AMERICAN DIGGER MAGAZINE

Volume 17 For Diggers and Collectors Issue 2

In This Issue: March April 2021
$7.95 USA
Spanish Treasure
on Florida Beaches

Digging Privies
& Finding History

Colonial Relics
in New Hampshire

A Window of
Opportunity in
Georgia

Unearthing the
Life of a Farmer

Eli Whitney
Bullet Molds

A Clock in a
Civil War Camp

Plus recent finds
& much more!

www.americandigger.com

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THE USA

March-April 2021 American Digger® 1

For Diggers and Collectors

Volume 17 March-April 2021
Issue 2

Tragedy, Triumph & Treasure Page 26
Everyone knows of the treasures found offshore, but can any be found on the
beaches of Florida? Yes, and here is the proof. Page 32
By Marc Hoover
Privial Pursuit Page 38
In the 1800s there was no garbage pickup, so bottles, ceramics, pipes, and almost
any trash imaginable was thrown into the privy. Today that trash is treasure. Page 42
By Peter Jablonski
A Week in New Hampshire Page 46
The October 13-18, 2020 annual Best of North East Hunt Week was a great Page 48
success despite its first rescheduling in 27 years. Page 52
By Allyson Cohen Page 56
Finding Lost Mountain
The area had been traversed by numerous local relic hunters over the years,
making finds scarce. But when a small lot was cleared, a window was opened.
By Robert Holder
Discovering Lives Gone By
The finds were not from a battle or even from a noted historical event. But the
finds made on this property spoke volumes about those who lived here.
By Holly Colombo
eli whitney bullet molds for rifles & Rifle Muskets
Eli Whitney’s armory made firearms, but it is its Civil War-era bullet molds that
help identify bullets excavated by relic hunters.
By Dean Thomas
Just In The Nick Of Time:
A piece of random brass clock face was almost forgotten in a junk box before a
similar find at an estate sale helped clear things up.
By Charlie Harris

2 American Digger® Vol. 17, Issue 2

NEW! American D-Mail………4 Founded in 2004 by those that love the hobby

Q&A....……….….……....8 Publisher
Butch Holcombe
Stumpt.............................10
Marketing Director
Just Dug……………......12 Anita Holcombe

Current Events..............62 Photographer/Consultant
Charles S. Harris
H2O..................................64
News-n-Views................66 Senior Editor
Bob Roach
Talking Points................68
Copy Editors
Trading Post…………..71 Bill Baab
Eric Garland
The Hole Truth………..72 Teresa Harris

Cover Photo Field Representatives (USA)
______ Midwest Northeast Southeast
Jeff Lubert Allyson Cohen Heath Jones
A different look on the cover of this
issue: Shown is an 1893 Barber dime, a Videographer
Revolutionary War North Carolina USA Riley Bryant
button, a mid-1800s patriotic flask, a rare
North Carolina button variant (ca. early Webmaster
1860s), a pair of Thebes E Notched stone Randy Dickerson
blades, a Civil War-era Georgia state seal
box plate, a 1787 Fugio cent, and an early Consultants
1900s class ring share the cover with a
handful of Spanish gold recovered from James Cecil, Dennis Cox, Bill Dancy, William Leigh
the beaches of Florida’s Gold Coast. All of III, Pam Lynch, Jack Melton, Mike O’Donnell, Sanford
Potts, Mike Singer, Pete Schichtel, Bob Spratley, Jim
this and more is in this issue! Thomas, Don Troiani
______
Our Mission:
Photos by Dennis Andrick, Luke Buckwalter, Holly Colombo, “To promote the responsible excavation and
Marc Hoover, Peter Jablonski, Adam Larrabee, Nate Long, collecting of all artifacts related to America.”

Pete Schichtel, and Shawn Sherrill American Digger® (ISSN# 1551-5737)

published bi-monthly by Greybird Publishers, LLC
PO Box 126, Acworth, GA 30101.
(770) 362-8671.

Periodical postage paid at Acworth, GA
and at additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER:
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No part of this magazine may be reproduced in any
way without the written consent of the publisher.
American Digger® has no affiliation with any hobby
groups, entertainment venues, or websites other than
our own. While we strive for accuracy, American
Digger® cannot be held liable for inadvertent misrep-
resentation. Reader submissions are encouraged, and
you may write or visit our website for guidelines.
Emailed submissions should be sent to publisher@
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photos and text as needed. Unless otherwise request-
ed, all correspondence to American Digger® is subject
to publication. We strongly oppose illegal recovery
and wanton destruction of artifacts. Please dig re-
sponsibly. Our hobby depends on it!

© 2021

MaMrcarhc-hA-Apprriill 22002211American DDiiggggeerr®® 33

American D-Mail

Digging Through Our Mail Box…

Got a comment or question? Write or email us!
[email protected]

Beyond the Great Silver Hoard Beepin ‘ Steve Meinzer
I enjoyed the article “Beyond the Great Silver Hoard” by Tim
Henderson (AD Volume 16, Issue 6). Does he sell any of the
rings he makes out of the coins? If he does, what do they cost and
what is the cost of shipping ?
Jim Keating
(Via email)

Rather than our try to answer all of these questions, Tim suggests
that you contact him directly by email [email protected]
or call him at (615) 948-4611.-AD

Lowcountry Show 2022 Changes “I’m gonna’ need a bigger finds pouch.”
I attended the 2021 American Digger® Lowcountry show on
Saturday and always enjoy it, even though it was the day after back to what we love to do most: buy, sell, find, and collect
New Years. However, I just saw your schedule for the 2022 show artifacts, and, of course, swap stories—probably the most im-
and I am not sure what you are thinking when you schedule the portant thing, actually. Many thanks to American Digger® for
show on New Year’s Day 2022? That means that those of us out- its leadership in holding the event. The kids are back at it!
of-towners will have to travel on New Year’s Eve when we should Erwin Wunderlich
be celebrating with our families, and vendors will also have to Longwood, Florida
travel on that day. I am sure that will affect dealers attending, as
well as turnout to the show. Can’t you schedule it a week later or Holey Shells
another time? It makes no sense to do this on a holiday. Thank It’s always enjoyable to read what treasures are out there
you for your consideration. I truly enjoy the show to the point I that people find. The article on “Holey Shells” was enjoyable
will drive six hours to attend.
Larry Vogel
(Via email)

We understand your concerns. After taking a poll among
show participants, we have decided to change the previously
announced date to January 15 & 16, 2022. We cannot have
the show hall on the second weekend but will be able to get
it for the third weekend. Although there is a large gunshow
in Florida that weekend that will cause a scheduling conflict
with a few of our regular weapons dealers, we had to go
with the majority to be fair to all. After 2022, plans are to
return to the first weekend in January.-AD

More About the Show 407-282-3594
I attended the American Digger® Lowcountry Antique Mil-
itaria & Americana show this past weekend as an attendee,
bought a few things, and all I can say is “Wow!” It was also
good talking to you and visiting all the tables, and seeing the
old spark come back to everyone’s eyes in 2021. It makes me
realize that we are all still only a bunch of kids wanting to get
4 American Digger® Vol. 17, Issue 2

reading (Vol. 7, Issue 1), but what at Walmart for a few bucks. I guess you could also use it
caught my eye was the picture on to keep a coil clean on a full-size detector. This morning I
page 29. On the left the two round also tried a disposable glove instead of the wrap, the kind I
items are not from mussel shells. wear to reduce possible exposure to COVID. I want to try
They are actually otoliths found
in the heads of fresh water drum In Memoriam
or sheepshead. They are a bone
formation that assists in hearing The two round items _______
underwater sounds. They are also in the left of this photo
called “lucky stones”, although a are otoliths, found in Tony Guin
fish hooked on a line might not the heads of freshwater Aug. 25-1953 – Jan. 7, 2021
drum or sheepshead.
feel so lucky. As a kid I used to _________ Lebanon, TN
Avid relic hunter and past
collect them. Thanks for the trip president (5 years) of the Middle
back to my childhood!  Tennessee Metal Detecting Club.

Roger Hajny

Cedarburg Wisconsin

You are correct. This was pointed out on our subsequent _______
Relic Roundup podcast by the author, who picked them up John Turner
while collecting the drilled shells and included them in the
photo as a curiosity.-AD March 29, 1932-Jan. 10, 2021
Eagleville, TN
World Traveler
Great job on the magazine! I have taken American Digger® Experienced lifelong collector
around the world with me on business trips for years. Your and co-author of the book,
magazines have traveled millions of miles with me. I flew the Snake Buckles.
international routes around the world for many millions of miles
for 25 years. The other 10 years were spent flying domestically _______
around the USA. The list of countries AD has visited with me Joseph “Wayne” Jenkins
would be long and impressive. And I enjoyed every issue as Oct. 22, 1946 – Dec. 21, 2020
it kept me company in those foreign lands. American Digger®
has been an absolute joy. Smyrna, TN
Scott Spears Longtime Civil War relic hunter,
Peachtree City, Georgia historian, and metal detectorist.

American Digger® is no stranger to flying the friendly skies, _______
although sometimes the issues are accidently left behind by Terry Teff
world travelers. One of our favorite recollections was a new Aug. 7, 1945-Jan. 12, 2021
subscriber in Scotland. When asked how he had heard about New London, NC
the magazine, he told of how he’d found one at an internation- Civil War historian, relic hunter,
al air terminal in England and started reading it. Puzzled since and author of North Carolina
we don’t sell through traditional retail outlets, we asked him Civil War Buttons.
at what store he had bought it. “No store,” the fellow replied.
“Someone left it at the departing gate.”-AD If you know of the recent passing of a person in the world of artifact
collecting/metal detecting, please send obituary information to publisher@
Pinpointer Tips americandigger.com. Although we extend our sympathies to all, we can
I hope I am not preaching to the choir; you folks probably only publish if space allows.
already know this keep-it-clean technique. Metal detecting
is something I picked up after retiring as a college teacher. March-April 2021 American Digger® 5
To keep my Garrett pinpointer from picking up dirt, sand,
mud and muck, I wrap the business end of my pinpointer
with a thin film of that clingy clear stuff (like Saran Wrap)
people use to bundle and wrap everything from boxes of
goodies to old radios and trinkets. A small roll is available

slightly thicker and more resilient ones because the really MD Code of Ethics
cheap ones get damaged a bit too easily for my liking. I will always check federal, state, county and local laws
Ron Sindric before searching. It is my responsibility to “know the law.”
Waverly, Iowa
I will respect private property and will not enter private
Renewal Survey property without the owner’s permission. Where possible,
In reply to the questions on the back of the American Digger® such permission will be in writing.
renewal form, I own 10 machines and I’ve been detecting 63
years. I make decisions to buy after extensive research. I’ve de- I will take care to refill all holes and try not to leave any
tected in most of the states over the past 63 years and the only damage.
variables are the soil mineralization and history of the land.
Also, I don’t read any digital magazines at all. As to content, I will remove and dispose of any and all trash and litter that
I’d like the “experts” to stop referring to certain metal detec- I find.
tors as not being VLF. All currently produced detectors which
operate on frequencies from 3kHz to 30kHz are VLF. VLF is I will appreciate and protect our inheritance of natural
not a technology, it’s the radio wavelength assigned for metal resources, wildlife and private property.
detector operation; it’s a radio band name, period. Pulse Induc-
tion detectors are also VLF. It’s fluff to claim otherwise. Good I will serve as an ambassador for the hobby, use thoughtfulness,
magazine, keep up the good work. consideration and courtesy at all times.
Phillip Butterfield
Larimore, North Dakota I will work to help bring unity to our hobby by working
with any organization of any geographic area that may have
A True Story problems that will limit their ability to peacefully pursue the
This is a true story about how the love of metal detecting has hobby.
given my 21-year-old autistic son, Liam, a hobby that has kept
him busy through the pandemic. That in itself would be a great I will leave gates as found.
story but it gets much better. It turns out that our neighbor, who
was 96 and an avid coin hunter in the Philadelphia area, heard I will build fires in designated or safe places only.
about Liam and planned on getting together with him once
the pandemic was over. Sad to say, he passed away in October I will report to the proper authorities any individuals who
without them ever meeting, but his son and daughter-in-law enter and or remove artifacts from federal parks or state
would always tell him about Liam’s finds. One day in early preserves.
November the family came to our house and told Liam that Mr.
Brown left items for him and then gave to him framed articles ADDAM’S RELIC
that were written about Mr. Brown, along with a board filled HUNTING ADVENTURES
with coins he found in the Fairmount Park area of Philadelphia
and a very special 10,000th coin found in that park by him. Offering guided relic hunts in the
Gene Malone Charleston Lowcountry for over 14 years.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
*Families, beginners, & seasoned hunters welcome
MD Code of Ethics *Hourly & daily rates available year-round
I would like to see the detecting code of ethics printed in the *Use your own detector or use ours
magazine and a .pdf on your web page so people can print it. Addam Coe and Robert Bohrn together have over 70 years
We’re getting too many people coming into the hobby that of experience. Call 843-276-8338 to reserve a hunt or inquire
know nothing about the code of ethics for it. about our services. Check us out on YouTube@REB DIGS or
Wayne Wright (SC Dirt Diggers) visit our FaceBook page, Addam’s Relic Hunting Adventures.
Beaufort, South Carolina
(843) 276-8338
Although there are variants of the standard Code of Metal
Detecting Ethics, the one put forth by the Federation of Metal
Detecting and Archeological Clubs on their website, http://
fmdac.org/code-of-ethics.html, is the one most looked to, and
is listed below. For the sake of our hobby, we ask that everyone
follow these guidelines:
6 American Digger® Vol. 17, Issue 2

