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Thread: Tavern sites followup - more great old coins and requested close-up shots

  1. #1
    Veteran Member BTV Digger's Avatar
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    Tavern sites followup - more great old coins and requested close-up shots

    Hi all, thought I'd give you an update on additional finds I've made on two other hunts I made to what I'm calling the two virgin tavern sites
    in northeastern VT. I ended up finding 6 more coppers, bringing the total to 19 at these two sites for me. The total from these fields for all
    of us was 45, including my 3 Mass coppers and a NJ copper dug by my friend. Strangely there were no Vermonts. Silvers were my 2 Reales, and two 1
    Reales. Buttons - 150 at least. Sorry, no GWs. Relics - too numerous to mention. Yes Jeff, I got two more crotal bells. Colonial shoe
    buckles - 2. Here's some annotated close-ups of my coins, a few of which were posted in more broad shots in my original post. It was interesting.
    The first tavern site was in a typical cornfield and finds were fairly "easy" to come by in the sense that most of the copper/button signals were
    shallow and obvious signals. A newbie with an entry level Bounty Hunter machine could've probably snagged a bunch of these. We've cleaned it
    out pretty good at this point, but as you veterans know, once they do a deep plow in the next few years then it's definitely gonna produce again.
    The second tavern site was in a hay field and much, much tougher to detect in the sense that most of the coppers were either very deep, or
    embedded in thick iron. In the thick iron is where I pulled 10 of my 11 from this particular site. Any hint of a high chirp or squeak you had to dig.
    Often the chirps only happened in one direction of the swing so you had to go really slow and from different angles. If they ever level out the hay
    field (the site was a hump in the ground) I'm sure there'll still be a few neat things remaining. Below are the list of dates of the coins I dug. Thanks
    for reading and looking at the selected pics! Best of luck on your next hunts!


    John


    1780 2 Reales
    1787 Mass Copper
    1788 Mass Coppers (2)
    1796 Draped Bust
    1798 Draped Bust
    1802 Draped Bust
    1816 Matron LC
    1819 Matron LC
    1820 Matron LC
    1821 Matron LC
    1822 Matron LC
    1827 Matron LC
    1828 Matron LCs (2, one counter-stamped)
    1830 Matron LC
    No date Matron LC
    Wiped colonial coppers (3, likely KGs)
    1864 2 cent
    1891 Indian

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    Here's a wide shot of the new coins I dug...mainly Matron LCs.

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    A 1796 Draped Bust LC (Tavern 1). This surprisingly is the most valuable coin in the whole lot.
    A rare S-118 variety - only 30-40 known! Worth some nice bucks, but if this coin
    was in any condition as some of the other LCs dug at these sites I'd be looking to
    take a nice trip! This coin was in the original wide shot on my first post.

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    1798 Draped Bust LC (Tavern 1). This coin was in the original wide shot and found on our first 30 min. scouting trip.
    No variety determined as yet. This coin was in my original wide shot on my first post.

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    1802 Draped Bust LC (Tavern 2). This one looked terrible coming out of the ground, but some careful
    tooth-picking and a bit of forehead grease brought out some decent enough details. No variety determined as yet.

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    1819 Matron LC with die crack (Tavern 2). As with many of the Matron LCs from Tavern 2, they were dug
    on a well-draining slope, thus they didn't stay wet for long and were well preserved. No variety determined as yet.

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    1820 Matron LC (Tavern 2). A nice example. Small date variety, though no Sheldon # as yet.

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    1821 Matron LC (Tavern 2). An interesting chocolate-green patina on this one. No variety determined
    as yet.

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    1822 Matron LC (Tavern 1). A nice cornfield example. Variety N-3/R1+, fairly common.
    This coin was in my original wide shot from my first post.

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    1827 Matron LC (Tavern 2). A spectacular example. I couldn't ask to dig a better LC.
    Variety N-8/R3, scarce, but not rare.

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    1828 Matron LC (Tavern 2). She's seen better days but I've certainly dug worse looking
    coins. Variety N-1/R1+, fairly common.

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    Another 1828 Matron LC (Tavern 2). A nice counter-stamped coin. H. Hovey was a druggist
    or pharmacist in Massachusetts in the mid-1800s. Couldn't find much more on him.
    No variety determined as yet.

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    1830 Matron LC (Tavern 1). A typical worn example, though certainly not bad from a cornfield.
    No variety determined as yet.

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    1788 Massachusetts Copper (Tavern 2). I'm extremely happy to have been fortunate enough to dig 3
    Massachusetts Coppers from these two sites. All are in decent shape but this one photographed the
    best with it's chocolate/black patina, which is quite fragile. Hard to determine varieties on these
    Mass. Coppers, and after a few hours looking at my Whitman Encyclopedia of Colonial Coins book
    I'm still at square one.

