A beaut of a Draped Bust LC and an intriguing old medallion

[BTV Digger]

Hi all. Spent the late morning and afternoon down on the shores of Lake Champlain at a permission site that's very, very old by VT standards. Early French occupation began in the early to mid 1700s, with some of the first VT homesteads in the Champlain Valley following by the later 1700s. Didn't find anything French, but did pull perhaps my finest Draped Bust LC in the past few years (1805 standard strike) and a very intriguing religious medallion possibly made of pewter. It has a figure (woman?) kneeling on the front, and some sort of beehive or native american hut like structure on the back. The only words I can identify are also on the reverse around the edge and say "Union and Industry". The other words are just too obscured. Now my challenge is to attempt to find an ID. I also dug other standard New England fare including a few tombac buttons, part of a barrel tap key and pewter spoon bowl. Thanks for looking and good luck out there!

John

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[Lodge Scent]

No conestoga bells John, but some great finds none the less. Nice detail on that DB. That medallion is very cool. Looks like a beehive. Can't wait to see the history of that find.

[Bucknut]

That DB sure does have a lot meat left on it! Very nice!

[fyrffytr1]

I think the wording might read "The Reward of Attention and Industry". I found this link but it doesn't give any information. And, I would give anything to find a LC down here.

https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/ImageDetail/541516

[Full Metal Digger]

Great finds! The large cent sure has some nice details left on it. I think the medallion shows a beehive on the back. What are the 2 bronze-looking rings in the upper right corner? They look interesting. Thanks and HH, Dave.

[BTV Digger]

No conestoga bells John, but some great finds none the less. Nice detail on that DB. That medallion is very cool. Looks like a beehive. Can't wait to see the history of that find.

Ha Ha Thanks Jeff. You know, there actually was a conestoga bell found on this hunt! My friend Daniel accompanied me and dug a small one at the last field we visited. So not too quick sir! :lol:


That DB sure does have a lot meat left on it! Very nice!

Thanks much Jared!


I think the wording might read "The Reward of Attention and Industry". I found this link but it doesn't give any information. And, I would give anything to find a LC down here.

https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/ImageDetail/541516

Great goodness that's it! You're the man on getting IDs on this forum! It looks like there were a variety of medals of this type back in the 18th and 19th centuries, with the beehive being the symbol of hard work and community coming together etc. They were often handed out to school children to instill the values of hard work. Thanks again.


Great finds! The large cent sure has some nice details left on it. I think the medallion shows a beehive on the back. What are the 2 bronze-looking rings in the upper right corner? They look interesting. Thanks and HH, Dave.

Thanks Dave! Those rings are actually the bow parts of barrel tap skeleton keys. In my post I said I found one, but I actually found 2. They often broke where the bit, or blade broke joined the bow.

[Oneil1979]

Well the title of the post is accurate that is one sharp looking drape bust, my tokens always come out super crusty but than again so so most of my drape busts, love the Champlain valley only been on the New York side but beautiful country. Never detected though maybe next time:)

[Tony Two-Cent]

At first I thought the medallion must be of Masonic origin, as the beehive is a symbol that has long been used by them.

http://www.mastermason.com/S421/Beehive.htm

But now I have learned that the beehive was also used by other non-Masonic entities. It was even used on some Civil War tokens. Now I wonder if your medallion is a "school award medal".

"Given the bee's diligent, hardworking, community behavior, it's not surprising that the beehive was often used as the central device on school award medals. Beehives were certainly not the only symbols used, but they came close to being the perfect cultural object lesson for children in the late-18th through the 19th centuries, as primary education became more universal. German-speaking European countries, England and its North American offshoots, the United States and Canada, produced the greatest number of these beehive medals, but examples are also known from Denmark, Hungary, and a few other countries."

The Draped Bust is a wonderful find as well!

:congrats:

[BTV Digger]

Well the title of the post is accurate that is one sharp looking drape bust, my tokens always come out super crusty but than again so so most of my drape busts, love the Champlain valley only been on the New York side but beautiful country. Never detected though maybe next time:)

Thanks for the comments! Yeah, some of my medallions came out of the ground looking fairly sharp, but these older ones of pewter don't hold up as well. I'm happy to have an ID. The DB LC was found on a slope, so likely good drainage preventing the coin from sitting in water or being too moist all these years.


At first I thought the medallion must be of Masonic origin, as the beehive is a symbol that has long been used by them.

http://www.mastermason.com/S421/Beehive.htm

But now I have learned that the beehive was also used by other non-Masonic entities. It was even used on some Civil War tokens. Now I wonder if your medallion is a "school award medal".

"Given the bee's diligent, hardworking, community behavior, it's not surprising that the beehive was often used as the central device on school award medals. Beehives were certainly not the only symbols used, but they came close to being the perfect cultural object lesson for children in the late-18th through the 19th centuries, as primary education became more universal. German-speaking European countries, England and its North American offshoots, the United States and Canada, produced the greatest number of these beehive medals, but examples are also known from Denmark, Hungary, and a few other countries."

The Draped Bust is a wonderful find as well!

:congrats:

Thanks much Tony! Yeah, after the ID from fyrffytr1 I did further research and found similar facts. I'm grateful to have an attribution, despite it's rather marginal condition. Just thinking that this was possibly given to a hard working young student 200 years ago makes me smile!

John

[aloldstuff]

Great looking DB...so much hair and dated....:notworthy:.

[calabash digger]

Very nice ! I am having relic withdrawals.

[Ken C]

Great looking draped bust! Congrats! :beerbuddy: