Virgin site - Old Coppers and Relics everywhere!

[BTV Digger]

Hi folks,

Well, the past two days produced my best combined hunt of the year. I was skunked out for the first half of yesterday on a permission site with two old homesite locations and an old school - all gone - just fields. Property owner was gracious but it had obviously been pounded as I literally found nothing! I had a backup site just in case and got permission after a friendly half hour on the phone talking history with the farmer. Turns out he had a ton of local knowledge, but was unaware of the site - again, a hayfield with no cellar etc. (1857 map only). It showed promise so I told myself if I could snag just a relic or two I'd call the day a partial success. Boy, was that an underestimation! I pulled up and immediately began pulling the goods. Diggable targets where everywhere. Certainly there was a good share of trashy signals as well, but as the finds were unearthed it became obvious this was a virgin site. The finds were so nice that I had to return today. All and all about 2 hours yesterday afternoon and 2 more hours this afternoon making 4 hours of total hunt time. I'm sure there's more there, but I just got too darn cold being all exposed on a windy barren hill at 34F. Finds include: 3 Draped Bust Coppers including one which is cut (1798?, 1800 & 1803), a Conder Druid Penny Token c. late 1780s from Britain, and probably my biggest and best crotal bell ever (this makes 14 intact ones I've now found - nuts). Also shown is a beautiful little harness or saddle rosette with a starbust pattern, as well as a number of buttons, buckles and other doo-dads. The Conder Token has writing around the edge and at first I didn't know what I had since it's so much bigger than an LC. All the finds date the site quite well for northern Vermont standards - c. late 1700s to the mid-1800s. Anyway, thanks for looking and be warned, a number of pics ahead!

John

[del]

what a hunt ! besides the coins and crotal I also like the "snowflake" designed strap guide . Again great hunt John !

[OxShoeDrew]

Holy cow, John!!! So many coppers and unbelievably I'd take that crotal over everything!! That is one of the best I've seen!! I hope this stupid snow doesn't get up there. We're going to get 8in tomorrow
I hope there is lots more area for you there!!! CONGRATS!!

[Cooper]

Man you tore it up what is the druid coin made of???

[Digger_O'Dell]

Thats an incredible haul there John! Love that druid token and the crotal is beautiful. Couple of those coppers look so clean and not dug. Congrats!

[Donnie B]

What a hunt! You have only scratched the surface too!

[Lodge Scent]

way to go there John! Great hunt! I would love to find one of those Druid tokens...very cool find. Awesome bell as well !

[BTV Digger]

what a hunt ! besides the coins and crotal I also like the "snowflake" designed strap guide . Again great hunt John !

Thanks Dan. Yeah, one of the better sites I've hit in awhile. Thanks also for the clarification on the strap guide. I knew I had seen similar items posted before and that they were saddle/leather-related.

Holy cow, John!!! So many coppers and unbelievably I'd take that crotal over everything!! That is one of the best I've seen!! I hope this stupid snow doesn't get up there. We're going to get 8in tomorrow
I hope there is lots more area for you there!!! CONGRATS!!

Ha Ha, thanks Drew! I think we're gonna stay dry, but unfortunately it's getting quite cold next week so the ground will be freezing up. Oh well, I've had a good year. I've yet to edit all the raw video together for YouTube, but when I found the bell I said the same thing! Old silver probably tops it, but not an LC unless it was something quite unusual. I'll still take those as well though!

Man you tore it up what is the druid coin made of???

Hi Cooper. From what I've read they're of copper composition. More on them here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conder_token

Thats an incredible haul there John! Love that druid token and the crotal is beautiful. Couple of those coppers look so clean and not dug. Congrats!

Thanks much DO'D! Yeah, the field composition was hard-packed clay (actually broke my little shovel on the second day!) which preserved the relics and coins quite well.

What a hunt! You have only scratched the surface too!

Thanks Donnie. If I can't make it back out there this year I'll certainly return next spring!

way to go there John! Great hunt! I would love to find one of those Druid tokens...very cool find. Awesome bell as well !

Thanks alot Jeff!

[aloldstuff]

John, a virgin site.... Love the crotal and its a very large one intact. Coins and buttons....and I'm sure you have just scratched the surface. Can't wait to see a followup post on this site.

[Bucknut]

Wow! What a spot! Hope you get back there and find more! Love those coppers!

[Ken C]

WOW! What a great hunt, some awesome finds. Good for you!

[Digger Don]

A big congrats to you. What a fantastic variety of colonial finds.
I couldn't think of a better way to end the season

[BTV Digger]

John, a virgin site.... Love the crotal and its a very large one intact. Coins and buttons....and I'm sure you have just scratched the surface. Can't wait to see a followup post on this site.

Thanks Al! Yeah, the crotal is my favorite for sure. An old silver or gold coin may top it, but not much else. A little research shows it's actually a Joseph Shipman bell from New Britain, CT with a rough date of 1800-1820 or so.

Wow! What a spot! Hope you get back there and find more! Love those coppers!

Thanks Bucknut. We're getting ready to be locked down and frozen up here shortly, so I'll make it back for sure, but possibly not until next spring.

WOW! What a great hunt, some awesome finds. Good for you!

Thanks Ken.

A big congrats to you. What a fantastic variety of colonial finds.
I couldn't think of a better way to end the season

Thanks Don. Yeah, a good way to wind things up for 2017.

[The Rebel]

WTG on a AWESOME hunt! I'm very happy for you. Finding sites like this are a rarity these days. You'll be pounding that for the next 3 years and still pulling up the goods. I'd post all your finds from this site in this thread.

[calabash digger]

What a hunt you had! congrats on the killer finds.

[Rogue Relic Hunter]

amazing finds. that's a lifetime for some people. congrats!!!!

[DavidGC]

Amazing! Those sites are getting harder and harder to find. Nice going, John!

[OxShoeDrew]

Wow...New Britain, I would have thought East Hampton, "Belltown, USA."

Amazing! Those sites are getting harder and harder to find.

I've only found one virgin site. I went there over 75 times. 23 coppers and piles of other stuff. As I said earlier John, awesome finds!