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Indian Heads And A Rare Cartridge


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Thursday I decided to hunt a 1/4 acre patch of woods near a old 18th century hotel. When I first started in I noticed a couple of old detecting holes, which had me a little discouraged. Good thing I didn't leave, because after finding the complimentary trash I got a real good hit an dug it. To my amazement it was an 1864 indian head cent. Another 20 minutes later I scored on a colonial button and two old harness buckles. Off to the next spot another woodlot. I was headed across a rather large field swinging as I was headed to the woods and bingo, a great tone. Rifle shell casing in the bag. I walked 30 yards and again a good solid hit. Another indian head cent this time a 1902. Needless to say I never did make it to the woods. When I got home and looked at the shell case, it was a very rare REM-UMC head stamped  256 Newton. These were produced from 1916 to 1921. They were made from old 30-06 brass after WW1 and I believe were replaced by the more popular 25-06. Oddly I was more excited over the shell case. I think its time to grid the field cause its huge. Also it's pretty nice to snipe an 1864 coin from a recently hunted spot!

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5 hours ago, dogodog said:

When I first started in I noticed a couple of old detecting holes, which had me a little discouraged.

Well maybe it's just my hope, but if they aren't human enough to respect the property, maybe they aren't smart enough to find the good stuff.  They certainly don't deserve it.

The 1864 bronze IH has a variety with the engraver's initial 'L' which is a semi-key.  You might (carefully) see if you can find it.  Still an excellent find, regardless.

What is that other disc at the bottom of your first photo?

 

 

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The disc is a colonial button, and as for the L, that small area is covered by some corrosion. I'm a little nervous to clean that area to much. Do the L versions weigh different?

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Very nice finds and some good detecting on your part, good luck on your next hunt.

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13 hours ago, dogodog said:

...As for the L, that small area is covered by some corrosion. I'm a little nervous to clean that area to much. Do the L versions weigh different?

No, not compared to the bronze version without 'L'.  However, turns out there is another way to distinguish -- the lowest left part of the bust.  Go to PCGS and look at the photos of the 1864 (no 'L') bronze (PCGS # 2076) and the 1864 with 'L' bronze (PCGS #2079).  The no 'L' has a rounded tip to the bust whereas the with 'L' has a pointed tip.

(I learned this distinction from The Official Redbook Guide Book of Flying Eagle and Indian Head Cents by Richard Snow.)

 

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It sure looks pointed to me, you have to rock the coin back and forth under the light with magnification, but It looks very pointed at one angle, even more pointed than the example. Unfortunately I can not get a super close up photo of this. I'm thinking of investing in a microscope I can photograph through. Thanks so much for the time you took with this, your making me a smarter person (that could be dangerous) ha ha

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32 minutes ago, dogodog said:

It sure looks pointed to me....

That's what I was thinking from your photo.  It would certainly enhance its value if you could see the 'L', but you need to be very careful cleaning it (as always!).  If I were you I wouldn't rush to do this.  Unfortunately for many MD finds, it looks like its life in the ground hasn't helped....  Nice find to put in your Whitman folder, but probably not enough value to sell, particularly without being able to see the 'L'.

 

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