copper & buttons with Trooper Bri

[del]

Yesterday was Trooper Bri and I usual hike into the woods day in search for colonial goodies ! :) We hit a total of 4 sites (some pretty remote) and no jeeping to get there , I bet we did better than 5 to 6 miles :shocked05:as i'm still sore while typing this :lol:

our first site was a tiny (sorry o picture of site) little cellar that could be easily overlooked partly because of its size and partly i was in a stone walled field . Unfortunately there wasn't much left to find , just a couple of buttons for each of us and because of limited room to swing and thick high ground stubble we left after couple of hours.

The next site was set away from everything (roads any visible stonework and looked like a winner . :yes: Yet again heavy over growth making limited swinging area available and lack of any targets save for a couple of small buttons . onto site three...

This site i did get a picture of Brian and I were both impressed with the base of this colonial chimney was still standing !

http://i486.photobucket.com/albums/rr228/del1786/2016/chimney%20site%204-16_zps7truyptd.jpg (http://s486.photobucket.com/user/del1786/media/2016/chimney%20site%204-16_zps7truyptd.jpg.html)

The site did produce a few buttons and a small buckle for me but was obviously detected very hard in the past . :girlcry:

This site was our last hope as we had spent a great amount of time and "leg work" to get there . it was an easy two miles in the woods and it did produce a few buttons and a couple of thimbles .It was a huge cellar and looked a bit newer than colonial from it size and neatness of the stacked stonework.

http://i486.photobucket.com/albums/rr228/del1786/2016/thimble%20site%202_zpscezzohww.jpg (http://s486.photobucket.com/user/del1786/media/2016/thimble%20site%202_zpscezzohww.jpg.html)

I wasn't here long before my first button (small flat 1820's type) but about 10 minutes later had a screaming ( solid 90 vdi) target . To be honest it sounded to good to be true :lol: but was about 7.5 inches deep :shocked02:

http://i486.photobucket.com/albums/rr228/del1786/2016/april%201841%20lg%20ct_zpsfkzyjwks.jpg (http://s486.photobucket.com/user/del1786/media/2016/april%201841%20lg%20ct_zpsfkzyjwks.jpg.html)

http://i486.photobucket.com/albums/rr228/del1786/2016/april%201841%20lg%20ct.%20front_zpshipu5vie.jpg (http://s486.photobucket.com/user/del1786/media/2016/april%201841%20lg%20ct.%20front_zpshipu5vie.jpg.ht ml)

the back as you can see is very nice shape :happydance01:but the front had the very hard almost "crystalized" green corrosion that copper can get . :crying01: the coin turned out to be an 1841 large cent pictures of its cleaning soon to follow .

and this brings me to the finds for the day shot , in total i had about 13 buttons , the coin , a couple of nice whole thimbles , a buckle and a few unknown items that look kind of modern.

http://i486.photobucket.com/albums/rr228/del1786/2016/april%2016th%20finds_zpsebtsdqez.jpg (http://s486.photobucket.com/user/del1786/media/2016/april%2016th%20finds_zpsebtsdqez.jpg.html)


Thanks for reading !

Dan

[RIdirtdigger]

Nice finds Dan. Those small isolated colonial sites are usually hit or miss for me. Maybe it's due to the fact that in my experience most of the targets are close to the cellar hole whereas larger sites seem to have targets spread out leaving more room for people to miss stuff. That's just what I seem to find here in Rhode Island. Glad the last resort site paid off!

[Full Metal Digger]

Looks like you had a good time (and a good hike)! Did the colonial builders use any kind of mortar (or mud) or were the stones just stacked like we see them now?

[del]

Nice finds Dan. Those small isolated colonial sites are usually hit or miss for me. Maybe it's due to the fact that in my experience most of the targets are close to the cellar hole whereas larger sites seem to have targets spread out leaving more room for people to miss stuff. That's just what I seem to find here in Rhode Island. Glad the last resort site paid off!

Jim , they all seem hit or miss :lol: . thanks


Looks like you had a good time (and a good hike)! Did the colonial builders use any kind of mortar (or mud) or were the stones just stacked like we see them now?

Yeah at very worse , at least i'm getting some good healthy exercise Dave ! ( just means i'll be around a bit longer to annoy most people:lol: ) . Its surprising but i have yet to see any kind of mortar used to keep these fireplace stones together and any we do see is always from a later 1800's era cement . thanks Dave



I figure i would post some updates of the copper , as you know it had a very hard crystallized green cement . It is slowly coming off and the detail is looking good , i went from not knowing the date to seeing it and the bust plainly . i'll post the final pictures of it once i have it all completely cleaned up. but until then here are some before and in progress ones.

