u/Johnny________Utah

I found the set of Hames Knobs ~ mid 1800’s. And some other horse tack.

My friend found the beautiful gold guilded flat button, from the same period.

A look back at a Large Cent spill from the other day. 3 of the coins were in a spill, and the fourth was separate. Found at an early 1800’s homesite in Upstate NY.

Not sure what to say. This has gotta go down as one of the wildest metal detecting finds / haul ever. On the plus side I found my personal best 4 - Large Copper One Cents. 3 of them in a spill.

A colonial site that was active to the end of 1800’s is still yielding some finds. A relatively slow day yesterday, but this old pewter spoon bowl made my day. Found both these items in small stream thru the property. Upstate NY.

Strange to find this confederate button at an old homesite / cellar hole in Upstate NY.

Colonial - Early 1800’s homesite in Upstate New York. A handful of musket balls, a black glass button, a nice whitetail shed, and a Block Lined A Confederate Artillery Button.

Too bad the critters beat me to it..

Huge shoutout to JP Hunts Restorations

I have seen hundreds of his restorations on old relics, especially Civil War era buckles, and other treasures. He is the best, hands down, end of story.

The instant this buckle came out of the ground, I knew I was going to send this to JP for restoration. It was my first time dealing with him personally but I have followed his work and restores for years now. So I knew he was the man for the job.

It was a very quick and painless process. Start to finish was about a month (in the middle of his busy season) so I think that is a quick turnaround and I am floored with the results. He specializes in perfection, while keeping the relic as pristine as possible but in a ‘dug’ look / patina. Which is honestly the way to do it.

The level of skill and intricacy that went into my buckle, my treasure, to return it to original form is nothing shy of remarkable. I can’t thank him enough, and I highly recommend him if anyone has a relic they wish to restore.

He treated me and my buckle with much care, as if it were his own and the details really show it. He returned the buckle after just a few weeks in a sized Riker Display Case, with a Certificate of Restoration. And I cannot wait to add it to my growing collection.

The best part is, at the end of each year he enters all of his restoration clients into a giant giveaway he puts together with some killer relics. So come December, wish me luck 🍀

You can find JP Hunts Restorations on most major platforms outside of Reddit. Please check him out.

My buddy dug the rare early 1800’s Excelsior Militia button with Silver wash, in immaculate condition. And my first brass kettle point were today’s highlights.

America 250

Hopefully I find one of these on my next outing… 🤞

Recently there were some posts on social media of large coppers wrapped in paper towel and soaked with olive oil for 2 days, followed up with a gentle rinse with isopropyl alcohol. The post showed before photos of coppers with a rough surface like 80 grit sandpaper. And after the olive oil and rinse they came out smooth as if they were just minted, with regular circulation wear.

I gave this a try with some of my coppers and did not experience that effect. I do not have before photos. But ultimately feel like some coins are slightly better, some are surely worse, and some are just meh.

I will say some of them I used 000 fine steel wool, to clean and that trick works the best overall to restore the coins to a more coin-like finish rather than rough sandpaper with no detail.

Anyone else have any home remedies that fixes coppers? Something simple enough that doesn’t require a whole lot of special tools / chemicals?

Solid Silver Thimble.

This was the first thimble I ever found, years ago at a Colonial site in Upstate NY. It is not marked, and dates back to late 1700’s to early 1800’s. I must have dug hundreds or more clad thimbles since then, not one has been silver. Guess I got lucky.

This is a 1 Reale I found at a colonial site in Upstate NY.

Still drooling over this one. Thought I was never gonna find a half. Maybe a Franklin, or a Walker if I was lucky. When all the sudden this was in the hole. What was your first half?

Let’s see what everyone has. I would love to see what others have found, what their most prized find is, etc.

One of mine has to be the No. 8 sized mega crotal bell. Made by blacksmith William Rose, in Lambourn, England. Circa ~ 1743. Found at an old Colonial home site in Upstate NY.

Slow week detecting but that’s ok.

Sometimes finding bonus items in the hole are better than whatever the target is.

What Machine Does Everyone Use?

What do you like about it? Pros - Cons?

I have been running the XP Deus II for a little over a year, 9” coil. Its ability to pick small targets out of trashy areas is its greatest strength imo. I have found significantly more relics with significantly more value since making the switch. Maybe it’s just luck, but I don’t think so.