1831 MATRON HEAD LC & SILVER

[HEAVYMETALNUT]

Got out with Gary today to a couple new cellar holes.They been hit pretty hard but nabbed a few keepers.a 1800's sportsmens button with a wild boar on it(no backmark) brass on back not iron.
a iron colonal shoe buckle that was probably gorgeous under all this rust.you can see some of the ornate design after soft wire brushing it.
a 1831 matron head large cent(my 54th large copper on the year)
a .69 calibur lead ball with part of a jacket still covering it.I've dug a ton of lead musketballs & this is the 1st i seen with a silverish jacket covering one :thinkingabout:: anybody know if this was common practice back then? or was this specially made for some reason? a thimble & a mangled colonial dandy/cloak button
the silver washington was dug yesterday at a 1930's home along with the eagle hand saw rivet/button

[HEAVYMETALNUT]

more pics

[del]

very nice Dave you should try the electrolysis on the shoe buckle

[HEAVYMETALNUT]

very nice Dave you should try the electrolysis on the shoe buckle

thanks! I burned out every adapter i've tried so far :blush: i gotta get a better rig for my iron stuff. i may soak it in CLR tonight see if that does anything

[del]

thanks! I burned out every adapter i've tried so far :blush: i gotta get a better rig for my iron stuff. i may soak it in CLR tonight see if that does anything


tell me how that goes , i really don't care what the CLR does to the iron :thumbsdown:

[HEAVYMETALNUT]

tell me how that goes , i really don't care what the CLR does to the iron :thumbsdown:

what do ya mean? does it screw up iron?

[del]

lets just say it doesn't do well on the iron ;)

[HEAVYMETALNUT]

lets just say it doesn't do well on the iron ;)

ok well out it comes.Dan can you shed some light on the jacketed musket ball?

[del]

Dave musket balls were made from alot of stuff . lead was the medium of choice but when it was on short supply any cast , pot or white metal could have been used that includes tin and pewter.

[HEAVYMETALNUT]

Dave musket balls were made from alot of stuff . lead was the medium of choice but when it was on short supply any cast , pot or white metal could have been used that includes tin and pewter.

I understand that but this is a lead ball with a thin jacket covering the lead.most of jacket is gone but you can see the thin partial layer still clinging to it

[del]

I understand that but this is a lead ball with a thin jacket covering the lead.most of jacket is gone but you can see the thin partial layer still clinging to it


who knows for sure Dave maybe they were experimenting with harder material for the outside or intially made a smaller caliber musket ball and instead of melting it with other material they just put it into a larger mold cold and then poured the other material in over it . :dontknow: i can only speculate my friend :thinkingabout:

[HEAVYMETALNUT]

who knows for sure Dave maybe they were experimenting with harder material for the outside or intially made a smaller caliber musket ball and instead of melting it with other material they just put it into a larger mold cold and then poured the other material in over it . :dontknow: i can only speculate my friend :thinkingabout:

ok that makes sense. but,like i said very unusual as it's the 1st i've dug like this. i have dug solid pewter balls but this is unusual

[Thiltzy]

I thought you onlly dug colonial relics... what the heck are you doing hunting for modern silver? lol

Just kidding... sweet hunt for sure. Great finds as usual

[aloldstuff]

Dave, nice hunting and :congrats: on your 54th copper. do you think that the musketball could be covered with silver and possibly used to hunt werewolves:huh:thinkingabout: lol

[chief5709]

Hey Dave, awesome finds once again. I've found a few musket balls with mix metal before almost like they melted a tombac button with some lead and molded it. The like the Eagle button/rivet too! Thought maybe it was a GAR button at first.

[HEAVYMETALNUT]

Hey Dave, awesome finds once again. I've found a few musket balls with mix metal before almost like they melted a tombac button with some lead and molded it. The like the Eagle button/rivet too! Thought maybe it was a GAR button at first.

thanks for that info.pretty interesting.the eagle rivet is what held the wooden saw handle onto the blade

[chief5709]

thanks for that info.pretty interesting.the eagle rivet is what held the wooden saw handle onto the blade


|:cheering:

[buck57]

Great bunch of finds there Dave :congrats:

[Fire Fighter 43]

Congrats on a nice hunt and another LC, WTG |:cheering:

[tanacat]

Ooh love that last pic! :clapping: Awesome finds & the cellar hole is amazing!

[Sal66]

I think the buckle looks great. It is what it is . Love the Matron Head also. Mine all look like crap. It must be the way they made them because I haven't found one yet in as great shape as yours. Just like the Classic Head , I hate those also.
Anyways that site's well past being a Virgin site now I'd say. Congrats and look forward to more finds.

[Merc]

Dave another fine hunt thumbsup01 Some nice detail on the LC. Also sweet chicken mushroom. You can see those bright orange-yellow beauties for a long distance. I bet that site has a few more keepers kickin around. :congrats: