Hi all! Hope all is well and your MD'ing adventures continue. Below are some summary shots and a few close-ups of my more notable hunts from the last two months. Sorry I haven't been posting more regularly this summer - but believe me I'm still looking! I post quite often on Instagram under the btvdigger ID so look for me there also. Best of luck going into the fall season!
John
Finds were pretty slow in August as all the fields were high in hay or corn. I did manage to hit one field and pull this worn, fatty IH from 1860.
I also got a permission for a lost cellar hole deep, and I mean deep in the woods. I was really excited to hit this place but alas finds were rather slim. I didn't
go home totally disappointed though as I pulled a nice early cross-strap buckle and 2 crotal bells. The bells were in the same hole ironically.
By September the 2nd cut of hay had begun and fields started opening up. I returned to the field where my buddy and I pulled all the coppers and the 1830 half
dime (see my July 8 post). No coppers for me this time, but I did dig an IH and a number of buttons and relics, including a colonial-era brass keg tap so was happy
with those.
The next week I hit some newly cut fields in a town about 45 minutes north of me near the border. This field had several old home sites in it, but 3 of the 4 had been heavily
detected before I could tell. In between two of the sites I found a small iron patch that was clearly a much older home or original cabin site - perhaps for one of the other homes.
This is where I pulled most of what you see above, including some early buttons, a finial and two Canadian Bank Tokens (1816 Wellington style, and an 1833 Plough and Ship
style). Was quite happy with those.
Toward the end of last month I hit a new set of permission fields in a town about an hour south of me. Lots of older ground in the southern Champlain Valley. Met a fellow detectorist
on one of the fields when I arrived and had a nice 1/2 hour chat with him. He told me he had pounded much of the area, but as you know that never dissuades me! Tried an out
of the way field on that permission that looked as if an old home site may have been there. Clearly he hadn't detected this place! Dug a number of nice relics including an 1800
cent trifecta (1837 Matron LC, 1858 Flying Eagle and 1864 IH). The colonial mouth harp was my favorite find though. Had never dug a complete one up to that point.
Here's a close-up of my cent trifecta.
At the very end of September I returned to the cent trifecta field and pulled more decent relics. It had rained heavily in the days just prior so the ground was softer and gave
up more deep targets. The ginormous raised motif flower Dandy button at upper right was my favorite relic from this hunt.
About 10 days ago my good friend (Gold Panner on TNet) and I bounced around some new permission fields in the southern Champlain Valley once again. Finds were sorta thin this day for me, but did manage to snuff out my 4th Draped Bust LC of the year - a common 1803 variety in worn condition.
The following day I returned a final time to the cent trifecta field. The footprint of this home is on the medium-small size with targets concentrated mostly in a 40X40 yd square
area. Having hit it hard two times at this point I knew finds were thinning out considerably, so I went very slow and gridded the central iron patch with the AT-Pro. I ended up finding 6 more buttons, two of which were nice decorative Dandies so that made me happy.
Then this past Sunday my good friend Joe from Green Mountain Diggers and I hit some permission sites up in Northeastern VT on some very old ground. Hit a field at an old
crossroads where a semi-modern mid-20th home stands nearby. Clearly something much older once stood here. This to date was the neatest hunt of the season for me. We pulled 4 coppers, 2 IHs, 2 seated dimes and a capped bust dime! Joe got all the coppers and the two seateds, while I pulled the IHs, the capped bust 1820 dime and a late 1800s/Indian War general service button. I'm still stoked over the bust dime. My first. Just a squeaker at 9".
Here's a close-up shot of the obverse.
...and the back.
Thanks so much for looking and once again, best of luck to you all and wishing you good health!
Reply With Quote