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Thread: ☆ CS Richmond Rifled Musket Lock Plate ☆ MY COOLEST FIND YET!

  1. #1
    Senior Member Isaac's Avatar
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    ☆ CS Richmond Rifled Musket Lock Plate ☆ MY COOLEST FIND YET!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92rVjJrGoZ8 <- Video (if you'd like to watch!)

    AMAZING weather and an AMAZING weekend of finds!!! I went down to my families property where I dug a "late-war" GS button and a few other doodad's in February. I figured out that a pre-civil war house once stood (burned down in the late 1800s) where a vacant 1940s house is now. (it was my step grandfather's parent's house) I knew there had to be more stuff there... boy... I was so right!!!

    I got there Friday night and hunted most of the day on Saturday. I also snuck in about 2 hours on Sunday. I got a nice sun burn on my arms, neck, and face... I didn't realize the sun would be so strong this early in the year. Anyway, I'm so lucky. The site is only a 1/4 mile away, so I walked there. It was absolutely gorgeous out that day, 75 and sunny.

    When I get to the site, I hit the field across the street from where the house once stood. Immediately, I get a sweet sounding button signal at about 5" deep. I made a plug and flipped it over. There she was, right on top of the plug. It wasn't a button though. It was a coin! I wiped the dirt off and immediately knew what I had. A fatty indian! The corrosion and wear is a great on this coin, it was hard to make anything out. Luckily, I managed to get a date, 1860. After a while of getting shotgun shells and other various "newer" casings... and some annoying little aluminum wires on rhw surface that ring up like faint brass. I chased a faint signal a few minutes after the fatty indian head. I dug down 8", a two-piece button! It was a nice GS eagle button! After a couple buckles and some other odds and ends, I decided to take a short break. I was so thirsty and out of energy so I ate some lunch and drank some water. It was refreshing to say the least! It's been a long time since I've felt 75 degrees with the sun out.

    After a short break, I got back out to hunting. I thought the front field I was hunting was completely devoid of targets... until I started gridding it. That's when I got a BEAUTIFUL coin reading. 84-85 solid only 2-3" deep on the AT Pro. I stuck the shovel into the dirt and pried it up, I quickly saw the rim of a silver quarter. Luckily I got it on live dig. I was hoping for a really old one because of the sites age, but I believe this one was lost when the "new" house was built. I worn out SLQ! I'll take 'er, even if she's in rough shape. So far I have 3 silver quarters this year and none are Washington Quarters, pretty cool!

    About 10 minutes later, I dig an AWESOME colonial shoe buckle piece! After that, I decided to hit the right side of the house, where I haven't hit that hard yet. Right away, I pop a pair of modern sunglasses. Then my next signal under where a plastic pool used to sit. Well I got a nice signal, bouncing in the 70s. I had to dig underneath and rip out a piece of plastic in order to get down to the signal. When I saw a bullet come out from the hole, I was extremely surprised. I thought it would've been a piece of trash. Only a minute later I pull up a flat button. Then another one, this one is tombac! After that I got a sweet fired bullet. Next target a few feet away was a mystery piece of iron. I had no idea what it was at the time, but it looked pretty cool. It was my cousin's 6th birthday on the 9th and he wanted to use the metal detector for a while. We swung to the left of what was an old road... we got a solid 99 hit on the AT PRO, very tight signal... that's a number you rarely see. I pop a shallow hole and I see a giant brass disc. I pull it out and I saw the great seal eagle. It was a WWI horse bridal rosette! My step grandfather found a bent up one of these on the property with his old Silver uMax. We keep digging and come up with some shotgun shells, a flat button, and then... BAM!!!

    Walking back to the house to get ready for dinner, we get a sweet signal... it turns out to be a civil war bullet. Not just any bullet, my FIRST WILLIAM'S CLEANER!!! That was so awesome!!! I had no idea about the mystery piece of iron until I got home. I showed my step grandfather and he said it looked like a piece off a musket, then I texted Luke (PACivilwarLuke) from on the forum and he agreed. A percussion cap was hiding among the relics as well, I had no idea what it was at first... it looked almost like a bullet casing but I got confirmation that it was definitely a percussion cap from the tip of a musket. I called it a night and then went back the next morning. I found about a half a dozen buttons and a sweet thimble in an area I hadn't hunted before... a new colonial hot spot for next time!!!


