Double George Day

[del]

eDonnie B. and I ventured out yesterday for some unusually warm detecting as it almost hit 50 degrees ! I took no pictures of the sites as they were really not much to look at or covered in saplings or briars. Donnie and I scored mostly buttons but he did get on the board first with a nice early copper and I didn't get my first copper until our third site .It was a "young head" King George II halfpenny (1727 to 1739 era ) but while cleaning it I discovered a few interesting facts about it . The highlighted areas show the proof of it being a sand cast counterfeit , no.1 the slight rim "burr" at the 3 o'clock position , while its not uncommon for colonial coins to have rim burrs due to the planchet making or after minting damage coins can get this one looks suspicious. when cast coins are poured into a mold there is usually an enter hole and sometimes an exit hole for the molten metal to flow in and out of . A sprue ( a excessive tag or small blob of metal) is usually associated with these holes and either have to be broken or files off and if they are broke off they can usually take a bit of the coin edge with them leaving a mark we see here. no.2 cast coins often have uneven surfaces the circle on this coin (by the way its the same coin I posted dirty) shows a low spot on the coin and the coin is actually a bit thinner in thickness on this side than the opposite edge.the reverse shows an unusual blob or protrusion I circled which can happen in sand cast molds where a void in the mold was filled by the molten metal and the overall porous surface again is not uncommon . If this coin only had one of these features I may have not thought about it being a counterfeit but as you can see it has a few characteristics including file marks on its rim .


My next coin was a "older head " variety King George II half penny That was seriously "customized" for what I have no clue but its safe to say its "one of a kind" This variety of George is likely from 1740 to about 1760 and I kind of like it !

The group picture shows five of the 6 buttons I found ( I left out the pewter which is soaking but its a plain one ) .Oh , the one button I did find was a WWI era US Army uniform one !

Thanks for looking !

[Digger Don]

Awesome finds Dan. Man, you sure know your stuff when it comes to colonial coins.
Glad to see you guys can get out in Feb. for a little hunting!!

[aloldstuff]

glad to see some finds from the northeast. Great hunt Dan and I have to agree with Digger Don about the knowledge...

[The Rebel]

WTG Dan. Very interesting find on the KG Counterfeit. Seeing these have been in the ground for so long many of us would just think it was part of the deterioration process.

They really went to town on the other coin, sheesh!

[Lodge Scent]

Well Dan, you know I love those counterfeit coppers ! As for that other KG, it would have to be for a narrow-barreled key, but maybe it was for a keyhole slot repair? Whatever it is, it is very cool.

[del]

Awesome finds Dan. Man, you sure know your stuff when it comes to colonial coins.
Glad to see you guys can get out in Feb. for a little hunting!!

Don , I've had some great mentors who are incredible when it comes to colonial coins if I can remember just 10% of what they have explained to me I'd be happy ! Thanks

glad to see some finds from the northeast. Great hunt Dan and I have to agree with Digger Don about the knowledge...

Al , it was absolutely beautiful to be out Saturday , Thank you sir!

WTG Dan. Very interesting find on the KG Counterfeit. Seeing these have been in the ground for so long many of us would just think it was part of the deterioration process.

They really went to town on the other coin, sheesh!

Much of the coins used back then were counterfeit Roger just some were better fakes than others. It seems the fakes hold up better that the real McCoys . Thank you

Well Dan, you know I love those counterfeit coppers ! As for that other KG, it would have to be for a narrow-barreled key, but maybe it was for a keyhole slot repair? Whatever it is, it is very cool.

That's a possibility Jeff , I like the counterfeits and modified coppers as well . Thanks

[Digger_O'Dell]

Great finds Dan, and thanks for the history lesson! That second coin makes me think of either a pommel or even a blade guard on a small knife.

[Bucknut]

Very interesting info on that coin! Congrats!

[Donnie B]

Hey Dan! Let's give it another half hour and then move on! What do you think? I'm thinking from now on I can't wait to hear you say that when we are out digging! Great hunt my friend.

I love being in the woods, detecting cellar holes, enjoying the beauty of the outdoors, listening to the wildlife and hearing the owls, the birds, and Dan saying, "I've got a screamer over here!"