EVENT Highlights

American Digger’s Lowcountry Antique
Militaria & Americana Show & Sale
January 2 & 3, 2021
Mt. Pleasant, SC
_______

As in previous years, the show season was kicked off From top left, clockwise: Award winners at the 2021 show;
the first week in January with the American Dig- The Charleston Free Badge Project; Nokta Simplex door
ger® 2021 Lowcountry Antique Militaria & Americana prize winner; crowds look over the items at the show.
Show & Sale held in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina. With
2020 seeing widespread show cancellations and changes, Below, a mixture of quality artifacts.
the collecting and detecting community was anxious to
see what the new year would bring. If this show is an system. Best Dug Artifact was awarded to Heath Jones
example of what the new season will bring, then all will for a rare Sawyer bolt he found at Port Hudson, while
be well. Best Non-Dug Artifact went to Chris Trimble for the
personal snuff box of Sir Frances Drake.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions and efforts by the pro-
moters (American Digger Events) to keep the public and Although it was previously announced that the 2022
dealers/displayers safe, masks were required to be worn show would be held on New Year’s day, it has been re-
during the entire two-day event. Despite this minor in- scheduled (for one year only) to January 15 and 16 in
convenience, over 160 eight-foot tables were set up by 2022 at the requests of the participants. It is expected to
dealers and collectors from across the country, featuring return to the first weekend in 2023, however.
items from all eras of history up to and including WWII.
Anxious to get out of the house and see some history, the March-April 2021 American Digger® 7
gate traffic was also brisk, and a long line out the door
awaited the opening on Saturday morning.

To help alleviate nerves frayed from the pandemic, a
mask contest was held, in addition to other awards being
given to table holders. Door prizes were also given at
regular intervals, including metal detectors donated by
Nokta, Minelab, and Jim VanDam/Hunter’s Hardware of
Beaufort, South Carolina. Other prizes were provided by
Garrett Detectors, Charleston Carriage Tours, The Pow-
der Magazine Museum, and Bull Dog Tours. As well,
Smoky Mountain Knife Works provided a high quality
hunting knife for a door prize, and a box of other smaller
prizes (fossils, Civil War relics, and coins) to be given to
all kids under 12. Those children were also given free ad-
mission. According to the 2021 show chairman and pub-
lisher of American Digger® magazine, Butch Holcombe,
it is imperative to bring more youngsters into the hobby
and allowing them to have an authentic piece of history
to take home may plant the seed needed for them to be-
come serious detectorists and collectors in the future.

Awards were given in several categories. Best of Show
went to Axel Macon for a freeman firefighter badge which
has already been purchased by the Smithsonian Institu-
tion. Dated “1861,” the silver artifact provides the earliest
known proof of these former slaves-turned firemen, as was
recorded in American Digger® Vol. 16, Issue 6.

Most Educational was awarded to Clifford Krainik
for a display detailing the Charleston Freemen badge

Q&A With

? Charles Harris

Arelative of mine recently gave The reason that Hardin included it in his This bullet was found by me at
me a bayonet they found in book is because during the Revolutionary a Civil War site near Franklin,
storage. I’ve attached several War Colonials used anything they could Tennessee, but I don’t recognize
photos in the hopes you might be able get their hands on (kind of like the it. It is .42 caliber, has a cavity, and was
to identify it for us.  Confederates many years later in the Civil dug in a Union camp. But what kind of
Will Adams War). Both sides in the Revolution used bullet is it? 
Brown Bess muskets, and the pattern must David Haddom
After looking for it in Albert Hardin’s The have impressed our own Committee of
American Bayonet book, I think that Safety, because they adopted the pattern.  This appears to fall under the loose clas-
I lucked into yours. I say “lucked into” sification of a “country rifle” bullet. Ci-
because it is not American as I first Judging by your photographs, the vilian by nature, these were attempts to
thought, but rather British and made for bayonet blade is about 15-¼ inches long; make locally-manufactured rifled fire-
the British 1700s Brown Bess musket. it should be 16-⅞ inches, but I don’t think arms even more accurate by replacing the
8 American Digger® Vol. 17, Issue 2 this is a major difference. The bayonet standard round ball with a bullet similar
could have been broken and resharpened, to the ones designed by Claude-Étienne
or just a slightly different configuration. Minié. The main benefit of Minié’s de-
The shoulder where it meets the triangu- sign was the hollow conical base, which
lar blade is very prominent on your bayo- allowed the lead to engage the rifling bet-
net and is typical British, whereas the ter, giving the projectile more spin and,
American style is normally tapered from thus, better accuracy. Such “country rifle”
the blade into the curved shoulder.  The molds were custom made, probably by
socket is four inches long, which is correct some of the same gunsmiths who made
for the Brown Bess. The heavy lip at the the Pennsylvania and Kentucky rifles,
back of the socket is also characteristic of
the Brown Bess model and it is notched and the bullets
at the mortise to allow the bayonet stud are a scarce find.
to pass under it. Because of the num- Most owners of
bers stamped into the socket and elbow, these small cali-
I would designate yours as British rather ber rifles used a
than Continental Army. The use of the simple round ball.
stamped numbers was also used by the These rifles are
French, so the bayonet also could have considered a ci-
been made for French troops. vilian firearm, al-
though these bul-
lets sometimes do
turn up in camps
from both sides.

Ineed help identifying this button. It Civil War-era “Superior Quality” button column without an example to illus-
has a backmark of “Superior Qual- backmark. Photo courtesy Relicman.com trate them. Well, I just got this one
ity.”  The shank is intact and the but- (for a .56 round ball) at an auction
ton was found in Connecticut.  I believe _______________ and thought that it would be a good
it to be an old New York state seal but- one to use as an example. During the
ton but I am not sure who it would have city employ, such as a bus driver or Revolutionary War, ammunition was
been worn by. other civil servant. The button itself scarce and many of the soldiers had to
Gavin Torri appears to date well into the 20th cen- cast their own musket balls. Iron and
tury, probably into the 1940s at least. iron bullet molds were in short supply,
It is not a state seal, but rather the seal The backmark “Superior Quality” has so some inventive souls, realizing that
of New York City. The current seal of been used on buttons that predate the soapstone was readily available and
New York City is adapted from the de- Civil War, but not with this font or ar- soft enough to be carved with a knife
sign the city first used in 1686. It is very rangement. A photo of a Civil War-era and files, began to make their own bul-
close to item NY 102 in Albert’s book, example is shown above. let molds out of soapstone.
Record of American Uniform and
Historical Buttons, but not quite the I have had people ask me about This carving was refined soon after.
same button. One of the things that soapstone bullet molds in the First, those making the mold formed
puzzled me was the length of the eye past but I really haven’t been two soapstone blocks that were identi-
on the reverse side of this button, but able to properly answer them in this cal in size and fit snugly against each
that is not unheard of, especially if it is other. Normally they were clamped
intended to go through double fabric or into a vice and two holes were drilled
even a leather strap (such as one would through both blocks simultaneously.
find on a policeman’s hat). I suspect it Then a couple of wood pins (sometimes
was for a side button for a hat or cap. just carved sticks) were fashioned to
But rather than police issue, I think it hold the two halves tightly together.
is just a general use City of New York The next step was to obtain a cherry of
button for anyone uniformed under the proper size (caliber) for your mus-
ket. A cherry is an iron cutting tool
with a perfectly round ball on the end
that, when turned, would slowly chew
into the interior surfaces of the two
stone blocks as they were slowly forced
closer and closer together. When the
two surfaces met, a perfect cavity had
been formed into the pair of blocks.

Soapstone was ideal for this, for
not only is it soft and easy to work, it
handles the heat from the molten lead
(or sometimes pewter) with ease, even
acting as a heat sink. The naturally
greasy surface of the stone also makes
for an easy release of the cast balls
from the mold.  I remember that relic
hunter/amateur archaeologist Kevin
Walls dug half of a soapstone mold
when we were working with the Na-
tional Park Service archaeologists at
the Cowpens, South Carolina Revolu-
tionary War battlefield and I have oc-
casionally seen a few others at antique
militaria shows. But they remain rare
and misunderstood. I hope this helps!

March-April 2021 American Digger® 9

STUMPT! We don’t know what they are. Do you know
what they are? Send your guesses, facts,

theories, ideas, and related correspondence to:
Stumpt, c/o American Digger®,

PO Box 126, Acworth, GA, 30101
or email [email protected]

Feedback &

Solved!

Kenny Copelin sent us

the following: “In Stumpt

(Jan.-Feb. 2021) the

first item is a badge

from the 1896 presi- (Left) Eric Hanewinkel’s dug find; (right),a non-dug
dential campaign. If the 1896 presidential campaign pin. Courtesy of Nana’s Cottage
bug is gold colored it is
House Antiques

a McKinley item. If sil-

ver, it is a William Jennings Bryan item. The issue of this

campaign was to keep or not to keep the 16 to 1 standard

between silver and gold coinage.

“The second item is a funeral urn brass decoration that

would have been attached to a wood coffin. Most were sil-

ver plated and cheaply made, often pewter.

Feedback “The item Nick Brainard found (right) is a wrench to ad-
Rodger Durham wrote us con-
cerning the above mystery relic just the ‘lash’ or ‘grind’ of a coffee grinder. Early war camp-
dug by Dwayne Pass and shown
in Volume 16, issue 6, Stumpt: sites contain many broken coffee grinder parts as well as
“...whenever you find a CS oval
where the ‘C’ is larger than the these wrenches. Early in the war soldiers often got a daily
‘S’ then you have a reproduc-
tion. In Howard Crouch’s refer- ration of coffee in bean form.
ence work, Repro Buckles of the
Civil War, you will find this very “The John Webber item (left) is from a ladies belt for
same design noted as Figure 72,
page 76. I know the one shown a dress or coat. The attachment loop and clasp hook was
in the magazine is much smaller
in size than the normal plate but attached via the four mentioned
to me if it looks like a duck and
quacks like a duck, it must be a holes. This attachment device often
duck.”
held patent dates from the 1880s or
In all fairness, we should
note that the smaller “S” may 1890s.” While we can’t yet confirm
only be the result of a slightly
askew photograph, but until we the wrench, the other three identi-
can have the finder contact us
to verify this, we cannot confirm ties appear to be correct.
the difference in letter sizes. As
to the possibility of it being a re- Kenna Mc- Ben Money
production, that doesn’t explain Cutcheon dug this cast
the small size (2.6 x 1.5 inches) found this brass disc at
nor the dual stud fasteners, so cast lead a Civil War
for now, the jury is still out on artifact site in Frank-
what it is. while de- lin County,
tecting with her Garrett AT Pro in Te n n e s s e e
10 American Digger® Vol. 17, Issue 2 Summerville, West Virginia. Civil and we are
War soldiers came through the trying to get
area, but it is not known if this is an iden-
from that period or not. The Bar- tity and age on it. The disc has
ber half was also found and is in- been in a fire, and this is all that
cluded for size reference. It has remains. Originally about one inch
been suggested that it depicts in diameter, it displays the Louisi-
Aunt Jemima, while others think ana state seal pelican and letter-
it merely a racial caricature of the ing that reads, at least partially,
type popular in the late 1800s. But “Member Louisiana.”
what is it?

March-April 2021 American Digger® 11

Just Dug Recent finds by our readers...

