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Thread: EPIC DREAM HUNT! War of 1812 buttons galore!!!!

  1. #1
    Elite Member Bucknut's Avatar
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    EPIC DREAM HUNT! War of 1812 buttons galore!!!!

    This past week I took my family up to our cottage near Mackinac Island. Lots of history there from the 1700's and early 1800's with the military fort located on that island. I have mentioned this before and will again...the occupants of Fort Mackinac often visited the area where my cottage is for various reasons. My mother obtained a permission on some private property that is about a 5 minute walk behind my cottage in the woods. The first morning my Mom asked me if I wanted to go out there and see what we could find and I said lets go! The property is about 4 acres and there was lots of trash and modern bullets and casings but after an hour I came across this beauty!

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    I was on cloud nine and my trip was made! This is a Script "I" pewter button...yes pewter! The ground is perfect for preserving the old buttons because it is sandy and pine straw essentially.

    I knew that this spot had been detected before and I happened to meet the guy who detected it when I was walking out of the woods back home and he told me that for the last 3 years he has found about 80 buttons in a rather small concentrated area. He was very nice and even told me where it was. So the next day I walked out there with all 4 of my kids (8,11, 13 and 16) and we went straight to the spot where he told us most of the buttons came from. Its a square nail infested area with a small depression/hole and there is a small area off to the side where there was a burn pile where many of the buttons came from. For some unknown reason they burned a bunch of military paraphernalia so many of buttons that came from this spot were damaged by fire and some were unidentifiable.

    The second day we found 8 more buttons! Again I was just amazed at this historical treasure we were finding. Most of the ones we found on day 2 were in pretty good shape. My 11 year old girl found a US coat button (pewter) and she was pretty excited about it! My little 8 year old girl found a nice Eagle on Cannon Corps coat button!

    Day 3 was crazy! The boys decided to go at the burn mound with a shovel and pinpointer only...brilliant boys!! They pulled a ton of square nails out and about 20 more buttons! again most were toasty but many were identifiable. I scanned the area with the Equinox VERY thoroughly and did quite well. Day 3 total was 31 buttons!!

    Mine and my girls...
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    Justins...
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    Ashtons...
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    Burnt...
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    Here is the hole where it is thought a small structure once stood and about 15 feet away is the burn pile. My 8 year old is patiently waiting her turn with the detector!
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    Burn pile that my 16 year old is working...
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    For my buttons I only used water and rinsed them off and that worked great since the majority of mine were not found in the burn pile. There was one Eagle on Cannon Corps button though that I decided to try lemon juice to get it cleaner and then I rubbed it with come baking soda...I was in shock at how pretty this one came out.

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    My boys saw my result and they went and tried it with the majority of their buttons but unfortunately many were too far burnt.

    We found the following that we can ID...Now I might have named them incorrectly so correct me if I am wrong.
    2 - US cuff
    1 - US coat
    6 - Eagle on Cannon Corps cuff
    5 - Eagle on Cannon Corps coat
    3 - Eagle w/Script I on Shield cuff
    1 - Eagle w/Script I on Shield coat
    1 - Script I cuff
    4 - Script I coat
    3 - Script LA 1st Regiment cuff
    1 - Script A 2nd Regiment cuff
    1 - Eagle Script R on Shield cuff
    3 - Flat buttons
    9 - burnt

    40 total!

    Its my understanding that the majority of these are 1812-1816 but I have not researched all of them yet. They have no back markings except for the Eagle Script I cuff buttons. They have "ARMITAGE" and then the letter "C" I think. The letter is hard to make out so I might be wrong. If anyone of you button guys has any insight to any of these please let me know!

    The rest of the vacation we decided to leave the spot alone. I am sure there is more there and we will go back next year and have fun again. We don't need to pillage everything.

    I'd like to thank the guy who previously found this spot if he happens to come across this post...THANK YOU! He was very nice to point us in the right direction.

    Its amazing that this spot has given up 120 buttons. Why so many? AND why so many different types? We found some camp lead but other than that we found square nails or modern bullets or casings. No other period items. Oh my son found part of a buckle and I found a bone handle to a table knife perhaps.

    Well my year is made! I would not call it a cache or hoard...its more of a button dump it seems to me.
    Last edited by Bucknut; 08-28-2018 at 08:01 AM.
    Detectors I use: Minelab Equinox 900 & Manticore
    Favorite finds I have made:
    1,000+ silver coins
    92pcs of 1700's Trade Era Silver
    Copper Culture Indian Artifacts
    125+ War of 1812 Era buttons and relics
    My wife
    (probably should have started with that one)

  2. #2
    Holy cow Bucknut!!!! That is freaking amazing! I would be sifting that mound of dirt like a madman! Those buttons are so beautiful and the soil conditions just perfect for preserving pewter buttons. I am very envious of your spot/finds! I thinks it's extra awesome you got the whole family involved. Thanks for sharing with us and HH, Dave.
    Oldest Coin: 100-60 BC Gallic bronze coin (Sequani Tribe)
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  3. #3
    Elite Member Digger_O'Dell's Avatar
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    Wow, awesome location and history! Any one of those would make my day. I would really love to know who did this and why. There has to be a story behind the button dumping! Maybe some historical research on the area and previous residents might shed some light.
    Equipment:
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  4. #4
    Elite Member The Rebel's Avatar
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    That's what it's all about! Amazing hunt of a lifetime!
    Minelab Manticore / SPECTRA V3i, Pro-Pointer II. Lesche Digger.
    Oldest Copper: 1694 William & Mary Halfpenny. Oldest Silver: 1663 1-Reale
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  5. #5
    This post ranks with the greatest I've ever seen. To top it off these buttons have very little environmental damage, aside from the burn. I'm so happy for you and your whole family. Congratulations on a wonder summer experience! One question, you keep saying Mackinaw but when I search I can only find Mackinac Island and fort...which is it?
    On Instagram- oxshoedrew