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    1780 2 Reales (Tavern 1) This is my third 2 Reales in 2 years, I still can't believe I dig these things.
    Another one in great condition for a cornfield coin. This coin was shown in my original wide
    shot on my first post.

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    Here's a shot of the reverse, showing Mexico City mint mark and the assayer's initials for
    Antonio Forcada y Plaza.
    Last edited by BTV Digger; 04-27-2020 at 03:45 PM. Reason: Needed to add a few notes.
    Vermont relic hunting, one swing at a time.
    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG2...OLib30A/videos

  2. #2
    Global Moderator aloldstuff's Avatar
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    Who loves a cornfield???? I know you and I both do and I hope that everybody else reading this post can get on the bandwagon. WOW John...some great keepers. You mentioned that on one of the MA coppers the patina was in a fragil state, do you use Renaissance wax??
    There is more waiting for you and can't wait for the next post.
    Congrats on a great site and hunt
    V3i- Prism IV- Pro Pointer
    2020 GOAL: Any Flowing Hair coin

    TOTAL 100 YEAR OLD COINS - -280
    2020:
    Silver: 11


    Oldest U.S. Copper - 1795 Liberty Cap
    Oldest U.S. Silver - 1829 Capped Bust Dime extra large 10C
    Click here to view my album

  3. #3
    Oh my gosh. I'm drooling on my keyboard. So many great coppers and that Mass Copper..............I'm getting dizzy. Congrats!
    XP Deus

  4. #4
    Senior Member MIKE54's Avatar
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    Those are some beautiful coins,John! Congratulations

  5. #5
    Detecting doesn't get much better than that John. The age, variety, and quantity of the finds from those sites makes the heart pump. That MA copper is a beauty, but that '27 matron is mint! And there is more to come for sure.
    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."

  6. #6
    Senior Member
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    Congrats John. What a fantastic field of dreams you have. Looking forward to seeing more!
    Garrett AT Pro, Garrett Waterproof Pinpointer, CTX3030 with 6,11,17" coils.

  7. #7
    John -- What can I say?
    This is simply amazing.

  8. #8
    This whole post needs to go on the banner! AMAZING finds! Congratulations, they all look great but the PATINA on that 1827 is dreamy! Must have been fertilizer-free farming because that looks better than 99% of yard coppers! Thanks for sharing and please show pics of all the non-coin finds too.
    Oldest Coin: 100-60 BC Gallic bronze coin (Sequani Tribe)
    Oldest Silver Coin: 1156 hammered Pfennig from (now) Bavaria
    Oldest U.S. coin: 1805 Draped Bust Large Cent
    Best Coins EVER: 1625 4 Sols from Kingdom of Chateau Renaud, France
    1662 15 Kreuzers, Leopold I, Austria
    Best Relics: Bronze Age Arrowheads & Spearhead, 2c Roman silver ring, complete medieval knight's spur (x6)
    YouTube Channel: Full Metal Digger

  9. #9
    Elite Member Bucknut's Avatar
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    So much eye candy!!! The 1827 LC looks like it was dropped just a couple years ago! What a dream you are living!

    I found 4 wheats today...
    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 milco's Avatar
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    Amazing stuff!! Congrats and thanks for sharing!

  11. #11
    Three 2 reales in 2 years??!! Finds will turn up for years there, John!
    On Instagram- oxshoedrew

  12. #12
    Elite Member
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    I would say that is a lifetime worth of finds around here, but I doubt I'll ever find even 1 of them. That is an awesome batch of coins. WD
    Total silver 3 - Goal 50 (2024 Finds) - 0 Washington - 0 Barber Dimes - 0 Mercury Dimes- - 3 Roosevelt Dimes - 0 V Nickels - 0 Buffalos - 0 War Nickels - 0 Indian - 10 Wheats - $ 3.44 in clad
    Relics: MILESTONES since 2012: 1700 silver coins - 8000 Clad Quarters - 500 Roosevelts - 750 Mercury Dimes

  13. #13
    Amazing spread of coins the 1820 and the 1828 have eluded me drape bust are so sensitive to the environment lucky to get that kind of detail congrats on an epic hunt

  14. #14
    Elite Member Digger Don's Avatar
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    Thats it, I'm moving to Vermont!!!!!

    Absolutely amazing finds John
    Oldest Coin: 1699 William III Halfpenny


    20
    24
    Silver 4
    Indian 3, Buff 1, V Nik 1, Rosie 2, Barber Dime, SLQ 1,

    YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoU...FVGumMQ/videos

  15. #15
    I live in Vermont, but don't find this kind of stuff.
    John has researching superpowers, and he spends a lot of time swinging the machine.

    Maybe there's a lesson there.

  16. #16
    Thanks for keeping the fires lit. Amazing finds. Thanks for posting.

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