    I was so excited about the gun piece and I couldn't stop thinking about it. Luke helped me figure out which type of gun the lock plate was off of and we finally came up with a conclusion. It was a CS Richmond rifled musket... the most intriguing thing about this piece is... the hammer is cocked up, which means it was getting ready to be fired. My theory is that a confederate soldier during the battle of Lee's Retreat/Saylor's Creek probably was getting ready to fire his next bullet when he got wounded, wasn't able to fire the gun and lost the gun while the hammer was still cocked. Who knows... just imagine if the finds we detectorists get can talk and tell a story of their lives before settling in the dirt. At least we can think of reasons why our finds are "how they are". I officially caught the relic bug. I'll be looking for the bayonet, trigger, and barrel next time I'm there!!!


    GL and HH everyone! Thanks for viewing my thread.

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    Here's a video of the hunt! Take care everyone.
    Attached Images Attached Images     
    Last edited by Isaac; 04-15-2015 at 08:30 PM.
    I <3 colonial relics!

  2. #2
    Senior Member RIdirtdigger's Avatar
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    Awesome finds Isaac. I love the gun part and even love the (possible) story behind it. Its amazing how one small thing such as a cocked hammer can give so much information about the history of the relic before it was lost in the dirt. HH
    Oldest coin(s): 1600's Spanish copper maravedis Oldest American Coin: 1797 Large Cent. Oldest silver: 178? Spanish 1/2 Reale
    Best Relic(s): Pre Civil War US Revenue Service Button, GW Button, Best Find(s): 1790 King George III Gold Guinea/ "Long Live the King" Button

  3. #3
    Fantastic ! Congrats on this beautiful find. Love the story that goes with it !
    Thanks for sharing.
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  4. #4
    Nice Isaac! Great job
    Visit my metal detecting you tube channel to watch some of my digs.
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  5. #5
    Global Moderator aloldstuff's Avatar
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    Isaac, wow... what a fantastic hunt you had. Hope you can find the other musket parts cause the part you did find is very cool. Are you going to use any electrolysis on it? Great bunch of buttons and that Williams cleaner is super.
    I can see what you mean about the fatty, roached. Getting three silver quarters and not one of them is a Washington is a very good start to your year.

    The sites that you get to hunt are off the charts. I hope that you keep finding the goodies there.
    V3i- Prism IV- Pro Pointer
    2020 GOAL: Any Flowing Hair coin

    TOTAL 100 YEAR OLD COINS - -280
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    Oldest U.S. Copper - 1795 Liberty Cap
    Oldest U.S. Silver - 1829 Capped Bust Dime extra large 10C
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  6. #6
    Fantastic post Isaac, I've been impatiently waiting for you to post this stuff! Loved hypothesizing with you about how the lockplate mechanism got lost haha. It's great to see all of those flat buttons cleaned up and layed out together! A ton of them, looks like when I get to hunt plantation fields down in SC! Whatever that site was pre civil war, it was BUSY!!! That lockplate is the star of the show, huge congrats! If you're in my area stop by and we can run it through electrolysis lol! And that 1860 Indian was very likely dropped by a soldier. So much history in that place Isaac, you are very privileged to hunt a site like that. Keep it up man!
    Detectors: dual wield at-pros, t2
    oldest copper- 1717 KG I
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    "Swords into plowshares"

  7. #7
    Veteran Member Bell-Two's Avatar
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    What a bunch of good finds, nice lock plate and other relics!
    Psalms 24:1 ¶ The earth is the LORD'S, and all it contains...But God shares with us who search!
    Member Dayton Diggers CTX 3030- Minelab E-Trac


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  8. #8
    Administrator del's Avatar
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    ah , oh ... Isaac there is no comming back from the relic bug!!!

    hey huge congrats on the very sweet lockplate and the buttons are late colonial as well as the buckle fragment. nice hunts my friend
    "Honesty is an expensive gift ,
    so don't expect it from cheap people"

    XP Deus II , DFX ,TDI sl -

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  9. #9
    Outstanding ! I wish I could find iron like that !
    Oldest find: 5,000 year old copper spearhead
    Oldest coin: 1699 William III halfpenny
    Purdiest coin: 1832 Capped Bust quarter
    Coolest find: USA button with blue threads still on shank

    "He who would search for pearls must dive below."

  10. #10
    It's been a while since an Isaac post has occured. You got a lot of luck there. I can't get YouTube where I usually check AD so at least there is a whrite up. Lol. Articulate more. The part about the pool I was thinking there was gonna be a piece of flashing. Those sound nice but are such a let down when you dig them up. Interesting on the lock plate. I wonder if that be true. I'd be most ecstatic for the larger eagle.

