Relics and more old Spanish silver

[BTV Digger]

Hi folks. Hope you're staying cool this time of year. Hit a new hay field permission this past Monday which included an old church foundation and site of another early VT homesite about a 1/2 mile away. Only hit around the old church (within 10 yards) as the hay was too tall to get into. The home site down the road still awaits, and given the finds from my first hunt several return trips are in order. Church was built in the early 1800s and torn down around the turn of the 20th century.

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Here's the wide shot of my finds. 10 buttons, old padlock, drawer pull, small bridle rosette, door knob, buckle, square lead piece and Spanish silver.

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Best find was this 1727 Philip V 1 Reale. It's dateless, but I was able to get an attribution from the Madrid mint mark and A assayer mark which narrowed it down to 1727 only.

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Shot of the reverse.

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Here's an old Eagle padlock, likely very late 1800s/early 20th century. I gave it to the farmer's young son as he was quite interested in it. It should clean up nicely for him.

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An early buckle. I assume late 1700s, but a follower on IG suggested earlier. Any ideas?

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A mid 1800s shot of the old church. Just an overgrown hole in a hay field now with assorted junk thrown inside. Goodies still await in the surrounding area I'm sure once I return after the second summer cut.

John

[DavidGC]

Once again, John, your research skills are amazing.:notworthy:
Who else goes into a hayfield in Vermont and walks out with a 1727 reale?
Well done!

[Tony Two-Cent]

Wow, that old church was huge! I was thinking of a small one-room country church building. Undoubtedly there was a lot of goodies lost around that church over the years. You know there is more there.

Congrats on the wonderful 1727 One Real, John! You know when you see "Philippus" that it's a super oldie! I'm glad you were able to ascertain the exact date. Terrific find! I have added it to the banner.

:congrats:

[Lodge Scent]

Very nice John. I will be staying tuned to this channel to see what comes next. :thumbsup01:

[OxShoeDrew]

OMGosh, John...you're a machine! I bet that batwing buckle is earlier, They're tough to date and assign a use for, but I'm in the early 1700's or even 1600's camp.
That's a ridiculously old silver coin for New England!!
My issue is I've stopped getting permissions during covid...how are you doing it? Seems you have a virgin site there! Congrats!

[Donnie B]

Congrats on the Spanish Silver. Great coin!

[CTTodd]

Really had a great hunt there. Good for you.

[BTV Digger]

Once again, John, your research skills are amazing.:notworthy:
Who else goes into a hayfield in Vermont and walks out with a 1727 reale?
Well done!

Thanks David. Yeah, the research is not hard per se, but does take time cross referencing etc.


Wow, that old church was huge! I was thinking of a small one-room country church building. Undoubtedly there was a lot of goodies lost around that church over the years. You know there is more there.

Congrats on the wonderful 1727 One Real, John! You know when you see "Philippus" that it's a super oldie! I'm glad you were able to ascertain the exact date. Terrific find! I have added it to the banner.


:congrats:

Thanks Tony! I was surprised to see how large it once was too. Taverns and prosperous old home sites usually produce more goodies than churches in my experience, but there's always interesting things in the ground in old spots where folks once gathered. I'll be back once the second cut of hay is done in about a week or so.


Very nice John. I will be staying tuned to this channel to see what comes next. :thumbsup01:

Thanks Jeff.


OMGosh, John...you're a machine! I bet that batwing buckle is earlier, They're tough to date and assign a use for, but I'm in the early 1700's or even 1600's camp.
That's a ridiculously old silver coin for New England!!
My issue is I've stopped getting permissions during covid...how are you doing it? Seems you have a virgin site there! Congrats!

Thanks much Drew! Late 1600s/early 1700s is what the guy said on Instagram also. Funny how things must have been recycled back then. Earliest northern VT history generally starts in the mid 1700s unless you count some of the earlier French occupations along Lake Champlain. This site isn't along the lake which is why I typically don't find relics dating much before the mid 1700s up here. Southern VT is slightly earlier. I'm quite happy with another Reale for sure, and this is my earliest date-able one. In regard to permissions, I stopped asking altogether up to about a month ago and then started to get the itch again. Vermont has among the lowest COVID rates consistently in the nation and I'm hunting in rural counties where hardly any cases are present. So I've found the farmers really don't have a problem talking with me.


Congrats on the Spanish Silver. Great coin!

Thanks Donnie.


Really had a great hunt there. Good for you.

Thanks Todd. Best of luck to you on your next hunt.

[Bucknut]

That is a beauty of a Spanish silver! A place like that could produce for you for years!

[milco]

Awesome finds and great work with the research guiding you to that site! Congrats on the Spanish silver, hope you find more!

[Full Metal Digger]

Buckle is a bit older. Couldn't find an exact match in the buckle book but the form and style is 1620 to 1680.

[Noah]

Keep talking to farmers you’re doing great!

[OxShoeDrew]

Buckle is a bit older. Couldn't find an exact match in the buckle book but the form and style is 1620 to 1680.
Wow, that's close Dave...do you think the trapezoidal inside could make those examples a bit earlier than John's rectangular insides? I'm NO expert, or even slightly knowledgeable.

[Donnie B]

Great Reale.