[del]

well here is the final pictures ... the stubborn hard "cement like" layer was hiding some small pitting on the coins surface (probably why it was so hard to remove) but i am happy with the results .

[Full Metal Digger]

Del, please describe the method you used to clean this coin! (in great detail if you can). Thanks, Dave.

[del]

Del, please describe the method you used to clean this coin! (in great detail if you can). Thanks, Dave.

Dave this coin had different looks about each side ...

the reverse was obviously the better of the two sides and from what detail i could see i knew it was going to clean up very well . This side i just used a wooden toothpick to remove the loose dirt from the nooks and crannies of the details . then dipped a Q-tip in hydrogen peroxide and with a little pressure wiped it clean (twice) , then applied a generous amount of Renaissance wax to the reverse (let dry a bit) . Then i buffed the waxed surface of the coin with a stiff bristle or horse hair brush.

The obverse had an obvious dark emerald green hard (cement-like) layer , so I used a few "dull" pointed dental picks on it. Not to scrape or pry the green off but placed the dull point on an area and apply force or pressure to that point . In most instances you can feel it pop or crack and a small fragment of this hard layer would flake off . I slowly and carefully repeated this until i removed all the "cement-like" stuff , I made a conscious effort to not let the point scratch or slide across the surface of the coin . Once i was happy with all but the tiniest bits of the hard green layer i switched to a wooden toothpick to "pop" them off . Then the surface got a hydrogen peroxide Q-tip swabbing followed by two coats of wax and then buffing.

Dan

[Lodge Scent]

Another nice hunt Dan. You are stacking up the buttons. I never would have guessed you could get the obverse of that copper to look that good. :thumbsup02:

[Digger Don]

Great hunt Dan. You got some nice finds there, but that large cent, Wow did it clean up NICE.:clapping:
:congrats:

[aloldstuff]

Dan, some great finds but that would have been way to much walking for this guy. Really, really impressed with the cleaning of the copper, the final pictures surprised me.

[Bucknut]

Awesome hunt and awesome job cleaning up that LC!

[MangoAve]

That was a nice method to clean the coin, Dan. It looks pretty nice now. I've been using a bit of oil soak lately and I am happy with how it saves the green patina. The IH's have been looking great doing that. The recent Matrons idk if I should have used peroxide. I only Renwaxed the obverse in case I wanted to revisit the reverse. Gahh... I am going to have to revisit this page because the pics don't show on this browser and those pics weren't on the FB posts.

[The Rebel]

WTG Dan! Was a beautiful weekend to out & about in the woods. Love the pic's of the sites as well as the finds. That LC came out really great!

[Digger_O'Dell]

Wow, incredible cleaning job! The IH I just found was much like that, but turned a pitted rusty color when cleaned. Think I'll have to revisit my cleaning job!

[del]

Another nice hunt Dan. You are stacking up the buttons. I never would have guessed you could get the obverse of that copper to look that good. :thumbsup02:

Jeff , its the machine !! she is as healthy as a "horse" now and those buttons hit good and loud now . Thanks for the cleaning compliment , i occasionally surprise myself :rofl:


Great hunt Dan. You got some nice finds there, but that large cent, Wow did it clean up NICE.:clapping:
:congrats:

Don , its when i get these coppers home and a good look at them i can determine whats the best way to tackle them . Thanks



Awesome hunt and awesome job cleaning up that LC!

Thanks you sir !!:notworthy:


That was a nice method to clean the coin, Dan. It looks pretty nice now. I've been using a bit of oil soak lately and I am happy with how it saves the green patina. The IH's have been looking great doing that. The recent Matrons idk if I should have used peroxide. I only Renwaxed the obverse in case I wanted to revisit the reverse. Gahh... I am going to have to revisit this page because the pics don't show on this browser and those pics weren't on the FB posts.

Thanks Jim , let me know and I can send you pictures .


WTG Dan! Was a beautiful weekend to out & about in the woods. Love the pic's of the sites as well as the finds. That LC came out really great!

Thank you Roger , it was very pleasant to be out but unfortunately the ticks are out in force .


Wow, incredible cleaning job! The IH I just found was much like that, but turned a pitted rusty color when cleaned. Think I'll have to revisit my cleaning job!

Thanks Chris , seeing how much detail was on the reverse i knew the front had to be in pretty good shape under that green .

Dan

[OxShoeDrew]

Awesome cleaning job Dan! Thanks for the explanation as well.

It's amazing how long these stone structures stay upright. Nice job, as always!