    Quote Originally Posted by del View Post
    ah , oh ... Isaac there is no comming back from the relic bug!!!

  11. #11
    So many wonderful finds, Isaac, and your photos are beautiful. I love the buttons, thimble, SLQ, and a Fatty Indian Head is still on my bucket list. It's hard to tell, but the SLQ almost looks like a Type I which would date it to 1916 or 1917. Easy to tell on the reverse. If there are 3 stars under the eagle then it is a Type II.

    Huge congrats on the caplock hammer and lock plate! What an interesting piece of history!

    Lifetime totals:
    9 Large Cents, 415 Indian Heads, 2 Two Cent Pieces, 1 Capped Bust Half Dime, 1 Seated Half Dime, 10 Shield Nickels, 68 V Nickels, 124 Buffalo Nickels, 31 War Nickels, 16 Seated Dimes, 131 Barber Dimes, 405 Mercury Dimes, 249 Rosies, 4 Seated Quarters, 18 Barber Quarters, 19 Standing Liberty Quarters, 89 Silver Washingtons, 1 Seated Half, 3 Barber Halves, 16 Walking Liberty Halves

    YouTube Channel: Tony Two-Cent https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmz...RlHTBIU42bUORg

  12. #12
    Senior Member Isaac's Avatar
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    Thanks so much everyone!!!!!! Tony, I think the SLQ is type 2.
    I <3 colonial relics!

  13. #13
    My gosh Isaac, nice goin! I was just mentioning how hard silver quarters are to come by, for me at least. i've yet to find a SLQ. So many sweet finds....I really like that rosette.
    On Instagram- oxshoedrew

  14. #14
    Senior Member RIdirtdigger's Avatar
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    The lock plate should be on the banner. The story it tells is far better than one any coin could tell.
    Oldest coin(s): 1600's Spanish copper maravedis Oldest American Coin: 1797 Large Cent. Oldest silver: 178? Spanish 1/2 Reale
    Best Relic(s): Pre Civil War US Revenue Service Button, GW Button, Best Find(s): 1790 King George III Gold Guinea/ "Long Live the King" Button

  15. #15
    That is am awesome bunch of finds Isaac, it looks like there will still be a lot of great finds from that spot. I always enjoy reading your posts, I almost feel like I was there.

    Ron
    Last edited by Ronandari; 04-18-2015 at 07:51 PM. Reason: spelling
    Whites VX3 with Sunray Probe, 10x12 SEF, 8x6 SEF, 10dd, 6x10Eclipse, 4x6 Eclipse, Lesche digger and Garrett Pro Pointer.

  16. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by RIdirtdigger View Post
    The lock plate should be on the banner. The story it tells is far better than one any coin could tell.
    I wholeheartedly agree! Incredibly unique and historic! Congrats again Isaac!
    Detectors: dual wield at-pros, t2
    oldest copper- 1717 KG I
    oldest US silver- 1832 capped bust dime
    "Swords into plowshares"

  17. #17
    Senior Member Isaac's Avatar
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    Thanks so much for the kind words guys I think this forum (or who ever puts stuff on the top) is biased on coins and other objects to that nature. I think this is one of the cooler iron objects posted. I don't see a lot of rust in the banner
    I <3 colonial relics!

  18. #18
    Administrator del's Avatar
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    We're not biased here Isaac , your item has been brought forth and nominated for the banner for a day or two ago but sometimes we wait to have a few items to post at a time is all. have some patience you'll see it up there
    "Honesty is an expensive gift ,
    so don't expect it from cheap people"

    XP Deus II , DFX ,TDI sl -

    Click here to view my finds album


  19. #19
    Veteran Member BTV Digger's Avatar
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    Great set of finds Isaac. Love the sheer variety you found. Old thimble and suspender bucket also nice. Obviously a site you should return to several more times!

    John
    Vermont relic hunting, one swing at a time.
    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG2...OLib30A/videos

  20. #20
    Senior Member Isaac's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by del View Post
    We're not biased here Isaac , your item has been brought forth and nominated for the banner for a day or two ago but sometimes we wait to have a few items to post at a time is all. have some patience you'll see it up there
    Sorry for coming out that way , i didn't mean to sound like a brat there. Thanks for thinking of me

    Quote Originally Posted by BTV Digger View Post
    Great set of finds Isaac. Love the sheer variety you found. Old thimble and suspender bucket also nice. Obviously a site you should return to several more times!

    John
    Thanks BTV for the comment It was a great hunt, I'm really excited to get back out there. Hopefully the ticks aren't too bad though.
    I <3 colonial relics!

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