Joe Setti was detecting an old Luke Buckwalter was metal detect- Kim Turok was
homesite in Danbury, Connecticut ing the yard of a friend’s house in at a Lowcoun-
and recovered a most unexpected Blacksburg, Virginia and found this try South Caro-
relic from the Civil War-era, this class ring from the 1920s or ‘30s. lina site, fondly
US cartridge box plate. Made of Although it appears to be solid dubbed “The
embossed sheet brass filled with gold, it is actually a heavy gold Button Facto-
lead, these were affixed to the overlay with a sterling silver base. ry” because of
leather flap of the cartridge pouch Because of the wear, it is impos- numerous buttons found there, and
to help keep it closed. Although not sible to determine what the school recovered this silver 1781 reale and
extremely rare at active campaign was or who the initials engraved 1781 half reale. These were legal
sites, it is unusual to see one dug inside represent. Luke made the tender in the USA up until the mid
in the New England states. It was 19th century. Kim made the find in
probably lost by a soldier who was find on November 30, 2020. 
home on leave or perhaps a veter- late 2020 with a Garrett AT Pro.
an after the war. Joe made the find Photo by Luke Buckwalter
on October 15, 2020 with a Minelab Photos by Kim Turok

Equinox 800. Photo by Joe Setti

Damina Notnagle was detecting a George Hicks Adam Larrabee started the new
colonial site near Suffolk, Virginia dug this coin at year right on his first hunt of 2021.
and, among her finds, unearthed an old 1850s This extremely rare Revolutionary
this very early artifact. The copper farm house in War North Carolina Volunteers
alloy spectacle buckle is believed to central Michi- button is one piece pewter. Adam
date between 1550-1650. Damina gan. The 1843 made the find in northern North
made the find on November 6, large cent shows stunning detail Carolina with a Garrett AT Pro.
2020 while using an XP Deus. and almost no wear. George made
the find on a cold and snowy No- Photo by Adam Larrabee
Photo by Damina Notnagle vember 1, 2020 with a Minelab CTX

12 American Digger® Vol. 17, Issue 2 3030. Photos by George Hicks

James Fox dug these two buttons Darr Johnson dug this colonial bale Andrew Engle
while detecting near Vicksburg, seal embossed with a crown and was relic hunt-
Mississippi in the late fall of 2020. “GR” in an area north of Winchester, ing a Civil War
The solid cast brass “A” was used Virginia where various Civil War campsite near
by Texas Confederate artillerymen bullets were dug. After the bullets Petersburg,
and is very rare. These were manu- were all found, he began getting Virginia and
factured by the firm of T. Miller in fainter deeper targets that were heard a good target.  Not expecting
Texas. Also found was the Dragoon colonial era. The landowner then silver, he was surprised to find this
“D” cuff button. The U.S. Dragoons brought in a front-end loader and 1776 reale. It was only his second
were organized in 1833 and in 1861 cleaned off about six inches of dirt for reale and his oldest coin to date. He
redesignated as the First and Sec- him and his digging buddies. As soon made the find in late 2020 while us-
as the owner moved the dirt Darr
ond Cavalry. Photo by Dan Patterson started finding British coppers and ing a Minelab Equinox 800.
a 1774 pillar dollar. The British coins
Joey Damiano, aka “Swifty Morgan” dated back to 1711. Darr gave the Photos by Andrew Engle
to his digging buddies, was detect- coins to the property owner to thank
ing a Civil War site in Goochland him. The Masonic cuff links were also Michael Foreman was digging
County, Virginia and dug this on a permission in central Illinois
North Carolina “Sunburst” Con- found there. Photos by Darr Johnson and recovered this Civil War-
federate button. These were thin era relic. The cast brass Model
stamped copper with a soldered Robert Devilbiss ended 2020 by 1851 officer’s sword belt plate
wire shank. The solder didn’t hold finding this 1851 silver 3-cent still retains traces of its gilt. It was
up well under field use, and the trime near Unionbridge, Maryland. found at a house site that was built
shank on most specimens is miss- Robert made the find with an XP in the mid 1800s and the buckle
ing. These buttons were made to was probably lost by an officer who
be used on North Carolina uni- Deus. Photo by Robert Devilbiss lived there or was visiting. Michael
forms by the troops from that state. notes, “It rang up at 91-93 VDI on
However, the state sent some of the Simplex and was around 6”
the uniforms to be used by other deep. I was running in the Park
states’ soldiers as needed. Joey 1 mode on update 2.77.” Michael
made the find on December 6, made the find in mid 2020 while
2020 while using a Garrett AT Pro. using a Nokta Soimplex detector.

Photo by Swifty Morgan Photo by Michael Foreman
March-April 2021 American Digger® 13

Jeff D’Angelo was relic hunting a Dan Patterson was searching a Victoria Rhine was hunting at a Civil
site near Harpers Ferry, West Vir- plantation site near Vicksburg, Mis- War site near Fayetteville, North
ginia and recovered this 24 mm sissippi and recovered these two Carolina and dug this one-of-a-kind
coat size Georgia state seal but- mid-1800s military buttons. The clip corner belt plate. What sets this
ton backmarked “Wm. H. Smith/ “V” button was made for the U.S. plate apart from others is that it has
New York.” These were made in Voltigers, who disbanded after the been deeply engraved with the let-
the north on contract for the Geor- Mexican War. However, many uni- ters, “C.S.” The heavy gauge cop-
gia State Militia shortly before the forms were put in surplus and later per plate measures 2.78 x 2.05 inch-
war broke out. It was found with used by some Virginia troops and es. Three solder marks are visible on
a Minelab GPX on December 30, possibly a Vicksburg militia unit. the back which held the attachment
This was Dan’s 20th “V” button, hooks (now missing). Interestingly,
2020. Photo by Jeff D’Angelo all found near Vicksburg. He also there are three additional solder
found the “C” US cavalry button at spots where a wider hook arrange-
the same site. Both were found in ment was once used on it. Victoria
October 2020. Photo by Dan Patterson found several other military relics just
a few feet away. She made the find
in May 2020 with a Garrett AT Pro.

Photo by Victoria Rhine

Stephen Stewart was detecting in R a l p h   Ta p p Kandi Chilson was detecting in the
a cornfield in east Tennessee and was relic hunt- South Carolina Lowcountry and dug
dug this 1784 Spanish half reale.  ing in a Union this slave hire badge marked “Mechan-
The silver coin has a Mexico mint- Civil War camp ic/Charleston/184 (?)/31.” These were
mark. Ironically, 1784 was the year in Kentucky that a form of tax by the city of Charleston
a nearby town was founded. Ste- he has detected to be paid for a slave to be hired out
phen found it in late 2020. Then, many times. While the assortment in the city. Kandi made the find in No-
in early January 2021, he dug this of Union finds is always good, he vember 2020. The previous month,
gold locket from same field. The was excited to check a Confeder- her husband Clyde recovered his first
locket, which dates to the late ate item off his bucket list here. The Confederate button, a silver plated
1800s, shows no proof or karat script (old English) infantry button South Carolina state seal, near Beau-
marks and, although it appears was likely from a prisoner, although fort, South Carolina. It is backmarked
to be gold, was likely only heavily Ralph had made a few other Con- “Scovills & Co.” and dates to the late
gold played. A photo of a woman federate finds in the immediate 1850s. Clyde made his find with an XP
is still visible inside the locket. Ste- area. He made the find on Novem-
phen uses a Minelab Equinox 800. Orx. Photos by Charlie Harris
ber 24, 2020. Photos by Ralph Tapp
Photos by Stephen Stewart

14 American Digger® Vol. 17, Issue 2

John Koney (left in the group photo) detected an apple orchard in Con-
necticut in August 2020 with (left to right) his wife Peggy, daughter Cher-
yl, son-in-law Travis, granddaughters Kyra and Kristen, and grandson
Stephen with his girlfriend Lily. Those not detecting did the digging and
pinpointing. Finds for the day included two Model 1903 spurs, a bird
band (which was too old to obtain any information about it), a couple of
brass buckles, a WWI Great Seal button, a ring, an 1880 Indian Head
cent and an 1820 capped bust dime. Missing from the photo is an 1841
William Harrison presidential token which was returned to the property
owner whose father collected presidential tokens. John notes that metal
detecting has proven to be a fun experience for the entire family. Four
detectors were used: two Garrett AT Pros, a Minelab CTX 3030, and a

Minelab Equinox 800. Photos courtesy of John Koney

Deidra Goins Nate Long was
was detect- digging in a turn-
ing in a yard of-the-century dump in Pennsylva-
near a battle nia and found these items. In addi-
site in middle tion to the chamber pot and bottles,
Te n n e s s e e in two trips he found this early 1900s
and heard a toy race car, along with a 1901 and
strong iron signal. It turned out to 1893 silver Barber dime. The Marine
be this nose section from a 2.94” Corps hat badge is from the WWI
Hotchkiss shell. This was one of the era. He made the finds in late 2020.
most prevalent projectiles fired by
Union forces during the Civil War in Photos by Nate Long
1864-65 and fired from a three-inch
3-inch wrought iron rifle. The shell is Andrew Fox was Jackie Eder was detecting in a farm-
missing its fuse, which was blown metal detecting for silver coins with er’s field in Fort Erie, Ontario, Cana-
out when the shell ignited but failed his grandpa in a urban area of Rock- da and found this early Spanish sil-
to explode. Deidra made the find ingham County, Virginia and unex- ver. The 1787 2-reale King Charles
on January 2, 2021 with a Minelab pectedly began finding Civil War coin was minted in Mexico City. It
relics. Before the day was over, they was found in January 2021 using a
Equinox 600. Photo by Roger Goins had found half a dozen .58 Miniés Nokta Simplex. Photos by Jackie Eder
and these two buckle pieces. The
keeper is from a rectangular sword March-April 2021 American Digger® 15
belt plate, while the tongue is from a
Confederate States two-piece sword
belt plate. He made the finds on No-
vember 15, 2020 with a Garrett AT

Pro. Photos courtesy of Andrew Fox

Ryan Price Lauren Daigle Zane Haecherl was detecting near
dug these dug her first the North Wando River in South
relics at a Seated quar- Carolina and found what appears
Union camp- ter dollar, an to be a piece of jewelry depicting a
site near Mil- 1856, while monkey on a coil of vines. The Civil
len, Georgia. With the exception of metal detect- War-era Union Civil War artillery
one cavalry button, all were recov- ing at a old button was found close by. The exact
ered from a single hole. Also from homesite and Civil War camp in era of the jewelry is unknown.  Zane
the hole and dug by Ryan and friend the gumbo mud of Louisiana. She made the find in August 2020 with a
Jerry Walker were ten small typeset recovered the silver coin on No- Garrett AT Max. Photo by Charlie Harris
letters possibly used in a personal vember 5, 2020 while using a Gar-
identification stamp. The ring is gutta rett AT Max. Photos by Damien Daigle 
percha with silver inlay. Similar rings
have been documented to have
been made by prisoners of war. Mil-
len was a POW camp during the Civil
War. All were found in January 2021
with an XP ORX. Photos by Ryan Price

Keith Doster was detecting in Jasper Troy Armstrong Kevin Mitchell
County, South Carolina and found was digging in dug these finds at
the remains of this late 18th-early a hole full of a colonial home-
19th century coin purse. The coins oyster shells at site in Danvers,
consist of four Spanish 8-reales and a Civil War site Massachusetts.
a 2-reale. Most of the leather or cloth near Wilmington, North Carolina and Shown here is a 1749 king George
purse they were in disintegrated but found these Confederate infantry but- copper, a three-cent silver Trime
the brass rim and opening hinge is tons, a “Manuscript I” coat button and and a colonel-era pie crust cutter.
still preserved. The silver coins date a “Lined I” vest button. The coat but- Also found, but not shown here,
1771 through 1802. Keith made the ton is backmarked “P. Tait/Limerick were a King George I coin, a Mas-
find in mid-2020 with an  XP Deus. Ireland,” but both are believed to have sachusetts Volunteer Militia button,
been manufactured by that English and a fancy 1700s knee buckle.
Photo by Charlie Harris company as both have a “floating Kevin found the relics in mid-2020
shank” associated with Tait. These with a Nokta Makro Anfibio detector.
16 American Digger® Vol. 17, Issue 2 were designed so that the buttons
could nestle against the uniforms Photos by Kevin Mitchell
when shipped to save room and
avoid damage. Troy uses a Minelab

