Not The Bed Of Nails For Which I Was Looking…

[Geologyhound]

I was playing around with F350platinum‘s (sorry I’m a little social media challenged and don’t know how to add the oval colored link I see in other posts) great guidance on LIDAR imaging.  I need to clear up space on my phone so I can install updated Ios which will allow me to install the Caltopo app. That looks interesting.

Anyway, the LIDAR image showed an old road and structure where none exist currently.  The 1912 topo shows a structure in the area.  So, with phone in hand, I headed out to see if I could find the nail bed for the old structure.  I was cycling between the old topo (without my location marked) and the maps app to see where I was at.

With all the topography and occasional thickets, it was impossible to travel in a straight line.  After hunting the approximate area for a while I failed to find any nail patch but did wind up off to the side a little ways.  At that point, I figured I might as well head back to the car and try another day.  Since I followed a circuitous route to get to that point, I figured I would just head to the nearest road and hike back to the car.  Of course, I kept my detector on as I went. And a good thing too…

On my way I ran across a patch of nails in a different spot.  Not one to ignore a target of opportunity, I slowed down and switched to Tekkna on my D2 with 11 x 13 coil.  Within a couple minutes I hit a strong quarter range signal and was flabbergasted to see a green copper disc the size of a 50 cent piece at less than 6 inches.

I have never found a large cent (my record for oldest coin was 1882). However, I was certain this was a large cent.  I carefully stashed it in my good pouch and kept hunting.  Not too much later I hit another quarter signal and out came another large copper disc.  Two in one day!  This was too good to be true.

When I hit a third, doubt crept in.  So I sat down and very carefully tried to wash some dirt off the last piece.  This one had multiple lines of small text on one side and was definitely not a large cent.  I thought well maybe I have three tokens. So I carefully wet down one side of one of the other discs to see “TES OF AM” above a wreath  with “ONE” inside the wreath.  That settled that issue.  I figured it was a flowing hair large cent.  I then noticed the “token” was slightly smaller in diameter and slightly thinner than the large cent.  The remaining one was identical in size to the large cent.

When I got home I got a couple more surprises.  One large cent had a clearly visible date - 1829!  Not only did I knock over 50 years off my oldest date, but it was a matron head rather than a flowing hair large cent.  Unfortunately I cannot see a date on the other one.

The crazy thing is the large cents might not be the find of the day.  The token actually has a punch hole and appears to be a gilded medallion.  There is a bust on the front with letters around the rim. Around the 1 o’clock position I can see the letters “WASH” possibly followed by an “I”.  On the back, the remaining discernible words are "…Eternal th... and by all th... sacred and ... to man since th... history of many ... recorded ther...as been no caus... more just tha... the cause...".  Could this be some sort of George Washington Cincinnatus medallion?  I can’t find anything online to give any clue on this one.

I also found what appears to be part of the heel of an infant’s boot, a buckle and clasp, a 1927 wheat penny, a piece of iron shaped like a hooked blade, and part of a bell or neck of a carafe.  The rainbow soda bottle was a surface find.  A piece in my possible junk pouch was not the scrap brass it appeared to be in the field.  Instead, it appears to be some sort of belt slide with a metal tab and slot connection.  The fleur-de-lis on one side makes me think scouts.  The backside says “PAT JAN 31 98”.

All the modern coins and cartridge  casings were found on the way in.  I  did find a number of canning jar lids and over a dozen old shotgun shell heads with the nails.

Given the 1927 penny and the large cents, this site must’ve been in use for a while.  The crazy thing is I only covered part of the nail patch.  I will definitely be going back!

I would greatly appreciate any input on the slide, buckles, possible heel piece, and especially the medallion.

Thanks for looking, and happy hunting!

[JCR]

That is a wonderful spot you have found. Enjoy & keep us posted.

[Geologyhound]

1 minute ago, JCR said:

That is a wonderful spot you have found. Enjoy & keep us posted.

Thanks, and will do!

[Hunterjunk]

If that's not the initial spot you were looking for then the whole area is worth a real going over .  Congrats and lets hope there is more there .

[stupot]

Great finds! I like the nail patch, looks like your onto something good.

[Lodge Scent]

Wow! Nice hunt! Is that brass ring a bull or an ox nose ring? If it is, look close you will be able to see where the ring comes apart. The heel plate may not be from an infants boot. Children or even women's shoes could have very small heels. I love that Tekkna in the iron. You definitely need to wear that site out!

[dave_e]

Stellar job on the finds, and great explanation!!

[Bob S.]

Yes, great finds! One in particular interests me... Your broken heel plate with the "+" cross cut-out is actually a Civil War Sutler item that the soldier's bought and used to try and keep their leather heeled Army issue brogans from wearing out. The "Cross" is the insignia of the Union Army's 6th Corp. The broken corner, if restored, would form the shape of the Union Shield you see commonly on CW military buttons. You might want to search around and hopefully recover it! I suspect you might be on a long term home site given what you have found thus far. Soldiers in the Civil War were allowed to return home in uniform for the most part and many of these men would continue to wear out their clothing and equipment and lose them in everyday life.

[Geologyhound]

20 hours ago, Hunterjunk said:

If that's not the initial spot you were looking for then the whole area is worth a real going over .  Congrats and lets hope there is more there .

Thanks!  Fingers crossed…