be heading back to this site to see if I can find any more pieces from this rifle.  

The research is going well this fall (although we had to wait an eternity for harvest...).  I think this is due to working out my methods on one area, then realizing that there was a better area to direct my same focus and processes.  Harvest is about 70 percent there now.  So soon, everything will be open to us.


-Buck

you two guys makes us Kentucky boys look good
with all of the great looking recoveries you all make !

           More great finds for HB and "The King of old homesites". Very nice coins and possibilities to locate more CW relics. The best part regarding this hunt is there are 999 more acres to go on the new site and you can bet there are other hot spots there. HH.

Another good hunt by the IB and another good post BB.   Iron Brigade has been having a great year for coins and relics.

Don

It has been a good year, Don.  Last year we were heavier on relics, and this year a bit heavier on coins.  It's been a while since one of us dug a nice silver, so hopefully it is about time for another one to come our way.

           More great finds for HB and "The King of old homesites". Very nice coins and possibilities to locate more CW relics. The best part regarding this hunt is there are 999 more acres to go on the new site and you can bet there are other hot spots there. HH.

We know of four other homesteads on the property, but we're waiting for the harvest to finish.  The owner said that we could search for the one we were after this time, but to let them finish with the soybeans on the other sites first.  I will drop back by and visit him in a few weeks. 




And to the rest of you--thank you ALL for your kind replies. 




Best Wishes,



Buckles