Equinox 800. Photos by Charlie Harris

Matt Lomas was metal detect- Jeff Harvey was Dan Yarrusso was relic hunting 
ing near Johns Island, South metal detect- a site south of Charleston, South
Carolina when he recovered this ing in Hamp- Carolina and found this early South
rare slave hire badge. The cop- t o n   C o u n t y, Carolina state seal. The backmark is
per piece is inscribed, “Charleston South Carolina ““E.L. Roche/Superfine.” Dating to
Neck/Servant/1850/198” and mea- and recovered the 1830s, these utilized a thick flat
sures 1½ x 1½ inches.  Charles- these buttons. The South Carolina disc as a back. They were believe
ton Neck slave tags were only state seal is an early low convex to have actually been manufactured
made for three years. It should two-piece button used by the state by the Scovill Company on a small
be noted that the only document- militia in the 1830s. Also found were contract for Roche. Extremely rare,
ed slave badges were issued by a Confederate artillery manuscript only three have been accounted for
Charleston or Charleston Neck “A” and a Roman “I.” Jeff made the to date. It was found in the fall of
and so marked; all others are finds in mid 2020 with an XP Deus. 2020 with a Minelab Equinox 800.
considered 20th century fantasy
pieces. Matt made the find in Photos by Charlie Harris Photos by Charlie Harris
November 20220 while using a
Spencer Phillips was
Minelab Equinox 800. diving in a Lowcountry
South Carolina river
Photo by Charlie Harris when he eyeballed
this fossilized Colom-
Jackie bian Mammoth tooth.
Marsh Rare to find in any con-
was relic dition, this one is com-
hunting plete with the root. The
at an old plantation site located Columbian Mammoth (Mammuthus Columbi) was a massive Ice Age beast
near Camden, South Carolina and a descendant of Mammuthus Meridionalis, an earlier species that migrated
and dug these three Confeder- across the Bering Land Bridge into North America around one million years ago.
ate buttons. The pre-Civil War The Columbian Mammoth ranged from Alaska to Florida and as far south as
South Carolina vest button is Mexico and Central America. While most think of the Woolly Mammoth to be
backmarked “Horstmann Bros. large, it only stood about nine feet at the shoulder, compared to the Columbian
& Co./ Phila.” The two smaller Mammoth which stood almost 14 feet. The Columbian Mammoth weighed up
buttons are Confederate artil- to 10 tons and consumed about 700 pounds of vegetation a day. Their lifespan
lery buttons intended for a kepi was 60 to 80 years. The Columbian Mammoth was the first immigrant lineage
strap. The finds were made in the of mammoths into North America. They became extinct 11,000 years ago along
fall of 2020. Photos by Charlie Harris with all other Proboscideans in North America. Associated Paleo-Indian stone
tools have been found at some fossil sites, indicating these massive beasts

were hunted by early North American Indians. Photos by Spencer & Steve Phillips

Robert Thorne found this silver mono-
grammed spoon handle at an 1860s trad-
ing post site in northeast Kansas. Most
interesting is that the handle has been
broken and repaired with a silver splice,
a solution that obviously didn’t last. There
is a date of 1699 stamped in the metal.
Thome dug it in November 2020 with a
Minelab Equinox 800. Photo by Robert Thorne

March-April 2021 American Digger® 17

Doug Shaw and Gary Hartman Chuck Acton
John Morgan were was digging at located a small
metal detecting a a site in Fay- virgin Union
site in central Illinois ette County, Civil War camp
and discovered the remains of this West Virginia in Maryland
leather coin purse containing 10 and recov- and recovered the finds shown here
coins. The coins include an 1879 ered this bot- in the span of a few weeks. Shown
Morgan silver dollar, 1829 Capped tle embossed, is a bayonet scabbard tip, numer-
Bust half dollar, 1826 Capped Bust “H. Hollander ous buttons including a New York
half dollar, 1857 Liberty Seated Co./Distillers/ state seal and an entire jacket of
dime, 1858 Liberty Seated half dime, Wholesale Li- eagle “I” infantry, a US box plate, US
1867 three cent (nickel), 1852 three quor Dealers/ belt plate, a pair of kept buckles, and
cent (silver trime), 1852 three cent Cincinnati O.” a canteen neck with the stopper in-
(silver trime) with a counter punched In business tact. The belt plate is a stud fastener
star inside the shield, 1830 Liberty from 1886 un- “puppy paw” style. These were issued
Head large cent, and 1804 Draped til 1913, the early in the war by the U.S. army, and
Bust half cent. The pair made the whiskey itself later replaced with an arrow hook
finds on January 21, 2021 with a came from the style.  Chuck made the finds in De-
Garrett Ace 400. Photos by  Doug Shaw Rugby Distill-
ery Company cember 2020. Photos by  Chuck Acton
in Louisville, Kentucky. The Rugby
Distillery Company was devastated
by the Easter Flood of 1913 on the
Ohio River when over 5,000 bar-
rels of whiskey were washed into
the Ohio River. The bottle is slightly
over a foot in height and 3¼ inches
in diameter. Gary made the find in

2020. Photo by Gary Hartman

Billy Smith was David Pietroski Jerry Morgan was detecting a site
detecting at a Rev- had two great near Chickamauga, Georgia and
olutionary War-era back-to-back found this WWI-era military iden-
house site in cen- outings at pair tification disc. Commonly called
tral Virginia and of early colonial “dog tags” and made of alumi-
recovered this 1797 half dime. This sites in Somerset num, this one belonged to “Paul
variety has 16 stars; others have County, Maryland. Among his bet- Haggard / B.U.G. / Co. K, 17th Inf.
15 or 13 stars. He made the find on ter finds were three Spanish silver U.S.A.” It is believed, but not cer-
January 23, 2021 while using his XP cobs and a 1695 Scottish 1 Bodle. tain, that “B.U.G.” is an acronym
Deus. Photos Courtesy of Tom Goodloe David made the finds in December for “back up gunner.” Jerry made
2020 while using a Minelab Equi-
18 American Digger® Vol. 17, Issue 2 the find in November 2020.
nox 800. Photos by David Pietroski.
Photo by Charlie Harris

In Their Own Words:
Just Dug with a Personal Touch

“I got a chance to go digging east “[These were] found by me in “I was digging
of the Blue Ridge, Virginia with southeast Missouri in October on January
some good friends, which is always 2020, using an XP Deus. I was 3rd 2021 in
a treat. [My wife] Anita and I spent working a field [which now has] King George,
about two hours in the woods but high grass and got a hit on an Virginia and
only found a piece of lead made into eagle button. Then, just a foot found this oc-
a poker chip. Everyone else was away, I dug the 1841 dime. We tagonal but-
digging in a field. We got to the field continued hunting the big field until ton. Through my research I have
and my first signal was a percussion nearly dark when it was time to discovered that it [depicts] vice
cap. The next signal was very good. head back to the truck. I decided admiral Edward Vernon of the Brit-
After digging about two feet in the to walk over the area where I had ish Royal Navy, the man Lawrence
ground I finally see a beautiful green found the dime and button, and Washington, George Washington's
patina and the edge of a plate. My just a few feet away I got another half-brother, named Mount Ver-
first thought was a US plate but as I hit and dug my very first half dime, non after. It most likely dates to
rubbed some of the dirt away I saw an 1853. That Yank was probably the 1740s to 1750s. I've also been
the dome and knew exactly what I pretty upset about losing his 15 told...that the shape and the design
had: a Georgia state seal box plate! I cents!” Ron Warren are extraordinarily rare and I have
told my friends I wasn't coming back yet to see another one just like it.”
any more cause they only let me dig Patrick Connors
three relics. I was using a Minelab
GPX 4500.” Dennis Andrick

“A few months ago I found these relics at the same
site in Charleston, South Carolina that I found my
first two slave tags. The [cast brass] lion’s head is
either from the War of 1812 or an early 1800s cloak
clasp. When I dug this signal I thought it was just a
piece of lead. It was covered with dirt so I just put
it in my pack and kept hunting. When I got home I
starting cleaning my finds and that’s when I realized
there were two eyes looking at me! I started to get
excited and slowly cleaned it to realize it was a lion. 
The next picture is of a token I dug and this one
sounded great. When I dug it I saw it was a coin so
I put it in my container and kept detecting. When I
got back home I slowly cleaned it enough to see a
sun and sun rays and ‘166,’ I couldn’t quite tell what
the last number was. I was in shock that it was a
1600s coin...my first! I finally found that it was not
a coin, but rather a French Jetton,1664 Ordinary of
Wars [token of] King Louis XIV. [All were found with
a Minelab Equinox 800.]”
Stephanie Inskeep

March-April 2021 American Digger® 19

“I am 15 years old and was recent- “I dug this Confederate cavalry button in the South Carolina Lowcountry
ly hunting an area where I thought [in late 2020 with a Minelab Equinox 800]. It was made in Britain and then
there was an old railroad depot. I shipped to the U.S. to a local Charleston, South Carolina arms dealer,
wasn’t finding much so I started my Courtney and Tennant. They would [contract to] have their name for the
way back to the car. I noticed an backmark of the button. During the Civil War many were bought by local
empty lot near the tracks and was soldiers. Also pictured is a Charleston police button, of which I have dug
certain I had finally found where several from Confederate camps. Also pictured is a six-inch-long skeleton
the depot once stood. I started key. The spur is an uncommon Confederate spur [connected with] Colonel
detecting but was only finding bits James W. Starnes’ 4th Tennessee cavalry. I had the opportunity to have
of railway metal. Discovering it my picture taken in front of the original plantation’s doctor’s office located
was bulldozed, I decided to search on the property where the owner and workers would have been treated.
closer to the tracks near some old All finds were dug on the same plantation.” Bill Leckie 
concrete remains. Suddenly, I got
a solid 83-84 on my [Garrett] Ace
200. It turned out to be a brass
baggage tag from the depot. It says
‘Cattaraugus 860 Erie Railway.’ I
made the find in November 2020
[near Franklinville, New York].”



Dylan Blatner

“I found this amazing coin spill behind “It seems like the fields in my area of northwest Ohio have been hunted
my house [inAlabama] in a field where to death over the years and finds are hard to come by.  I spent some time
a garden was in the mid 1900s, using this year looking in places where others haven't and was rewarded several
a Garrett AT Pro. As I was swinging I times.  The points and celt were found on riverbanks near my home. The
got a deep 81/82 that sounded like it celt is not perfect but is the first one I have found so I am very happy with
had multiple targets. When I dug the it. The larger black point is perfect and very thin and light and is the best
plug I found this wonderful spill [in point I have ever found.  It was on the edge of the riverbank and likely would
January 2021].” Brandon White (aka have washed in with the next flood...the person who made that point long
Alabama Dirt Digger) ago was a true craftsman!  I found these relics in the summer of 2020 from
my kayak by carefully searching the bank.” Terry Weidner
20 American Digger® Vol. 17, Issue 2

“My son and I went out after work in October of 2020 here in middle
Tennessee, looking to get a quick relic hunt in before dark. We drove
out to a park a couple of towns over where I have found Civil War relics
before. My hopes were to luck up on a bullet so my focus was on those
type of signals. We hadn’t walked far from where we parked and my
second signal was a 12-31 on my Minelab Etrac. I cut the plug and could
see what I thought was a gold-colored twist cap off of a liquor bottle. I
quickly picked it up to put in my pouch but was blown away to pull out this
huge chunk of gold and to see I had just dug my first class ring. I called for
my son to come over and we shared the excitement. I was anxious to get
home, get it cleaned up and start searching for the owner.

