Solo hunt on Friday yields a few nice early finds

Hi all,

Got a permission from a nearby farm only 5 minutes from my work and about 10 from home. Have long wanted to try this field but it lies along the river and was wondering whether years of silt build-up etc. would limit my finds. There are two sites in this field and the friendly farmer told me it had been detected a few times over the years - not surprising seeing it's literally right here in town. The sites are nearly a half mile apart and the farm road was really mucky so I had to walk, not drive all the way out there which took 20 minutes. True to expectations finds were rather limited but as you know you never can find everything! First site was the oldest and I found the two really nice plain tombacs there. Also pulled a really nice bone handled fork. I have no idea how to date forks so experts chime in. I'm thinking early to mid 1800s but that's just a guess. Second site was a bit newer - mid 1800s to around the turn of the century. Loads and loads of dense trash in the ground here so I moved to the edge of the iron field since I only had my large coil on the AT-Pro. In what I imagined as the front yard I pulled one of my best Braided Hair LCs and few more plain-Jane buttons. All and all not too bad for a 2 hour hunt after work. Thanks for reading and taking a quick look!

John

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Not too shabby! Love the fork and the largie is one of the nicest dug ones I have seen. The farmer must not use chemicals in his field because they usually are ruined by the time I dig them up. What's the item next to the fork? It looks familiar but I can't remember what it is. Best wishes and HH, Dave.

That's a beautiful LC, John.
Did you work on it much, or did it come out of the ground that way?

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Originally Posted by DaddyDigger

Not too shabby! Love the fork and the largie is one of the nicest dug ones I have seen. The farmer must not use chemicals in his field because they usually are ruined by the time I dig them up. What's the item next to the fork? It looks familiar but I can't remember what it is. Best wishes and HH, Dave.

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Thanks Dave! Yeah, you usually don’t find the field LCs in this condition. Maybe 1 in 20. The slotted item is a collar nib made of brass. It connected the blade of a cutting scythe or sickle to the wooden handle. They’re common finds in this part of the US.

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Originally Posted by DavidGC

That's a beautiful LC, John.
Did you work on it much, or did it come out of the ground that way?

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Thanks David! You know it came out of the ground looking really sweet so I knew right away I had a looker. Only a light toothpick and quick buff with a fine cloth and some avocado oil did the trick.

John you are making up for your long winter confinement a vengeance. :) Pretty nice LC for a farm field.:thumbsup01:

The colonial bone handled two tine fork is awesome John , one of the more complete ones I've seen in some time !:thumbsup02: The braided hair isn't too shabby either .

Dan

Nice going John. Love the finds! Those collar nibs ring up just like a LC. Been fooled a few times by those.

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Originally Posted by The Rebel

Those collar nibs ring up just like a LC. Been fooled a few times by those.

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Oh yeah...and ox knobs.
I've yet to find a fork with a handle still attached. Nice permission you got there, John! Keep it up!

That's one of the nicest two tine forks I have seen dug.

Nice digging John. A very well preserved LC out of a corn field is surely a rarity. A fork with its handle still intact is also a rarity. Glad to see your out detecting.