Hot Field Time Machine: Big Brass, Baubles, A Block And A Barber

[steveg]

14 hours ago, Chase Goldman said:

Had the great fortune to get out with Bob again to explore a new time machine, er field.  I've commented before on Bob's situation being a detectorist's paradise.  He lives in an area steeped in history dating back to Colonial times and older if you take into account the artifacts of Native American presence that pre-dated the Colonists.  Furthermore, he has convenient access to history right out his front door or he can choose from a number of permissions that each are unique in terms of the finds they produce both in type and timeframe.  Finally, from a technical perspective, the digging is ideal consisting vast flat farm fields of harvested soybeans or corn and sandy unmineralized soil.  The choices that are available for selecting an outing is like having a time machine you can you can dial back to just about any point in US history.  Pre-Colonial or Colonial - no problem, War of 1812 - it's there, Civil War - not plentiful, but definitely present, Victorian - check, early 20th century - you bet.  

This time out was a new field that had a mixture of almost all of the above and we were able to benefit from what it was willing to give up.

It was a long, exhausting but fantastic digging day and I appreciate that Bob let me accompany him on the new field and appreciated his advance research and surveys that enabled us to efficiently tackle the immense acreage.

Bob had been out already getting a few targets in an adjacent area we had hit previously waiting for me to finally get there after my 2 hour drive.  I was able to get the day going by digging a keeper flat cuff button on my first recovery.  At that point it was game on for both of us.  Bob got on the board with the first coin, a very nice 1907 IHP.  We both dug a few brass whatzits and then Bob dug a rare (to this area) dropped Minie Ball.  Great, we were less than an hour in and covered Colonial, Civil War, Victorian, and early 20th century.  It's unusual for a site in that area to give up finds that spanned such a wide time frame.  That increased our motivation because we knew that there were going to likely be additional surprises.  And we were not disappointed.  We recovered mostly a lot of miscellaneous brass targets, some identifiable, others had us scratching our heads.  I managed a couple of firsts and was elated.  

I managed to get on the silver board with a Mercury dime to keep my silver streak alive, dug some miscellaneous brass stuff including a heel plate and some pocket knife parts and briefly chatted with the adjacent property owner (really nice guy)

Then we headed to an iron hotspot that Bob had previously identified.  There we started alternating horse tack finds that confirmed the area was likely a stable.  I got a nice star shaped decorative piece and a part of a fancy bit boss.  Then I got surprised with one of my firsts - a Civil War Block A coat button face that once belonged to a Confederate Artillery Officer.  Only my third Confederate civil war button piece and first Civil War artillery button piece.   

I recovered some more miscellaneous brass and aluminum junk.  I then recovered a local aluminum trade token that rang up as a 91.  Then my second "first".   I have recovered a lot of silver coins and especially silver quarters of many varieties (Capped Bust, Seated, Standing Liberty, and Washington) but never a Barber.  In fact, I mentioned my Barber drought to Bob when I recovered the 1919 Merc.  We started detecting an old road bed on the site and I finally broke my Barber drought with a 1903 Barber quarter.  A common date, but I was as happy getting that one under my belt as the Spanish 2-Reale I recovered a month earlier. 

I wrapped up with an early 1900's Army General Service button and a 1944 P silver war nickel and Bob came home with an early 1800's silver spoon handle.  Hadn't had a three-silver day in quite awhile.  It made the post-hunt coffee taste great.  Thanks, yet again, Bob, for giving me the opportunity to add some firsts and bucket listers to my collection.  Tested some new gear that Bob has also discussed including the RCDigs mount on the standard shaft and also some limited testing of a tilted RCDigs mount variant for @steveg's excellent Carbon Fiber shaft setup that I primarily use for beach and water hunting.  I need to get some more swing time but I like both set ups a lot.  No more worrying about the remote popping off, and the angled variant I am using on Steve's CF shaft system provides great visibility of the screen and accommodates the Deus 2 waveguide aerial well.  Until next time - Happy Hunting.

 

 

Chase --

OUTSTANDING!  Glad you are happy with the mount thus far, and WOW -- what a terrific collection you unearthed!

It's funny that you say that about the Barber Quarter!  The was the most elusive quarter for me, as well!  I, like you, even have dug a couple of Seated quarters, but just couldn't dig a Barber!  Finally, I did, and of all places it was in the front yard of a house my sister bought, a few years back.  Before she moved in, I hit the yard, and there it was, right next to her front porch!

I thought I was the only one who had a Barber Quarter as their "white whale," LOL!

Steve

[F350Platinum]

9 hours ago, strick said:

the duh-icky upper left any idea? Thinking Bob found something similar to that a while back?

Yep, about a year ago I was in a field and dug this:

It's pretty similar.

There was a saddlery in the area that probably attached these, early 1800s.

[Chase Goldman]

58 minutes ago, steveg said:

I thought I was the only one who had a Barber Quarter as their "white whale," LOL!

Yep.  Glad that's over.  I was starting to wonder... 🤣

Regarding the Digs mount and your shaft system, I believe it is a great match up, especially for water work, where one failed D2 remote control retention lock and/or lanyard can really ruin your day.  No such concerns with this setup.  I also like the angled display a lot more than I thought I would.  The screw-in mount is secure and I have not identified any weaknesses.  Thumbs up all around.

[Fredneck]

Nice variety of finds and a great surprise with the Block A button. Also I believe the piece your referring as a heel plate looks more like an early musket butt plate, possibly a Brown Bess.

[Chase Goldman]

1 hour ago, Fredneck said:

Nice variety of finds and a great surprise with the Block A button. Also I believe the piece your referring as a heel plate looks more like an early musket butt plate, possibly a Brown Bess.

I think you may be right.  Probably too thick for heel plate looking at it again, and my digging partner found a similar piece nearby, as well as a dropped minie ball in the vicinity.

[JCR]

Is there any curvature to it?

[George Kinsey]

Very nice array of finds.

[Chase Goldman]

11 minutes ago, JCR said:

Is there any curvature to it?

It's deformed (bent in different axial directions) probably from whatever snapped it in the first place but also some of that curvature could be intentional.  Also, it seems too narrow and lacks the multiple fastener holes you would expect to attach it to  footware.  So, yeah, a likely musket attachment.