NEW JERSEY COPPER*DRAPED BUST HALF CENT & SPANISH SILVER

[HEAVYMETALNUT]

got a call last night from a guy I know and said he was taking down his deer stand and noticed a wierd pile of rocks in the woods with some faint stone walls. He said it's open space land and told me where to go in from road.
5:30 am I was on my way! found the tiny trail and headed in.after about 15 mins I found what he was talkin about.a colonial foundation!raised square lip with a center chimney pile. Man my heart was racing thinking nobody knows about this! cant be seen from road.no big dirt road alongside it either.visions of a virgin cellar hole were dancing through my head no dig holes.no relics piled up.I thought how nice is this!
made a few laps around the raised lip and one button :-\ this site's been hit by someone a long time ago! barely any iron was showing up either. i started fanning out around the foundation for 3 hours barely anything.a button here and there.then I hit a little hot spot about 100 feet on the back side,
a 1773 spanish 1/2 reale,a no date draped bust half cent & a New Jersey colonial copper.also a pretty cool holed wedge.i've dug quite a few old iron wedges but none ever like this :
maybe if the wedge got lodged in a log they would put a bar through the hole to wiggle it out?
spent 6 hours here in all metal/relic mode using my tone ID. until a few underground yellow jackets stung me in my leg >:/ and decided to call it a day .
*NOTE* The eagle in picture is not a find.it's something i put on the lid of this wooden box I made.

[HEAVYMETALNUT]

few more pics

[milco]

Awesome finds! WTG!

[Merc]

That was nice of that guy to hook you up Dave. Super hunt Been a long time since I dug silver. Sorry to hear about the stings. I stepped on 3 nests last year but got lucky and didn't get stung. Had them all over my legs too. Damn spawn from hell. lol

[buck57]

Great job Dave. you know there has to be more goodies out there. She's a beauty half cent. . Happy hunting. thumbsup01

[aloldstuff]

A half cent is high on my wish list, congrats on yours. The 1/2 reale looks great. Any idea as to why the wedge has a hole in it?

[Fire Fighter 43]

Those are some great coin finds, WTG |

[HEAVYMETALNUT]

A half cent is high on my wish list, congrats on yours. The 1/2 reale looks great. Any idea as to why the wedge has a hole in it?

thanks! I have no idea why the hole in it. either to hang it up or maybe has something to do if it got stuck in a log while splitting wood..maybe put a rod through the hole to wiggle it back out?

[chief5709]

Another awesome hunt! I'm always asking the hunters at work if they see any stone walls, cellar holes in the woods. There just doesnt seem to be very many in the area I live in, which suprises me with all the history here. Anways, love that spanish silver congrats!

[OxShoeDrew]

Very productive hunt |
What's the nail doing in the picture? Is it iron?

[tanacat]

Congrats on the spanish silver

Bummer about the yellow jacket stings- I know they hurt And I bet you didn't have any baking soda with you I got into a mess of them once myself -I was 38 weeks pregnant at the time!

[HEAVYMETALNUT]

Very productive hunt |
What's the nail doing in the picture? Is it iron?

thanks! yep she's iron and I liked it

[HEAVYMETALNUT]

Another awesome hunt! I'm always asking the hunters at work if they see any stone walls, cellar holes in the woods. There just doesnt seem to be very many in the area I live in, which suprises me with all the history here. Anways, love that spanish silver congrats!

where you located?

[RobW]

Great finds as always Dave!!!

[Tony Two-Cent]

Spanish Silver!

Draped Bust Half Cent!

New Jersey copper!

All are exotic finds to this Illinoisan! I can't even imagine finds like that all in one hunt!

[Thiltzy]

Get this guy a job!!!
Pretty soon there won't be any more targets for me to dig in New England

[HEAVYMETALNUT]

Get this guy a job!!!
Pretty soon there won't be any more targets for me to dig in New England

no place is ever hunted out buddy! i miss stuff,everyone misses stuff |

[Sal66]

I've had my eye on the banner for awhile now and I just had to read your story. This isn't the first time Iv'e heard hunters helping out us Metal Detectorists with finding old Foundations. I have a few hunters in my family and that's the first thing I ask them, ever see any old foundations in the woods ? Remember, there out there in the winter here in the North where they are more visible. In the Pic without a trained eye most people would think it's just a pile of rocks.
The 1/2 reale is really nice, not to mention the other coins.
Last thing, I know with modern coins there is a 'working die and a stationary one. How did they make coins in the 17 &1800's ? Was one side done individually or did they use two at the same time ? It seems that one side is always a stronger strike than the other or is it which side faces down in the ground comes out nicer? Anyone know ?

[HEAVYMETALNUT]

I've had my eye on the banner for awhile now and I just had to read your story. This isn't the first time Iv'e heard hunters helping out us Metal Detectorists with finding old Foundations. I have a few hunters in my family and that's the first thing I ask them, ever see any old foundations in the woods ? Remember, there out there in the winter here in the North where they are more visible. In the Pic without a trained eye most people would think it's just a pile of rocks.
The 1/2 reale is really nice, not to mention the other coins.
Last thing, I know with modern coins there is a 'working die and a stationary one. How did they make coins in the 17 &1800's ? Was one side done individually or did they use two at the same time ? It seems that one side is always a stronger strike than the other or is it which side faces down in the ground comes out nicer? Anyone know ?

i believe back then 2 stationary dies and a blank planchet was inserted.then by hand the upper die was brought down onto the planchet and pressed.no collar to hold the coin in place.that's why a lot are off centered.

[Sal66]

Thanks for the info.
I have an Error coin book that explains the whole process. It's too much to type, so i might take a pic of the page so others can at least see the Screw Press method which followed the hammered method.
It says it took usually 3 men and a boy to make coins one at a time. Sometimes however horses were used. They used a boy because of his height so he wouldn't have to duck everytime the cross arms went by. it also says the boy sat in a hole in the floor, like a pit. Weights were added to the arms and moved back and forth to raise or lower the screw.There was the die that was attached to the top of the coin press in a threaded carrier . It says the bottom die was fixed but doesn't say to what. I'm assuming in wood or an anvil, hence the term Anvil Die. In the 1800's a machine called the knuckle press was invented in Germany which produced 120 coins per minute.

Information and Picture courtesy of The Official guide to Mint Errors by Alan Herbert