  6. #6
    That hunt is beyond epic ! You have some top notch finds there. You have a LOT of top notch finds there. Those are some real beauties. Quality and quantity. What a hunt !
    Oldest find: 5,000 year old copper spearhead
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    Coolest find: USA button with blue threads still on shank

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

  7. #7
    One word. WOW
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  8. #8
    Senior Member fyrffytr1's Avatar
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    Your C is more likely a G for George Armitage. His button making dates from 1799-1826. He produced a die for infantry buttons in1806, 1810, 1816, 1818, 1821 & 1826. Armtage died in 1826. Oh yeah, I have never seen that many buttons found at one time before and probably won't see that amount again. Unless you go back and hit that spot again. Congratulations on an amazing hunt.
    My wife does all the driving, I just hold the steering wheel!

  9. #9
    Elite Member Bucknut's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by OxShoeDrew View Post
    One question, you keep saying Mackinaw but when I search I can only find Mackinac Island and fort...which is it?
    My fault! It is spelled Mackinac but pronounced Mackinaw. Thanks for the comments!
    Detectors I use: Minelab Equinox 900 & Manticore
    Favorite finds I have made:
    1,000+ silver coins
    92pcs of 1700's Trade Era Silver
    Copper Culture Indian Artifacts
    125+ War of 1812 Era buttons and relics
    My wife
    (probably should have started with that one)

  10. #10
    Elite Member Bucknut's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by fyrffytr1 View Post
    Your C is more likely a G for George Armitage. His button making dates from 1799-1826. He produced a die for infantry buttons in1806, 1810, 1816, 1818, 1821 & 1826. Armtage died in 1826. Oh yeah, I have never seen that many buttons found at one time before and probably won't see that amount again. Unless you go back and hit that spot again. Congratulations on an amazing hunt.
    Thank you for that bit of insight! Much appreciated.
    Last edited by Bucknut; 08-28-2018 at 08:06 AM.
    Detectors I use: Minelab Equinox 900 & Manticore
    Favorite finds I have made:
    1,000+ silver coins
    92pcs of 1700's Trade Era Silver
    Copper Culture Indian Artifacts
    125+ War of 1812 Era buttons and relics
    My wife
    (probably should have started with that one)

  11. #11
    Elite Member Digger Don's Avatar
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    I don't know what to say, except an amazing bunch of very cool buttons!!!!!!!!!
    Congrats Jared. I'd be back there like a Hobo on a ham sandwich!!
    Great job to all of you!!!
    Oldest Coin: 1699 William III Halfpenny


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  12. #12
    Global Moderator aloldstuff's Avatar
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    I'm speechless. So many historical buttons in one location. If you are going to put them in a display please post a picture....what a great conversation piece that would make.

    Are the kids hooked on this great hobby?
    V3i- Prism IV- Pro Pointer
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  13. #13
    Administrator del's Avatar
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    Those are some of the finest examples of dug military buttons I've seen in a long while Bucknut , Truly what dreams are made of !
    "Honesty is an expensive gift ,
    so don't expect it from cheap people"

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  14. #14
    Veteran Member BTV Digger's Avatar
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    A agree with Drew. There are of course better individual finds I've seen through the years, but collectively your haul ranks right up there with the best I've ever seen! So many congrats Jared! You should try and get a tight closeup of the buttons displayed together so the AD admin folks can put it up on the banner.

    John
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  15. #15
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    One word. AWESOME!!!!! When you find that many buttons, who cares how you spell where it came from. Congrats and I am sure the kids had a blast too!
    Garrett AT Pro, Garrett Waterproof Pinpointer, CTX3030 with 6,11,17" coils.

  16. #16
    The title of your post says it all! EPIC!!!
    XP Deus

  17. #17
    Elite Member Bucknut's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by aloldstuff View Post
    Are the kids hooked on this great hobby?
    The kids all like to "treasure" hunt for sure but I am not sure that they grasp what they were finding....I am not sure I can grasp it either.
    Detectors I use: Minelab Equinox 900 & Manticore
    Favorite finds I have made:
    1,000+ silver coins
    92pcs of 1700's Trade Era Silver
    Copper Culture Indian Artifacts
    125+ War of 1812 Era buttons and relics
    My wife
    (probably should have started with that one)

  18. #18
    I can only imagine how much fun this was! Digging button after button after button... and they're all over 200 years old!

    How neat that you got your family involved in the fun. Some of the button are in great shape! What an incredible mother lode of relics!

    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

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  19. #19
    I cant believe my eyes!!!!! WOW!!! congrats on a time you will never forget.
    Best finds GW Button and John Adams Cufflink.
    Trust in the Lord...

  20. #20
    Global Moderator Ill Digger's Avatar
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    Whoooooa dude!!
    This is just mind boggling Jared! What a awesome trip! To find such amazing relics. And to have the youngsters along joining in on the hunt! That's great!
    Outstanding!!!
    Congrats!
    Some days you get the corn, some days you get the cob
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