“The first search my wife did took us to the right guy...we were able to
find phone numbers and even an address. I didn’t want to just call him or
reach out to him through social media because I wanted to surprise him... I found a place he used to live but it
looked as no one lived there. As I was heading out of the complex I see a guy pulling in that looks like him based
on photos I have seen on his social media pages. Sure enough it was him and I started a conversation explaining
who I was and that I metal detected...and as soon as I said I was looking around this park he excitedly asked if
I had found his ring! He was in disbelief and was very shocked that I had found it and took the time to track him
down and return it to him. He tells me that he lost it 24 years ago during his senior year. His class went down
to the park... He said he knew he had lost it and the teacher and other students spent time looking for it. Also a
friend from church went there with his detector but didn’t have any luck on the recovery. He figured it was lost
forever. I was thanked several times and he even offered to pay me. I told him his thanks was plenty enough.
It was a thrill to find this but I enjoyed locating him and seeing his reaction. I’ve always wanted to do this and I
am so happy I got an opportunity. I love seeing when others have done the same. It’s such a fun and rewarding
hobby that never gets old even after many years of searching for treasures!” David Johnson

“I found this “I was bottle digging when I found these. My favorite is the black glass
early 1900s ‘Boericke &Tafel’ from the 1880s or 1890s. The ‘Taylor and Myers’ amber
14k gold and pharmacy bottle is from the 1890s. My girlfriend, Savannah, dug her first
jade ring while good bottle, a scarce ‘E.W. Wiard Ypsilanti’ from Ypsilanti, Michigan. Wiard
metal detecting company first operated a cider mill, then made plows; after that they had
on December a bottling works, and currently operate a cider mill in a different location
31 2020. I was from the original cider mill. Their first orchard was planted in 1837. These
out with the Nokta Simplex Plus and bottles were dug on August 29, 2020 near Detroit, Michigan. Also I was
digging tons of trash when I got a bottle digging with my buddy Ted when I saw a huge bottle in the hole. I
55 signal.  I was going to pass it up thought it was going to be a big blob beer at first. To my surprise it was a
but I’m very glad I dug the signal.  half gallon Cloverdale Mineral Water bottle! [We] estimate this bottlewere
My eyes were big when I saw the made in between 1905 to 1915. It was found on August 27th 2020 near
glimmer of gold shining through the Detroit, Michigan.” James Stottlemyer
dirt.  The rest of my day was to busy
thinking about the gold to detect March-April 2021 American Digger® 21
any more. It was found in southern
Maryland.” Stephen Huffman

“December was an absolutely in- “On January
credible month for me and I want- 1, 2021 I was
ed to share these photos. Above digging a new
is a Texas button associated with permission. I
the 3rd or 5th Texas Regiment of got a 81/82 on
Hood’s Division. [The bottle] is a my Garrett AT
1730s mallet transitional bottle Pro. I dug the plug and was happy
from a colonial home site here in to see this beautiful 1908-D Bar-
Virginia. The button was found [with a pulse induction detec- ber Dime. It is in great condition. I
tor] and the pit was found by probing. Recoveries of these two couldn’t ask for a better way to start
finds can be found on the ‘Gone Diggin’ YouTube channel.” the New Year.” Brandon White (aka
Matt Howell Alabama Dirt Digger)

“While detecting in Maryland in “I found this...1865 war date 2-cent
November 2020, I dug this dragoon piece on a cold, rainy, sleeting
button with a Horstmann backmark. January 2021 day in Nashville,
This has been a bucket list item for Tennessee. Also found [but not
a while. I knew it had gilt when I dug shown here] was an 1898 silver
it but when I cleaned it I couldn't Barber dime and three .69 caliber
believe how good it actually was. This was the seventh one recovered from a Minié bullets. The 2-cent piece was
long-gone homesite. Later that week, back in Ohio I was hunting one of my... in a hole where we had dug out a
homesite permissions and dug an awesome love token with ‘Nettie’ on it. It .69 Minié earlier. The signal was
was made from a Capped Bust dime. This makes my third love token in 37 faint and when I finally reached
years of detecting. I found the love token with the XP Deus and the button with the coin, I wondered how a [clad]
a Minelab Equinox 800.” Mike Speiser quarter got down to 20 inches deep
but after pulling it out I knew it was
22 American Digger® Vol. 17, Issue 2 old. I then thought it was a shield
nickel [but] my relic hunting partner
recognized what it was. The coins
[were] only produced from 1864
to 1872 and then a third of them
were pulled out of circulation and
repurposed as 1-cent pieces. The
relics were found with a Minelab
E-Trac.” Michael Sanderson

“I found this button in one of General Greene’s encampments in the Low-
country of South Carolina in March of 2020. Found along the edge of the
camp, it was in a wet, low-lying area along with a ½ reale, a field-cast but-
ton and a couple of musket balls. I sent pictures to a few friends, but no-
body recognized it. Several weeks later, while trading stories with longtime
friend, David Simpson, I showed him a picture. He immediately recognized
it as a very rare 1766 William Pitt No Stamp Act button. Somewhere in my
memory, I remembered something from 9th Grade American History Class
about the Stamp Act, but knew nothing about it. Researching this button
has given me a true appreciation for its significance and how it fit into our
path to independence. These were arguably the first political buttons ever
made. They were made to honor British Parliament member, William Pitt,
for his help and support to the American colonies in overturning the Stamp
Act passed in 1765. The Stamp Act was one of the first of many unpopular
British tax acts that led to unrest and unified protests within the colonies against the British government. William
Pitt became a hero in the American colonies when he stood up to the Grenville Ministry, stating in Parliament ‘...
that this Kingdom has no right to lay a tax upon the colonies.’ He also rejected taxation without representation,
stating that it was the most contemptible idea that ever entered into the head of man.

“...We recognize these concepts as some of the key arguments put forth in the Declaration of Independence
10 years later. It is easy to see how Pitt became such a superstar to the colonists and how he came to be hon-
ored with these buttons. Although Pitt was able to briefly reverse our course toward rebellion, Parliament’s con-
tinued disregard for their colonies led to the revolt a decade later that we now know as the American Revolution. I
am thrilled with finding it, and I’ve really enjoyed learning about a long-forgotten but key piece of our nation’s his-
tory, one that set us on the path to independence. [Found using a Minelab Equinox 800 detector]” Chris Watson

“I was hunt- “Charlie Purks and I were
ing two colonial exploring a large wooded area
cellar holes in in southeastern Virginia hoping
North Carolina, to get into some colonial sites.
when I got a We had found two [such sites]
solid ‘85’ ring- earlier in the day and moved
ing out amongst heavy iron. I dug on. Late in the day we found
through the rocky ground and old what appeared to be a virgin site
ballast stone and, to my surprise, spread all over the woods. Since it was late, we decided to come back
out from the hole came a King Wil- at a later date. Upon our return several days later, after about an hour of
liam III 3rd issue 1699-1701 [cop- scouting around, Charlie got a small, strong signal. He spent about 10
per]. It is the oldest coin I have minutes chasing it around the mulch and almost gave it up for a .22 or
ever dug. I found it on January 17th buckshot [before] he finally located it. Neither of us knew what it was other
2021, using my XP Deus with a than a Spanish look with castle and lion. Preliminary research [shows it
9-inch HF coil running on 33khz.” to be] a 1730-1750s one quarter Spanish reale possibly minted in Bogota,
Aaron Cooke (Metal Detecting SC) Columbia. Charlie was using an XP Deus with a factory coil. It was found
in January 2021.” Found by Charlie Purks, story/photos by Cory Rind

“I found this Virginia button on January 30, 2021
at a Union camp that guarded the Johnsonville
to Nashville, Tennessee railroad [during the Civ-
il War]. I have hunted this camp for about thirty
years and pulled numerous relics from the ground
but this by far is the best thing I have found there.
It must have been a souvenir from one of the
soldiers stationed there. It has the shank and a
backmark of ‘W.H. Horstmann & Sons/Phila.’ I
use a Minelab Equinox 800.” Dennis Nunnery

March-April 2021 American Digger® 23

“In late December 2020, my digging partner Martin Lane and I were
detecting on a friend’s property in Dover, Tennessee, on which part of
the battle of Fort Donelson had been fought. We had found several
Civil War bullets on his property in the woods around his house, but
had never detected the yard.

“We started detecting up next to the house (the owner had a new
roof and asked us to look for nails). After about 10 minutes I got a great
signal about eight feet from the house. Thinking it was too close to
the house to be anything good, I was not expecting what I saw when
I flipped the plug over. I about passed out when I realized I had just
found a Seated Liberty quarter. After the fist pumps and high fives with
Martin, we continued on our way around the house doing our “roof nail
search.” I wasn’t thinking about nails anymore but did find a few. After finding the usual things you find in a yard —
cans, bottle caps, more cans — we circled back to the area where we found the quarter. I still can’t say why we left the
area without checking it closer, I guess it never crossed my mind there could be more silver.

“About 15 feet from where the 1st coin was found, I got another loud, beautiful signal. I figured another can, but out
popped the 2nd Seated Liberty quarter. After another round of fist pumps (and maybe an awkward man hug) Martin
and I realized we should probably search this area pretty close. Martin got in on the action shortly after that with his
own ‘SLQ.’ The next hour was something of a blur, as we continued to pull treasure out... Along with the silver quarters,
we managed to dig several Civil War bullets. Normally a cause for celebration, it was strange to hear Martin say ‘It’s
only a bullet.’ When it was all said and done, we managed to pull nine Seated Liberty quarters from a space of about
25 square feet. Most were only 4 to 6 inches deep...

“With where they were found, the date range of the coins [1853 to 1857], the good condition the coins were in, and
the bullets found in the area, it is very possible, if not probable, this was a spill from a soldier during the Civil War. We
gave my friend one of the quarters and a bullet. He was so pleased that he overlooked the fact we made a very poor
showing at collecting roofing nails. [Found December 29, 2020 with a Garrett AT Max ].” Andrew Smith

“It was a cold, brisk, but sunny morning in North Carolina. I set out towards
my new ‘honey hole.’ I started off with the Garrett AT Max and scored a
flower button. After it warmed up a bit, I switched to the Garrett Apex. I
was just randomly walking around digging shotgun stamps and modern
bullets, basically anything VDI 35/40 and up. Then all of a sudden I heard a
great signal on the Apex...a solid 76 VDI. Dug the hole and the item ended
up being in the side wall. I used my hand to dig it out. After three or four
scoops I saw something round. I saw the sunburst and knew I had just
dug something good! I just didn’t know how good and rare a button I had
found until fellow diggers started chiming in on my live video and telling
me exactly how rare! The sandy cotton field preserved this button well. I’m
being told it is one of eight known to exist!” Shawn “Sgt. Whitey” Sherrill 

“I’m 13 years old and found this 1798 Draped
Bust large cent in Marion County, South Caro-
lina on January 28, 2021 at 5:00 p.m. It was my
first time using a Minelab Equinox 600. I was in
the woodline, [it was a] good thing there were
no snakes! I got a raging clear signal of 28, and
as I began to dig I thought, Okay, just another
soda tab. To my surprise it was this coin. I could
not believe my eyes! All I can say is never give
up, and always double check your digs.”
Ellie Giambelluca (Detecting with Ellie)

24 American Digger® Vol. 17, Issue 2

March-April 2021 American Digger® 25

Tragedy,
Triumph &
Treasure

by Marc Hoover

________

One man’s story of
recovering incredible
Spanish treasure on a

Florida beach

26 American Digger® Vol. 17, Issue 2

Every year, millions of visitors travel to Florida for rec-
reation and fun in the sun, and every year they leave
something behind. Floridians and vacationers alike
flock to over 660 miles of Florida’s famous beaches, deposit-
ing treasure and trash to seemingly be lost forever, that is
until someone else comes along and finds it. For some met-
al detectorists it is a dream. If there are people, there will
always be something left on the beach. Coins, rings, jewelry,
and all kinds of valuable items like cell phones are lost and
found every year. On many occasions the owner is tracked
down and the lost item is returned. Often, the newly found
treasure becomes the possession of the person who found
it. I still have the first silver cross I found on the beach with
my metal detector. For others, the constant recovery of pull
tabs, bottle caps, cans, and every kind of trash imaginable Ornate gold cuff links from
can be a real nightmare. However, the best detectorists have the 1715 Treasure Fleet.

learned how to increase their odds of successfully finding
more treasure and less trash. And that success is what keeps
them going.
Florida is also well known for
another kind of treasure: Spanish fleet and where its treasure might
be located. In 1966, by then a well-
gold, silver, jewels, and priceless known treasure finder, Wagner co-
artifacts. Over the centuries, hun- wrote the appropriately titled book,
dreds of ships have sunk off the
coast of Florida and along the east- Pieces of Eight, Recovering the Riches
ern seaboard of the United States. of a Lost Spanish Treasure Fleet.
Many other books and articles have
In fact, one region of Florida is been written about the 1715 Plate
now famously called the “Treasure Fleet, its treasures and its salvage
Coast,” comprised of the coast in since then.
Indian River, St. Lucie, and Martin The fleet was an armada of
Counties. The term Treasure Coast twelve Spanish galleons fully loaded
began to be used in the early 1960s with untold riches, personal items,
as treasure hunters discovered the contraband and provisions for the
remnants of the now well-known ship’s crew. They were sailing north
“1715 Fleet.” from Cuba along the east coast of
During those early years, a lo- Florida back to Spain to fill the
cal building contractor, Kip Wag- Clipped silver 8 reales coin King’s treasury with the riches of the
ner, embarked on a project to con- stamped with a cross. New World. Tragedy struck in the
duct extensive research of the 1715
early hours of July 31st 1715 as the
ships were engulfed in the full fury of the wind and waves of
a raging hurricane. The captain and crew fought heroically
for hours to save their ships and their own lives. Despite
their best efforts, eleven of the twelve ships were lost at sea.
Over 1,500 sailors perished during the storm, though there
were some survivors. Almost all the treasure and cargo was
scattered along the ocean floor for miles around the area
from south of Fort Pierce to Sebastian in the north. For de-
cades, professional and amateur treasure hunters alike have
been searching with some success for the treasure, with a
Above, obverse and reverse of a gold 8-escudos dozen or more dive boats setting out each summer to search
dated 1713. Note the 3 stamped over the 2 on the the shallow waters of the area. They do this legally under the
reverse with the royal seal. On the opposite page, a auspices of “1715 Fleet—Queens Jewels LLC” which owns
storm rolls into the Treasure Coast of Florida. Below the salvage rights under lease from the State of Florida. To
date, millions of dollars in valuable treasure in the form of
it are gold and silver recovered by Jim Tippitt.

