Jump to content

Silver Coin Spill! Never Thought I'd See The Day


Recommended Posts

47 minutes ago, Tom_in_CA said:

Can you shed a little light as to the location itself ?   Eg.:  Stage stop ?  homestead (cellar-hole, or whatever) ?  etc...     Because machine-settings are one-thing.  But the bigger picture (of "tricks to find old coins) is:  Location location location.   Right ?

I wish I could tell an exciting tale of background research and lost homesteads, but honestly I was shocked at the location; seemingly a completely random spot in a floodplain forest so typical of Northern Virginia. The vast majority of the area is old shotgun shells, aluminum cans, and hot rocks galore. Truly wasn't expecting such a find. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites


3 hours ago, ShintoSunrise said:

I wish I could tell an exciting tale of background research and lost homesteads, but honestly I was shocked at the location; seemingly a completely random spot in a floodplain forest so typical of Northern Virginia. The vast majority of the area is old shotgun shells, aluminum cans, and hot rocks galore. Truly wasn't expecting such a find. 

oh well gee :  Only on the east coast can someone go to a "random spot on a floodplain forest" and get a who's -who of early USA coins.   Sick sick sick.  But great report and great pix  🤪

  • Like 1
  • Haha 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The old folks stayed close to the water. A lot of my forested bottomland was rich cropland 150 years ago with a lot of activity. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, ShintoSunrise said:

Final tally after going back at dawn this morning to clean out the rest of the spill hole:

1 large one cent, date illegible

Hey Shinto,

I got 1811 looking at the photo. Try the Flashlight Trick, shine a low powered flashlight sideways at the coin face and rotate the coin until the date jumps out.

If it's an 1811 it is a rare one. Sometimes just taking a picture of it will make the date stand out!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

23 hours ago, ShintoSunrise said:

Final tally after going back at dawn this morning to clean out the rest of the spill hole:

1 large one cent, date illegible

4 Indian heads, dates illegible

3 seated dimes, 1856, 1857 and 1862

2 seated half dimes, 1858 and 1854

1 silver quarter, 1858

1 trime, 1861

Quite an exciting spot you happened upon.  Most detectorists never find a single Seated coin and you get four in one hole! 

Did you check for mintmarks?  -O's (New Orleans mint) aren't much scarcer than the plains (Philadelphia) but one or two of those had an -S (San Francisco) version which are scarce to rare.  Also, there were two date variety errors for the 1858 half dime and yours appears to be in nice condition, meaning those errors have a chance of showing if you have one.  Check PCGS for details (i.e. photos).

For the spill in particular, the tight date range makes me wonder if it could have been a CW soldier's ration/pay.  Any known CW activity (e.g. river crossing) known for that area?  Another (unlikely but not impossible) hypothesis is that you came across a mini-cache.  Any sign of a container where you found those five?

How about a bank at a swimming hole?  I don't recall you saying how close you were to the current river channel but keep in mind that rivers change course, even in short time periods.

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, GB_Amateur said:

Did you check for mintmarks?

GBA, you never fail me.  I always know your questions about numismatic value are short to follow old coin finds.  🙂  The tonnage of what I don't know about coins!!  

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, GB_Amateur said:

Quite an exciting spot you happened upon.  Most detectorists never find a single Seated coin and you get four in one hole! 

Did you check for mintmarks?  -O's (New Orleans mint) aren't much scarcer than the plains (Philadelphia) but one or two of those had an -S (San Francisco) version which are scarce to rare.  Also, there were two date variety errors for the 1858 half dime and yours appears to be in nice condition, meaning those errors have a chance of showing if you have one.  Check PCGS for details (i.e. photos).

For the spill in particular, the tight date range makes me wonder if it could have been a CW soldier's ration/pay.  Any known CW activity (e.g. river crossing) known for that area?  Another (unlikely but not impossible) hypothesis is that you came across a mini-cache.  Any sign of a container where you found those five?

How about a bank at a swimming hole?  I don't recall you saying how close you were to the current river channel but keep in mind that rivers change course, even in short time periods.

All great input, and I myself will be the first to admit I didn't "deserve" this find as I've never really been a coin shooter at all. The area where it was found absolutely could have been a river shoreline in the past as satellite lidar scans show several boundary layers across what is now forest. I will have to check the coins for the details you mention when I get home, but there was no other material I could find in the hole. Challenging location as there is a large amount of hot rocks throwing up interference across the search area. As to the owner hard to say; a strategic bridge nearby likely changed sides several times throughout the war! 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 3/23/2021 at 7:11 PM, F350Platinum said:

Hey Shinto,

I got 1811 looking at the photo. Try the Flashlight Trick, shine a low powered flashlight sideways at the coin face and rotate the coin until the date jumps out.

If it's an 1811 it is a rare one. Sometimes just taking a picture of it will make the date stand out!

I tried but still couldn't quite get a reading; surface is highly mottled with copper erosion and breaks up whatever numbers may have once been. If you say you see 1811 I believe you! Anyone smarter than me know how much this would have been to lose back then, taking inflation into account? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, ShintoSunrise said:

how much this would have been to lose back then, taking inflation into account?

See this website:  https://www.officialdata.org/us/inflation/1810

The farther you go back in time the less meaning these comparisons have.  Although we share some things (clothing, food), they had horses and we have horsepower.  They bought hay and we buy gasoline.  Etc.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd definitely mark my calendar for that find !!

You'll be telling this story for many years to come ...

Wondering the value at drop date is an interesting question.

Coins were much more than just pocket change back that far>>>>>>>>

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...