[Noah]

Even if I come home with nothing at least I'll have walked in the footsteps of genius. You too Del!

[Tony Two-Cent]

Congrats on the counterfeit KGII half penny and authentic one as well! It looks like you and Donnie both got nice early coppers. The modifications are that one are very unusual. I wonder if they were trying to make a whizzer that whistled?

[OxShoeDrew]

Dan, you are a font of knowledge! Those are two of the weirdest coppers I've seen! How cool!!! I bet Tony is on to something. You should try to "whiz" that coin to see if it makes a sound! Congrats!

[Cooper]

Very interesting thanks for the info neat to see how the old timers tried to beat the system

[Ill Digger]

You never cease to amaze me Dan! Great catch on the counterfeit KGII!
I never would've caught or thought of that being a bogus coin.
And the I LOVE the customized KG!!! You'll dig a million more holes and probably never find another coin that's butchered like that one!
Congrats my friend!
We can't even see grass, let alone detect. Even if we got a signal through the 12 to 14 inches of snow, we still wouldn't be able to dig through the foot of frost that's underneath it all.

[del]

Great finds Dan, and thanks for the history lesson! That second coin makes me think of either a pommel or even a blade guard on a small knife.

That thought did cross my mind too Chris Thanks

Very interesting info on that coin! Congrats!

Thank you Bucknut , counterfeit coins were abundant in circulation during the late 1700's .

Hey Dan! Let's give it another half hour and then move on! What do you think? I'm thinking from now on I can't wait to hear you say that when we are out digging! Great hunt my friend.
I love being in the woods, detecting cellar holes, enjoying the beauty of the outdoors, listening to the wildlife and hearing the owls, the birds, and Dan saying, "I've got a screamer over here!"

Donnie , I could listen to a "screamer" all day long before digging it up , I don't know which is better .... slipping and falling down before we start the day or giving it another half hour

Even if I come home with nothing at least I'll have walked in the footsteps of genius. You too Del!

Noah , I really hope you go back west with some colonial goodies in your keeper pouch ! Thank you

Congrats on the counterfeit KGII half penny and authentic one as well! It looks like you and Donnie both got nice early coppers. The modifications are that one are very unusual. I wonder if they were trying to make a whizzer that whistled?

That's an interesting idea Tony and I'll be testing it out this weekend , I hope your right as it would be very cool to hear whistle again after more than 200 years under the dirt ! Thanks

Dan, you are a font of knowledge! Those are two of the weirdest coppers I've seen! How cool!!! I bet Tony is on to something. You should try to "whiz" that coin to see if it makes a sound! Congrats!

Thanks Drew , its in the works !

Very interesting thanks for the info neat to see how the old timers tried to beat the system

Thank you Cooper

You never cease to amaze me Dan! Great catch on the counterfeit KGII!
I never would've caught or thought of that being a bogus coin.
And the I LOVE the customized KG!!! You'll dig a million more holes and probably never find another coin that's butchered like that one!
Congrats my friend!
We can't even see grass, let alone detect. Even if we got a signal through the 12 to 14 inches of snow, we still wouldn't be able to dig through the foot of frost that's underneath it all.

Thank you Tim , I am really interested in you up coming UK adventure and I really hope you do well and make us all proud here at AD , wear your shirt and let them all know who you represent my friend !

[Ill Digger]

Thank you Tim , I am really interested in you up coming UK adventure and I really hope you do well and make us all proud here at AD , wear your shirt and let them all know who you represent my friend !

Thanks Dan! I'll do my be to make y'all proud!
We fly out on Monday!!
And the AD T-shirt is already packed my friend! It was one of the first T's in my bag
Do you have any more of the relic T's in XL? Or did you end up selling everything you had?

[Donnie B]

Thanks Dan! I'll do my be to make y'all proud!
We fly out on Monday!!
And the AD T-shirt is already packed my friend! It was one of the first T's in my bag
Do you have any more of the relic T's in XL? Or did you end up selling everything you had?

I hope you find a Hammered while you are over there. I will be watching the forum to see what you find. After the Hammered, I hope you find Saxon or Roman!

[BTV Digger]

Great information Dan and thanks for sharing! I'm convinced a lot of these customized old coppers were re-purposed for use as washers. That's the only explanation I can come up with!

John