March-April 2021 American Digger® 27

gold escudos, silver reales, and valuable arti-
facts have been recovered by the divers on these
boats. But it is well known that there is still a
large amount of treasure to be found and that is
what drives the treasure hunters to keep going.

After every major storm or hurricane,
treasure hunters and metal detectorists
alike hasten to the area to try and find
treasure that may be lying along and just under
the newly revealed sand on the beach. More than
a few have been successful over the years at find-
ing treasure and artifacts.

I am often asked by people not familiar with
the hobby of metal detecting if I think that Span-
ish treasure can still really be found on a Florida
beach. The prospect of that is hard to fathom for
the uninformed. My answer is a resounding yes,

Above, Jim Tippitt pauses on the beach as a storm qualified of course by the caveat that one must be in the right
rolls in at New Smyrna Beach, Florida. Note the top place, at the right time, with the right conditions. And it helps
of the search coil painted bright yellow for better to have the right equipment and know how to properly use
visibility underwater. At the top of the page, a gold it. But it is possible, and the rest of this story is about a man
8-escudo sees the first light of day in over 300 years. who did just that. Meet my friend Jim Tippitt, aka Jimmy
28 American Digger® Vol. 17, Issue 2 Crossbones (a fitting moniker) who found a trove of Spanish
treasure and relics on a Florida beach with his metal detector.

Jim is a friendly sort and easy to talk with. With a slight
smile and a reserved manner, he makes you feel comfortable
in conversation. His southern drawl immediately gives away
his heritage. Jim grew up in Tennessee and is a rugged out-
doorsman, tanned and fit with short cropped white hair and a
goatee. It would be appropriate to mention that Jim is a distant
relative of Davy Crockett, a popular hero of American folklore
who also hailed from Tennessee. However, Jim has replaced
the famous Crockett coonskin hat for a Minelab baseball cap
embroidered with his custom Jimmy Crossbones logo.

Jim speaks softly and not often, but one should not be
fooled. He draws on years of experience and knowledge gar-
nered within the hobby and has multiple displays of relics and
artifacts as evidence of his success. He and his wife Linda love
being near the ocean and Jim is even certified as a SCUBA
diver. When I think about the Spanish galleons that sailed
across the Atlantic, I can almost imagine Jim captaining one
of the ships, although he probably would have been just as
successful as a pirate.

My wife Gail and I first met Jim and Linda in 2016 at a
meeting of the Central Florida Metal Detecting Club (CFM-
DC) in DeBary, Florida. After getting to know Jim I learned
that he grew up around the Nashville, Tennessee area. In
his early years he enjoyed hunting and fishing and being in
the outdoors. Eventually, he encountered a friend who had a
metal detector and was intrigued enough to want to give it a

Although Spanish gold and silver are easily recognized as treasure, the associated historical items should never be
overlooked. In the above photos are shown a musket side plate, musket balls, a key escutcheon, ship’s spikes and
buckles found by Jim. Below is the Spanish gold he has found on the beaches of the Treasure Coast.

_____________

try. After acquiring his own metal detector and getting
out and using it, Jim was hooked; so much so that metal
detecting replaced hunting as his new hobby and passion.
Jim liked finding coins and relics and his very first recov-
ery with his new detector was a gold ring. Who wouldn’t
be hooked?

After retirement in 2008, Jim and Linda moved to
New Smyrna Beach, Florida where they joined the CFM-
DC club and quickly made friends. Working and travel-
ing with some of those friends, Jim became very accom-
plished in the hobby of metal detecting. These days his
detector of choice is a Minelab CTX 3030, considered by
many to be one of the best game-changing metal detec-
tors ever developed. Jim will tell you that knowing every
aspect of the detector is key to being successful in pursuit
of coins and relics.

If you asked him, Jim would also tell you that his
favorite kind of detecting is searching for Civil War arti-
facts, closely followed by finding colonial era relics. In
fact, he has quite a collection of both. He often trav-
els back to Tennessee and other states in the south and
mid-Atlantic region to pursue his hobby. And thanks to
where he lives, Jim spends a fair amount of time metal
detecting along the beaches on the east coast of Florida.

One morning, he was detecting along a stretch of
beach that had a significant amount of sand washed out
from winter storms. It was just another partly cloudy
day on the beach. Soon Jim recovered what appeared
to be a flat and blackened, odd-shaped piece of metal.
Intrigued but not sure what it was, he just put it in his
pocket and kept searching. Not long after, he found
two more of those unusual metal objects. Now he was
beginning to wonder if these were silver cobs of Span-
ish origin. After detecting a little longer, Jim discerned
a good signal on the detector’s headphones, a signal he

March-April 2021 American Digger® 29

knew was worth checking out. Could
this be gold? Perhaps even a gold
ring? It was gold and it was small,
but it was unusual. It looked like a
cufflink, but not just any cufflink.
This one looked special. Jim called
a friend and received confirmation of
what he suspected. This was more
than likely a tiny lost treasure from
the 1715 fleet. Now his excitement
was growing rapidly. Could there
possibly be more here?
Without knowing it, Jim was about The small gold ring (above left) was either a personal item belonging to a crewman
to embark on an amazing adventure or stolen contraband. The item at right, also gold, remains unknown but is believed
and encounter a few sleepless nights to be a fitting from a dagger or sword.
over the next several weeks. Another
morning, another signal and more _____________

gold. This time it was a gold 8-escudo As fate would have it, Jim’s mother passed and soon he
coin and distinctly dated 1712. Now there was no doubt, this was unable to find any more of the treasure. The ad-
was from the 1715 fleet! The almost indescribable feeling of venture was over. Jim had his earthly treasure and
finding a 300-year-old gold coin and seeing that beautiful gold-
en glint in the sunlight was breathtaking. As he continued to his mother was now at peace with her treasure in heaven.
search, Jim was finding more escudos, silver reales and other While Jim was blessed to be part of an incredible experi-
shipwreck artifacts. And soon he realized that this was the re- ence going way beyond his wildest expectations, he knows the
covery of a lifetime. A metal detectorist’s dream! real treasure is in the memory of his mother and his family
Still, with all the excitement, there was a problem. Jim’s growing up as a young man in Tennessee. These days he is
emotions were torn. He knew that there was a window of making memories with Linda and his own family. And if
opportunity and he needed to spend as much time as pos- you are on the beach you might even find Jim next to Linda
sible detecting the area before the window closed. Unfor- while she looks for one of those very special shells that she
tunately, his mother was in ill health back in Tennessee and adds to her own collection. After all, treasure is in the eye of
he needed to join his family to be with her. That was the the beholder.
most important thing. Time was of the essence. He left the Jim still enjoys the thrill of the hunt and looks for every
treasure behind to travel back home to Tennessee to be with opportunity to get out and use his Minelab metal detector.
his mother and family during this difficult period. Know- Today, that same stretch of beach is now covered over with
ing his dilemma, Jim’s brother encouraged him to go back to many more layers of sand. However, we know that more
Florida and finish looking for the rest of the treasure. There treasure is there, just waiting to be found.
was nothing else he could do now and that is what his moth-
er would have wanted.
During his drive back to Florida, he had a lot of time to
think about life, his family and friends and the treasure. The
treasure was always on his mind. Was there even more to Marc Hoover has been fas-
be recovered? As it turns out, there was. Over the next few cinated with treasure hunt-
days, he continued to add to the total. Jim eventually recov- ing since the early days of
ered dozens of gold and silver Spanish coins and a plethora Mel Fisher’s quest to find
of other shipwreck relics. the wreck site of the Span-
The total count of the Spanish Fleet treasure recovered ish galleon Senora Nuestra
on the beach by Jim Tippitt is as follows: De Atocha. He was first cer-
Four gold 8-escudos tified to SCUBA dive in 1973
Nine gold 2-escudos and purchased his first met-
One silver 8-reale al detector in 2011. Marc
Twenty-seven silver 2-reales loves history and travels
Six silver half-reales around North America looking for his next adventure. He
One gold cufflink started his own Facebook group, “Adventures In History,”
One small gold ring where many amazing stories of both adventure and his-
Dozens of Spanish shipwreck artifacts tory are collected and shared.

30 American Digger® Vol. 17, Issue 2

American Digger MartDiscovering Virginia’s Colonial Artifacts
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InSTPohaolditksiHeeAV&oIrroqsPwslPCs.ue’1uhHriwt3aeDeiooptsF:iwCegseCrrroWrletBevtmBoeooaheGFukrtnoFeeatdtrBintlnGsDPHBBSFCNWSTM&PIeouPcrferdniiiehoaauosrurr&nlaoglrnneehBluviiolgalcrtders&vdmrauttTspiRuiwReoVhiidttwteyisamtaerahteeGseirwiemuswe,euCoPtrlediclhlnpoirMVgwcrsoagacisnscrDoOeeDcson/eoht,HoneiheG.coCSlgl,seadnariur&IHldnh,ssoonmsoeeoeusmtiAkCRRopteeEabwHvtltlcmedlnesoeadrefeluesanatMyrucplAut1rtoliAlicnmCnBe6gnect2oniiieumuertcftncaoaiAo0lcdenHrottnbsasnt:aoein1i!srnHs,ruodGnegnirctn7rtsaidruooautioiSsggdtrcfLslnigmtfihaadFnoRice&itnwiclenwiargnilnt.wncncdDgwoSgoe.Fimha&gAuomognrrewtertDiicRrrfiaay’geasncdgcnitgeedgIrnedsMrte.cauFnoncmitndhifdiCMcsoa,oltMlreieao$cy!n7t-os.J9ur,5sneU2S0A2M0arc$h6-A.9pI5srislUu2Se0A317 By Bill Dancy. Back in print by popular de- Harris. A must have for those wanting more in-
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Privial
Persuit

32 American Digger® Vol. 17, Issue 2 By Peter Jablonski

hy would anyone in their right mind want to
dig up an old outhouse pit or privy (coming
from the word meaning “private”)? In the

W1800s there was no garbage pickup, so into

the privy it went. Privies hold a plethora of artifacts: bottles,
china, chamber pots, redware, yellowware, stoneware crocks
and jugs, doll heads, marbles, coins, tokens, clay tobacco
pipes, buttons, advertising pot lids, cast iron artifacts, and
so on. Prior to being a privy digger I was a hard core metal
detectorist, spending every waking hour swinging my coil.
I was even president of the Niagara Frontier Relic Hunters
Association. I also dabbled in underwater treasure hunting
and joined the Buffalo Aqua Club to scour the bottom of the
Niagara River for artifacts. As a boy I became interested in
bottles when my father took me out elderberry picking, so
that he could make wine. After twenty minutes I was bored
and headed out to explore the fields we were in. Much to
my surprise, there were bottles lying all over the ground
and holes were in evidence where bottle diggers had been
at work. I was immediately hooked. I wanted to find my
own and research the history behind them. As I grew older,
I became a bit of a bottle snob and wanted to find older and
more valuable bottles. I learned that digging out privies was
the best way to locate early bottles and artifacts. 

The first step in locating a privy is to obtain a spring steel
probe. (I recommend one made by Schattler’s Inc at http://
schlattersinc.com/schlatters/)  It must be spring steel as it is

flexible and doesn’t permanently bend. The probe must have
a rounded tip. The best place to locate privies are pre-1900
homes in urban areas, and the key to success is a small yard.
Rural yards are too large, and chances are the owners would
have thrown their trash in the back 40. Begin pushing the
probe in the back corners of the lot, as usually the owners
wanted the privy located as far away from the house as
possible. Sometimes, however, the privies were built directly
behind the home or were even attached. Proceed along the
back property line if you don’t at first succeed.

The probe should plunge deep, sometimes to the handle,
when you have located the privy. In addition, the tip should
be black, white or gray with ash, because ash was frequently
used to help reduce odor or to fill in the privy once indoor
plumbing became available. Wet, muddy tips can also be a
good sign, as during the wet months of the year groundwater
tends to accumulate at the bottom of the privy vault. Some

____________

Left, Don Portik proudly displays a clasped hands Union
flask before cleaning; above is a photo of the reverse side af-
ter cleaning. Opposite page, the author is euphoric standing
in a ten-foot, stone-lined privy, holding an intact open pontil
Cornucopia and Urn historic flask that he had just found.

