hit a few goodies the past couple days

[Digger]

Finally got out and did a bit of detecting this past weekend. Hit an old church ground, old fair ground and an old farmsite. Dug quite a few targets. But these are some of the better finds. IH cents, Shield nickel, Buffalo nickel, sterling ring, two old bands, watch fob, WRC badge, a couple seated dimes, a barber dime, a merc and what I thought was going to be a US large cent. One side of this large copper coin in between the dimes says, Banque Du Peuple across the top, Un Sou in the middle and Montreal at the bottom. On the other side it says Agriculture & Commerce at the top and Bas Canada across the bottom. I don't know if it is a privately minted large penny from the Banque of Montreal. Or if it would be considered a Canadian Hard Times token,circa 1837 -38. I've seen it referred to as both. I've attached a pic I found online that is a cleaner version of the one I found. Any additional information is appreciated. I was not sure what to expect when I dug up the old bell. Hoping for a jar of coins, but not this time! The bronze item to the right is part of a Woman's Relief Corp badge dated 1883. The Woman's Relief Corp was the auxilliary of the Grand Army of the Republic. Interestingly, I found a GAR badge just a couple years back. Not a valuable item. But interesting to me as I've not one I've found previously. The bull is a Bull Durham watch fob. Again, not a big deal. But fun to find stuff with dates and lettering. HH Randy

[attachment 160622 groupshot.JPG]

[attachment 160623 bulldurhamdimesandunsou.JPG]

[attachment 160624 tokenmontreal.jpg]

 

[Hawkeye Jim]

WTG Randy on some nice finds..........you're the seated dime magnet!!! HH - Hawkeye Jim.

 

[Beale]

Congrats on these great finds Randy! I would be happy with any of it, Beale.

 

[JW]

n/t

 

[Digger]

Ya know Jim, I've been hunting here in the Midwest for over 38 years. When I first started, most of my hunting was in modern parks and yards. I found a lot of Merc dimes, wheat cents and an occasional IH penny. But when I found my first Seated coin (1853 quarter) at a long forgotten fair ground, I was hooked on hunting for old coins at old sites. I still hunt a few yards, where you never know what you'll find. And I do a lot of comparison testing in the local parks as they help me better understand the sounds and behavior of "trash" targets. But the vast majority of my serious hunting is done on sites that ceased to exist about 1900. Old homesteads, long forgotten fair grounds, picnic grounds, Chautauqua grounds etc. I'll still find a few Barbers at these sites, since they were put into circulation in 1892. But in sites abandoned prior to the turn of the century, the pennies are all Indians and the majority of the silver is seated. Worst case scenario, I may strike out or may only find a few coins during any one hunt. But at this stage of my life, I've decided I'd rather find a few of those pre-1900 coins compared to a pocketful of clad. Nothing wrong with finding clad. Lots of folks enjoy that aspect of the hobby immensely. But finding the old stuff minimizes my getting up and down from the ground. When I do happen to find one of those older coins, I get a big grin across my face, just like I did when I dug that first SL quarter. HH Randy

 

[7centsworth]

Nice bunch of coins , thanks for sharing.

 

[Terra1959]

Gday Digger,

Yeah mate, I'd have a big grin on my face too if I was lucky enough to dig any of that beaut old stuff.
thanks for showing us.
Congrats.
Love that bull.

Terra59

 

[TURNMASTER]

I'm with you I love the old finds. Man I do envy the clad hunters who dig up 10 or 20 dollars in a few hours. Makes me think I am doing something wrong. Right up till the 1898 Barber I dug today. I just like the old stuff. I realy wish we had the age of coins you guys find back east, but I'll take "newer" silver every day.

I do have a line on an old public venue that has been out of use since the 1940s and is on private property.

Great hunt Randy,
Jeff

 

[Digger]

I agree with your sentiment about living back East. I can only imagine being able to research sites that date back to the 1700's. My part of the world wasn't settled until the mid 1850's. And when the early settlers arrived, they didn't have any reason to bring money with them. There weren't any stores or banks! If I had to guess, I'd venture to say they spent most of their hard-earned money on provisions for the trip and seed for planting when they arrived. Although I've managed to dig several coins dating back into the 1830's, for the most part, the stuff I find is late 1860's - 1890's. Keep working on that venue that ceased in the 1940's. Anything you find there will likely be a keeper. And depending on the startup date, you could find yourself some real nice finds. HH Randy

 

[Digger]

Thanks Beale. I appreciate your comments. HH Randy

 

[Digger]

Thanks for looking. And thanks for the kind words. HH Randy

 

[Digger]

Thanks Terra59. I wasn't sure what the bull was going to be when I dug it. The site it came from had an agricultural fair on it years and years ago. At first I thought it might have come from an award for "best of show" or something. Not until I got home and rinsed it off did I realize it had Bull Durham written on it. Well, I recognized that as a tobacco product. And from what I've found online, this particular bull was made as a watchfob. Not sure of the vintage, however. HH Randy

 

[Digger]

Thanks JW, it is nice to get out and blow the stink off now and then! HH Randy

 

[Hawkeye Jim]

Your excellent research has paid off handsomely --- gives the rest of us some added MOTIVATION!!! Jim

 

[fwcrawford]

Nice variety of finds Digger!!!
I found one of those "Bull Durham" items a couple of years ago
and just recently discovered that it is a watch fob... have seen a couple of others on the forums.
Keep up with the great finds,
Felix

 

[cymro]

Terrific finds and great research.

Dave