My First Spanish Silver

[Dan(NM)]

Yesterday my buddy stumbled onto another hot spot at the 1850's site we've been hunting since the beginning of the year and found a Dragoon and an R button along with a really nice rosette. He wasn't able to go out today, but he gave me his blessing to head over and hunt it today. I'm sure he's not to happy about that now ?
  I got there at 05:30 this morning and right away period items began to come to light, dropped musket ball, pistol ball, percussion cap and a trouser button on the first pass. That's always a good sign when you start to pull some keepers right from the get go. On the next pass, a percussion cap, 2 pulltabs, a pistol ball and then I get a 21-22 on the Nox 800. We seldom get very many items that hit in the 20's except aluminum slaw or deeply buried aluminum cans, most hits are in the 9 to 19 range. I fully expected to dig a piece of trash and was totally unprepared for what came out, when I saw what it was, I just threw it back onto the dirt pile, stood up and started walking around stunned. A major bucket lister that I always wanted to dig, but just never figured I'd ever see come outta the hole, my first Spanish Reale.  My goal for the day was to at least dig a Dragoon or maybe another R button. This was the last thing I thought would ever come from this site, I'm still in awe that I was privileged to find such an awesome coin.
  Somehow I was able to compose myself and continue hunting for another 9 hours and ended up with some excellent relics to add to my display case once I finish hunting this site. I did dig a lead, 1 piece button, my 3rd from here, anyone have any idea if it's period and what it's from?  Once again my settings on the Nox

11" coil

Sens 23

Recovery 4

Iron bias  0

No disc

GB at 3-6

Park 1

2-tones

Tone break -9 to +8

[Happa54]

You have been killing it out there!!!! 

Congrats on your first Spanish silver.

[Tometusns]

Wow!! Quite a day! Congrats Dan!!

[Guest Tnsharpshooter]

Nice finds.  

[Chase Goldman]

Congrats Dan - what a great site.

[Flowdog]

Congratulations Dan on finding a bucket lister! Amazingly rich site that has yielded consistently to your workings all year. 

[strick]

Nice work once again...and all the buttons are in excellent shape! The detecting gods are on your side thats for sure lol

strick

[groundscanner]

Slick!!

[GB_Amateur]

Three Dragoon buttons in one day would be unusual by itself, but then you get a (silver) Real on top of it!  Nicely done, Dan.  You and your friend have a sweet hunting spot, obviously.

BTW, the US didn't really convert to US coins exclusively until late 1850's, and that was in the East.  Then the Civil War happened....  I'm not downplaying your Spanish coin find, just pointing out that foreign coins circulated freely in the US for the first half of the 19th Century.  The fact that Dragoon regiments disappeared just before the CW confirms what you already know -- that your site was occupied prior to that.  The Mexican American War (1846-48, which among other 'acquisitions' included today's California) was probably the sweet spot for Dragoon buttons.  Could your site be that old?

[Cal_Cobra]

That's got to be a rarity in New Mexico, congrats!

I've only dug a handful of reales, their a lot of fun to dig!  I have my eye on an escudo next