March-April 2021 American Digger® 33

privy vaults were wood lined, some stone, and others brick. Above, Dave Potter holds a crock  he had just
These help you to locate the exact outline of the privy. Once pulled from the privy. At left, not all privies are
you have located a probable privy site, the next step is to dry. Groundwater can be an obstacle.
neatly cut out the sod in squares and place it on a tarp like
pieces of a puzzle, so they can be replaced later.  A second ____________
Near the bottom there should be a color change
Ilarger tarp is then laid out to place the soil on. back to black, as this is the “use layer” or the
n my area (western New York) privies average five or six “midnight soil.” Another way to tell you are in the
feet in depth, with the deepest being about ten feet. Other use layer is the presence of lime (used to reduce
large cities, such as New York City and Philadelphia, have odor), and seeds that didn’t get digested. Here is
privies 20 feet deep. These depths add a new dimension where the majority of artifacts lie buried, and here
of danger and should only be attempted by experienced privy is where the digging slows down to a crawl and
diggers using proper shoring. No matter the depth, wear a probe is used to carefully loosen the bottles, as
appropriate personal protection equipment: a hard hat in the many can be practically cemented if the bottom is
event any rock should fall back in, sturdy leather work gloves clay. No two privies are alike; some are chock-full
to avoid cuts from broken glass, and work boots. Root cutters of boulders, and others have groundwater, and
and a bow saw are necessary to remove roots. Place all rocks large roots. 
safely away from the hole in a separate pile from the dirt. This
makes it easier to search the loose dirt for smaller items plus Privy digging is like metal detecting in that
keeps rocks from falling back into the hole. you have very memorable days—like when you
find a coin on your bucket list or a cache—and
Typically, the first five or six inches is black topsoil, then there are days you wish you had gone bowl-
followed by four to five feet of ash mixed with clamshells, ing instead, as in everything was broken or the
oyster shells (if an older privy), and shards of porcelain white privy was empty. There was an ordinance in many
ironstone china or flow-blue china in pre-Civil War privies. towns stating that privies had to be occasionally
34 American Digger® Vol. 17, Issue 2 emptied (“dipped”) so frequently the only bottles
found are in the corners where the “honey dip-
pers” could not reach.

Clay pipe Porcelain pieces such as these are an excellent
bowls are indication that the privy is from the 19th century.
another
common March-April 2021 American Digger® 35
privy find...
in one we
found thirty
pipes, with
five being
complete.

So what can you expect to find? That’s the exciting part
of treasure hunting: the unexpected. One privy we dug
contained over 500 clay marbles. Traditionally you
find one or two in every pit, so finding that many was
an anomaly. A few clay pipe bowls are another common privy
find but in one we found thirty, with five being complete
intact pipes.

The coveted “Holy Grail” find for privy diggers are
historical flasks. These frequently feature an image of a
president and were used as campaign items. Other images
are patriotic: a cornucopia and urn, clasped hands with the
word “Union,” an American eagle with the word “Liberty”
or “Success to the Railroad” featuring a locomotive.  One
flask we dug was embossed “Wesley Hawkins/Bay City,
Michigan.” After researching this find we discovered that
his liquor store was located in an area of town called Hells
Half Mile that was filled with taverns and brothels. He
also owned a steamship line and took people on picnics in
the summer. During one excursion a large fight broke out
after his passengers had imbibed too much whiskey. After
docking, one disgruntled fighter struck the other over the
head and killed him. This man was a French-Canadian
lumberjack and was rumored among the locals to be Paul
Bunyan himself.

Another coveted bottle category are bitters. Bottle collec-
tors prize odd colors and shapes. Stoneware is usually found
in shards but every once in awhile we dig an intact, cobalt,
decorated jug. Finding coins is also always a possibility; we
have found a Morgan silver dollar and, when working with
Boy Scouts sifting to earn their archaeology merit badge, a
two-cent piece, an Indian Head cent, and a railroad baggage
tag from the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad.

Above, a typical day of digging out a privy. Most days include at
least as many broken bottles dug as whole ones. Left, this rare
Crown Bitters bottle found during one of the digs sold for $3,300
at auction. At the top left, Brian Gage shows the cobalt medicine
he’d just pulled from this privy. Note the safety helmet—a must.

____________

Obtaining permission is key to privy
digging as well as all treasure hunting.
I bring a binder with plastic sleeves
showing articles I have written,
pictures from our digs, and “thank
you” cards from historic societies
where I have given lectures.

36 American Digger® Vol. 17, Issue 2

btaining permission is key to Author Peter Jablonski is not the only serious privy digger in his family. Here
privy digging, as well as with wife Heather holds a large shard of a “T Harrington Lyons NY” bird crock and
all treasure hunting. I bring an open pontil medicine, circa 1850, both fresh from the ground. His son Ben-
jamin holds a couple of his own favorite finds, a stoneware master ink and a
Oa binder with plastic sleeves “Keene NH Glassworks” open pontil geometric dome ink, circa 1840. Below,
there are few things as esthetically pleasing as an old bottle after cleaning.
showing articles I have written, pictures
from our digs, and “thank you” cards
from historic societies where I have given
lectures. When I knock on a door this is
my spiel: “Hi, my name is Peter Jablonski
and I do historical research. Can you
tell me what year your house was built? 
I give talks to historical societies, set
up displays at libraries and write for
magazines. In the 1800s there was no
trash pick-up so into the privy it went.
I’m looking for permission to locate your
privy.”  I then go on to explain how tarps
are laid out and everything is returned
the way it was.

Privy digging is an amazing hobby.
It’s not all about the artifacts but also the
friends and people we meet through the
process. Until next time, good digging! 

Peter Jablonski (left in this photo)
lives with his wife Heather in Akron,
New York. They have five children. He
is a science teacher in Medina, New
York. In his spare time he is a antique
dealer. Peter has enjoyed all aspects
of the treasure hunting hobby from
metal detecting to SCUBA diving but
his passion is privy digging. He is pres-
ident of the Greater Buffalo Bottle
Collector’s Association and enjoys
writing about digging and collecting.
He has been featured on CNN.

The Easiest Way
To Archive Your

Collection

First Month: Save 50%

Visit: RelicRecord.com/AmericanDigger

March-April 2021 American Digger® 37

A Week in
New Hampshire

The 2020 annual Best of North East Hunt Week was a
great success despite its first rescheduling in 27 years

________

Article by Allyson Cohen

Photos by Allyson Cohen and Raven Schwann-Noble

Brian Micari’s finds on
day one included three
half reales, a half dime
and silver “coins” from a
bracelet. Above, one of
several large hunt sites
used during the week.

38 American Digger® Vol. 17, Issue 2

he 27th annual Best O’ North East (aka BONE) TV detecting personalities Tim “Ringy” Saylor and George “KG”
was originally planned for April of this year; Wyatt clown around in front of the American Digger banner.
however, due to the COVID pandemic the event

Twas postponed.  With infection rates rising, and

state regulations frequently changing, there was much in-
decision as to whether it could be rescheduled in the near
future, or perhaps even in 2020 at all.  For those of you
who are not familiar with it, the BONE is a highly antici-
pated, weeklong metal detecting hunt, held in Keene, New
Hampshire and organized by George Streeter.  It’s the event
of the year for many in the detecting community and at-
tracts detectorists from all over the country.

The postponement was a disappointment to all who
had planned on attending in April, but as with everything
else that came along with the pandemic, people learned
to live with the uncertainty of it all. Fortunately, though,
as time went on and COVID numbers decreased, at least

Terry Smith and AD publisher Butch Jon Tetreault recovered this
Holcombe discuss strategy at the hunt. 1746 silver reale.

Justin Jones didn’t mind braving
the rain in order to dig this George
Washington inaugural button (at left).
He also recovered a late 19th century

Newark Police button (right)
March-April 2021 American Digger® 39

Gary Douglas and his better finds from
one day of detecting at the BONE event.

Despite the inclement weather during
the first two days, an amazing amount of

finds were made.

temporarily, there was hope yet for the BONE, and it was re- on hand for a meet and greet, and then it was back to the hunt.
Again, the fields did not disappoint, with another day-long “show
Bscheduled and finally held beginning on October 13th. and tell” of all the coins and relics recovered. By the end of the
ecause of new pandemic regulations, there were some day, the final tally of half-reales found at the farm was 15, along
changes made to the usual weeklong format, such with hundreds of silver and copper coins, and over a thousand
as limiting the number of participants allowed.  The buttons—including a George Washington inaugural button.  
nightly dinners, annual awards banquet, and hobby
show were also cancelled. After the first two days, expectations were high as partici-
pants met in Claremont (also in New Hampshire, where all the
The main reason most attend is the chance to hunt some of BONE events took place) to spend two days hunting another
the large and historic properties selected each year for the event, farm. The fields were huge, and looked promising. The Ameri-
so these new modifications did not deter many.  This year there can Digger® team was on hand giving away prizes for those who
would be three large and promising sites available for hunting. found tokens planted in the field, and they had a special award to
be presented for best find of the day. 
Some sites produced more finds than others, and one site in
particular was excellent.  It was at a farm in Antrim, New Hamp- The finds weren’t as plentiful in these fields. You had to really
shire, and was the site selected for the first two days of the hunt. work for them, but they were there. Buttons, buckles, crotal bells,
The first day the weather was terrible—with the kind of rain that, coppers, shield nickels, and some silver was found. The day ended
even if you had proper rain gear, you had second thoughts about with a belated birthday party later in the evening for American
going out in it. The rain was so heavy that there was a lot of spec- Digger® publisher Butch Holcombe.  There was cake, of course,
ulation folks might just give up and call it a
day. But then the finds started to roll in.  Rich Swager’s finds included a
thimble, a copper, two Indian Head
First it was a half-reale, then moments
later someone else appeared with three half- cents, and assorted buttons.
reales. The finds just kept coming after that.
There were large cents, Indian Head cents,
Shield nickels, Barber dimes and quarters,
buckles, bale seals, reales, more half-reales,
and hundreds of buttons. Everyone I spoke
with coming in from the fields had some-
thing to show for their efforts. You know a
site is great when even in the pouring rain
participants stay out hunting until the last
possible moment. 

The second day was at the same site. The
weather had cleared, and new fields were
opened up for hunting. TV personalities
KG (George Wyatt) and Ringy (Tim
Saylor), and Steve Moore from Garrett were
40 American Digger® Vol. 17, Issue 2

Awards have always been a part of the Best of North East Week. Some of the winners, shown above, left-right, were Steve Moore
(Born to be a Treasure Hunter), Miquel Ardito (Hall of Fame), Butch Holcombe/American Digger magazine (Best Digging Maga-
zine), George Wyatt (Hall of Fame), Allyson Cohen (Born to be a Treasure Hunter), and Tim Saylor (Hall of Fame). In addition to
the awards given by organizer George Streeter, American Digger® gave out its own awards to celebrate American Digger Day. A
belated birthday party was also rescheduled from April to October to coincide with the hunt week. Please note that while masks
were worn during the indoor events, they were temporarily removed here and elsewhere in this article for photo clarity.
_______________

and goodie bags of American Digger® swag, gifts for Butch, and a small awards ceremony for the BONE’s newest Hall of Fame induct-
ees, presented by George Streeter. Robert Way won the American Digger® “Digger of the Day” best find award for his 1776 King George
copper found earlier in the day.  American Digger® also presented George Streeter with a special award recognizing his “Tireless Efforts
to Promote the Hobby of Metal Detecting,” in addition to a “Female Detectorist of the Year” award, which went to Angie Obitz. 
Saturday’s hunt, the last natural hunt of the BONE, was at another farm in Swanzey. The farm had been hunted before, yet the
finds that came out of it were still fantastic. Found there were at least a dozen King George coppers, silver, large cents, Indians, a Fly-
ing Eagle cent, and hundreds of buttons. Sunday,
the last day of BONE, was the seeded hunt. Thou-
sands of dollars’ worth of coins were planted in a
field, and then folks were let loose to find as many
as possible. When the seeded hunt was over the
raffles began. There were a lot of prizes, and a lot
of happy hunters claiming them. That was BONE
27. Despite the pandemic, rescheduling, and modi-
fications that had to be made, it was a great success
and I’m already looking forward to BONE 28.
Doug Bowden’s finds included
this swastika. These were consid- Michael Patterson recovered
ered good luck symbols until they this John Adams cufflink,
were adopted by the Nazi party. circa late 1700s.

March-April 2021 American Digger® 41

Finding Lost
Mountain

By Robert Holder

Once the anchor of John- Above, cavalry-related artifacts found at the site by the author. At the top of
ston’s defensive line, Lost the page, this small cleared lot produced all of the relics shown in this article.
Mountain was heavily pa-
trolled by both U.S. and
C.S. cavalry. The moun-
tain and surrounding area
had also been traversed by
numerous local relic hunt-
ers, making finds scarce.
But when a small lot was
cleared, it opened a limited
window into the artifacts

left behind in 1864.

42 American Digger® Vol. 17, Issue 2

P art of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston’s Two steps more and work. Wanting to get as much covered
(C.S.) ten-mile trench line just another signal, this as possible, I made my way to the front
north of Marietta, Georgia, Lost of the house. Before long I received a
Mountain was the west anchor, time a nice sling good signal and, digging down, I got a
with Pine Mountain (a salient) in the mid- buckle. Along with breastplate. The plate was a little rough,
dle and Brushy Mountain anchoring the the buckle came a but it was a plate. Then came a breast-
east. In addition to fortified positions the lead triangle with plate skin with the lead backing missing.
area was also heavily patrolled by Gen. Jo- attachment holes in Two steps more and another signal, this
seph Wheeler’s Confederate cavalry. The time a nice sling buckle. Along with the
Confederates held that line, from June 3 the corners.
to June 17, 1864, with Confederate Gen.
Leonidas Polk being killed at Pine Moun- An older house also sat on this site from the mid-1800s until the turn of
tain on June 16th. At Lost Mountain, Gen. the century, as evidenced by finds like these, including numerous reeds
Ed McCook’s (U.S.) cavalry was demon- from a harmonium pump organ.
strating in front of the mountain on the
14th, pushing the Confederates back. By March-April 2021 American Digger® 43
June 17th the Confederates had abandoned
the lines and shortly thereafter the moun-
tain was occupied by McCook’s troops.

In early April 2002, I got permission to
hunt a piece of property, located at the base
of the mountain, that I’d wanted to search
for awhile. With thirty acres to work, I got
started in a promising pine thicket, not far
from the house. After an hour had passed I
made my way out and into the yard, having
found only a dropped “57” plug base En-
field. Even back then that was a good hunt
for me, but I wanted more.

The owner suggested that I get closer
to the house, since the property was to be
sold. He said he wanted as much found as
possible, before the bulldozer started its

Other military relics
found at the site
and shown in the
case at the right
were numerous
unfired bullets,
many Confederate
cavalry in nature.
The brass boot
toe plates are
common finds
wherever cavalry
was present in
1864. Artillery
shelling was also
done all along the
lines, as witnessed
by the two brass
Hotchkiss fuse
adapters.

_________

That wasn’t all, as this area .577 Enfield with a “57” marked
was loaded: five toe taps, two plug base, and three .58 rifle bullets.
Hotchkiss shell fuse adapters, Scattered nearby were one .54 Macon
and a civilian rosette with a Enfield, five .50 Smith Carbines, one
lead back, commonly used by .50 Cosmopolitan, two .52 unknown
carbines, one .58 Gardner, one .54
Confederate cavalry, came next. Gardner, three .54 Merrills, three,
.52 Sharps, a Burnside, two .44
_____________ Henrys, a .45 Colt revolver bullet,

The belt must have pulled the teeth five .60 cal musket balls, six .32 balls,
through, possibly the reason for it one .577 Sharps, and a single .50 cal
being discarded. Near the driveway I Maynard. The last one was a little
dug yet a third sling buckle, in good odd, for I had not seen that bullet
This spent Spencer casing was found shape. Lead triangles were all dug found locally before. I also dug five
wedged into a bottle neck, possibly with the sling buckles and appear to
for use as a makeshift stopper. be handmade belt tips for the belts,
_____________ which were probably Union-issued,
but had been repaired by Confed-
buckle came a lead triangle with at- erates when the tips were lost. I felt
tachment holes in the corners. Then, Union troops would not have to re-
a New York button face, three flower pair them, but just replace the “bat
buttons, and four eagle general ser- wing” or entire sling. I then got a
vice buttons. That wasn’t all, as this signal on a bottle neck. Knowing that
area was loaded: five toe taps, two you can’t detect glass, I looked closer
Hotchkiss shell fuse adapters, and and found a spent Spencer cartridge
a civilian rosette with a lead back, in the neck.
commonly used by Confederate cav- Shortly a variety of bullets and
alry, came next. carbine bullets, all dropped, started
popping up. Nine .54 cal. Greenes,
A little later a deep signal turned twelve .54 cal. Mississippi rifles,
out to be a U.S. box plate. Then, an- one .57 nose cast. Then in one hole Among the numerous bullets found at
other step, another target, and anoth- the site were these scarce ”Georgia
er sling buckle, nice except the teeth I dug thirteen .577 Enfields, one foreign mold” .54 caliber bullets.
were on the wrong side of the bar.
44 American Digger® Vol. 17, Issue 2

.54 Georgia foreign mold bullets, one carved into a two-
ringer. The last bullet was carved with either crossed
sabers or an “X” on it. Also dug were several other carved
pieces. It appears from the wide variety of both Union
and Confederate relics that both sides were camped here.

I also discovered that a house dating to the Civil War
period had sat on this spot. I found numerous pieces of
brass, civilian sash buckles and jewelry, plus knives, forks
and spoons. I also dug 19 harmonium reeds and several
harmonica reed plates. Amazingly there was little real
trash from the house.

Dug with two of the cavalry carbine sling buckles were
what appear to be homemade lead strap tips. These
may have been Confederate field replacements for the

standard U.S. “batwing” brass tips.
_________

This rare University of Alabama button, With the help of some members of my relic club
ca. 1830-1858, was found at the site. (North Georgia Relic Hunters’ Association), with a week
The school was established in 1820 to hunt, we were able to save quite a few relics that were
otherwise destined for the bulldozer. I was able to thank
and still exists as a major university. both the old and the new owner then and I thank them
_____________ now. It’s funny that neither of them ever asked if I had
found anything; they obviously had little interest in the
Realizing that the bulldozer was on its way, I history here.
called two friends to help and we set a faster
pace. I went to the well and popped out what Having hunted for over 40 years, I know hunts like
looked like a flower button, but it seemed this are probably over, at least in this area, but it’s still
overly thick for such a button. I could not make the face nice to go and look at those finds and remember how
out without my glasses, so I went back to my truck and good those days really were. I am really grateful to the
washed it. I could then see a woman standing with a small owners for allowing us to relic hunt it at the time, because
plant or tree in her hand and globe to her left. I knew that of the thirty acres I hunted, twenty-five are now a park-
I had never seen a face like that before. The backmark was ing lot.
“YOUNG, SMITH CO. NEW YORK” and I knew that it
was old. Later research indicated the button to be made Robert Holder,
between 1830 thru 1858. Further cleaning revealed the let- age 72, has relic
ters “UNIVERSIT AT ALABAM.” hunted in Calhoun
and Cobb County,
It was a pre-Civil War University of Alabama button. Georgia for over
My research showed that “UNIVERSIT AT” was Latin and 40 years. He is a
“ALABAM,” was one of eight earlier spellings of Alabama. Vietnam veteran
The scarce button is jacket-size, with some gilt. The but- (101st Airborne)
ton is described as a two-piece flat button. Unfortunately, and is retired from
this button is missing the shank but is otherwise in good Southern Bell.
shape. Although not a Georgia state seal button, which I
had hoped, it was just one state away and quite a bit rarer. March-April 2021 American Digger® 45

Discovering Figure 1: 1831 Map of Middleborough
Lives Gone By Figure 2: 1787 Fugio Cent

By Holly Colombo

When spring 2020 arrived the town of
Middleborough, Massachusetts, 25-year-old
Holly Colombo made the decision to upgrade
her metal detector to a Garrett Ace 400 and did
not regret her purchase. Holly lives on land that
has much history to uncover. Over hundreds of
years, her property has been owned by several
farmers. In this article, Holly will bring you,
through some of the coins and relics she has
discovered metal detecting the farmland, the

history of those who came before.

46 American Digger® Vol. 17, Issue 2

rom old tractor parts, wagon wheels, farm tools, Figures 3 & 4: Obverse and reverse of the 1875
jewelry, toys, bottles, coins and other objects, I Indian Head cent and 1864 Shield two cent coin.
have discovered many items of use from the past.

FIt makes me wonder what life looked like back

in the day. Every time I go out metal detecting, my mind
enters another world where I imagine who was walking
where I am walking now, what their lifestyle consisted of,
and who last touched the item that I just discovered. Metal
detecting is such a passion for me. I feel so thankful to be
able to dig up and discover the past.
I would like to start off by showing you some of the
coins I discovered where I live. These coins were found in
the woods as well as in the fields. Starting from the earliest
date; one of my proudest finds is a 1787 Fugio cent (seen in
figure 2). This coin was found no more than six inches deep
in the field. The Fugio cent is a very important coin for the
United States, as it is the first circulating coin in what was
then our new country. On April 21, 1787, the Continen-
tal Congress of Confederation confirmed the resolution to
create the national coin. After a few months of hard work
from Benjamin Franklin himself, the design and mottos
were ready. As you can see in figure 2, the coin has 13 rings Figure 5: 1890 and 1892 Indian Head cents.

representing the 13 colonies, and the mottos on the front,
“We Are One” and “United States.” The reverse side that
is not pictured has the sun and a sun- Beneath the seal you will see the im-
dial with the legend “Fugio,” meaning printed 1864 date. Technically, there
“I Fly,” the date, and the motto “Mind are two types of 1864 two-cent pieces;
Your Business.” Unfortunately, the The coin has 13 rings the one featuring a large motto, and the
one featuring a small. The large/small
side not pictured is pretty corroded. representing the 13 motto referenced is the “In God We

Luckily, I can still see the word “Fugio” colonies, and the motto Trust” on the obverse side of the coin.

and part of the sundial on the reverse on the front, “We Are The “U” in “Trust” on the large motto

side. I am so appreciative that I have One” and “United States.” coin nearly touches both the bottom

this piece, as there were only 400,000 The reverse...has the sun and top edges of the banner. Generally

minted. and a sundial with the speaking, the letters on the small motto

The coins seen in figures 3 and legend “Fugio,” meaning coin tend to be shorter and fatter, while

4 were found where the woods and “I Fly,” the date, and those on the large motto are taller and

field meet. The coins pictured are an the motto, “Mind Your thinner. This coin that I found and

1875 Indian Head cent and an 1864 Business.” show here is the small motto.

U.S. shield two-cent. These coins were The next two coins were found
about six to eight inches deep in
the ground. The condition they in the field and about five feet
were in is pretty worn but I was apart from each other. They are
still lucky enough to see the dates. an 1890 and an 1892 Indian Head
The Indian Head cent was a mid- Figure 6: 1942 Mercury dime cent. Both were about eight inch-

range date, as they were minted es deep. As you can see in figure
between the years of 1859-1909. 5, both coins are in pretty decent
Eighteen sixty-four was the first condition, with both the obverse
year the two-cent coin was pro- and reverse sides legible. Just as
duced. The side pictured in figure a fact, I found these two coins
3 has the wreath made of wheat, about 12 feet away from my Fugio
“2 Cents,” and “United States of cent. It really makes me wonder
America” arched over the top. The why these three coins were all in
reverse side in figure 4 boasts the the same area. I have been told by
U.S. seal, which is topped with a individuals that coins back then
banner reading “In God We Trust.” were not something you just kept

March-April 2021 American Digger® 47

“It makes me wonder Figure 7 & 8: 1895 Develine
if many people walked Whistle with a newspaper
through the land. Maybe advertisement of the time.

the field was once a Figure 9: Toy Badge Next, I would like to show
pathway to town or maybe you a couple of finds that
are not coins; these finds
there was a common are toys. I found these in
meeting area on this land.” the field as well, and both items were
about 10 feet apart from each other and
_________ six inches deep. It makes me wonder if
this was a common ground for children
in your pocket while farming in the to play. The first toy, as seen in figure 7,
field. Coins were important, so they is a whistle called “The Develine.” On
would only be taken out of their safe it is stamped “Patented April 16, 1895.”
places when one was going into town Figure 8 is an advertisement from an old
to make a purchase. It makes me newspaper that showcases the whistle.
wonder how many people walked The next toy found, shown in figure 9,
through the field and where they is a toy badge. It does have some pieces
were going. Maybe the field was once missing to it but is still cool.
a pathway to town, or maybe there
was a common meeting area on this There are also pieces of jewelry
land. Figure 11: A Brooch/Cameo.

My last coin found before I wrote
this article was a 1942 Mercury dime.
As you can see in figure 6, this coin is
in very good condition as it is much
younger than my other coin finds. It
is 90% silver. This coin was not found
in the field; it was instead dug about
25 feet into the woods, and four to six
inches in the ground. Both sides are
legible, and I am really pleased I was
able to find a silver coin.

Figure 10: Part of a bracelet.

48 American Digger® Vol. 17, Issue 2