# Coins, musket balls and ???



## southern Maine diver (Jan 6, 2007)

Hey gang...

 I've been working a spot I found this past fall and I have pulled out a few nice bottles, but I have also found some coins, musket balls and a lead dog figure... check it out...[]

 Wayne


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## southern Maine diver (Jan 6, 2007)

Here is the dog... relieving himself...[]


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## southern Maine diver (Jan 6, 2007)

I'll post a picture of some of the coins, but I'm having trouble getting the details of them...[]

 I have found some silver, a large cent from Massachusettes minted in 1787, walking liberty halves, silver dimes, and indian head pennies, V-nickles etc.

 Hard spot to dig and there is a lot of broken glass, so I have cut my suit to shreads, but I think it's worth it.

 Wayne


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## GuntherHess (Jan 6, 2007)

stuff like coins are hard to photograph. If you have access to a flatbed scanner they work great for coins and other small items


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## zanes_antiques (Jan 6, 2007)

I just found that out Here's a pic of the coin I found today. it's an 1897 quarter. I'm going to try and scan it next.


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## bearswede (Jan 6, 2007)

My little Pentax Optio does a stand up job on coins, I think...


  Ron


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## zanes_antiques (Jan 6, 2007)

show off...just kidding. I'd say it does a fantastic job!


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## bearswede (Jan 6, 2007)

Hey Zane...

  I was disappointed you didn't bid in the auction... I was hoping those coin necklaces would rope you in...ROR!

  Ron


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## zanes_antiques (Jan 6, 2007)

all I saw was the bottle if you're talking about the auction to benefit the forum. hmmmm? Here's the pic I just scanned. Man what a difference!


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## wvhillbilly (Jan 6, 2007)

Nice coins guys.
 So whats the best way to clean them roman coins since ive seen 3 nice ones on here today someone knows what they are doing.

 Ohh Bearswede if it wasnt noon before I woke up today the coins woulda got 40 outa me[]


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## JGUIS (Jan 6, 2007)

That dog looks like it's trying to pass a chess piece or a chicken bone or somethin'.


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## zanes_antiques (Jan 7, 2007)

Go easy on the mutt!


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## capsoda (Jan 7, 2007)

Why would anyone make a lead dog crapping!!!!! Geeeeez


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## cc6pack (Jan 7, 2007)

Wayne use your Macro or close up setting on your camera, the flower looking symbol. Do you have any way to mike the Musket balls, it's hard to gauge size without something in the pic to guage it by. Say maybe a ruler []

 I guessing these are Revolutionary War era? Were there any battles or encampments in the area? Is the dog cast or carved. At times soldiers had idle time on their hands and would carve items from the lead bullets. If that is the case it will bring a pretty penney.


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## bearswede (Jan 7, 2007)

Hey Phillip...

  I use lemon juice, mostly...And a lot of scrubbing with detail brushes and green scrubbies... Sometimes resort to electrolysis and muriatic acid (highly caustic!!!)... When I get to bare, shiny metal (if I have to go that far), I re-patina the coin using gun bluing liquid, among other things...

  Somewhere on the archives here are discussions of various methods used by forum members...

  Ron


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## southern Maine diver (Jan 7, 2007)

cc6pack...

 Hey Dennis...  These things were all found underwater in a old wharf/dock area where ships unloaded or tied up.  There was a ton of debris to move out of the way, heavy current, low visibility at times, cold water, overhead boat traffic... you know, all of the fun things to deal with when you're underwater...[&:]

 All the stuff I found here came from overlapping time periods... I found a 1787 large cent, a 2 cent piece, some indian head pennies, a hard luck coin from 1830's some V nickles, standing liberty half dollar, barber heads, even a "Goat Club" coin from 1930... they are all pretty chewed up from being underwater for so long, so I might try some electrolysis to bring them back, but I'd have to talk to Ron about that...

 What do you say Ron??? The lemon juice first?

 Wayne


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## wvhillbilly (Jan 7, 2007)

Thanks I was thinkin about spayin them with clear coat after they were cleaned to keep the clean metal look to em.


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## bearswede (Jan 7, 2007)

Hey, Wayne...

  I use that technique on cheap Romans I buy in bulk... You may want to go really slowly with any dug American/colonial coins... I know that U.S. coin collectors frown on any messing with the original patina...

  Try looking online for cleaning techniques...

  Ron


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## cc6pack (Jan 7, 2007)

Wayne 

 Salt water will disolve the silver coins turn them into silver oxide, if they're pitted real bad not a lot you can do, don't clean the lead objects other than maybe a light brushing with a soft bristle brush. An old toothbrush works great. I vote don't clean any of the coins. 

 Ain't blackwater diving fun...............NOT[:'(]


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## southern Maine diver (Jan 7, 2007)

Hey bearswede and 6pack...

 I took a couple more photos of the Massachusetts colonial large cent coin... it came out a little better...[]

 Wayne


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## southern Maine diver (Jan 7, 2007)

cc6pack...

 Hey Dennis, here's one more of the musket balls...
 Wayne[&:]


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## bearswede (Jan 8, 2007)

Nice!

  Hey, Wayne... How cum your pitchers are sooo big!?! My wrists get tired from having to shift the thing back & forth to see it all... ROR...

  Ron


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## cc6pack (Jan 8, 2007)

Wayne great job on the pics, I'd rather scroll back and forth and see detail  other than small or fuzzy pics [].

 The coin was made onto a button, you see a lot of this in Civil War relics. You had to make do while at sea not a lot of Wally worlds around then.

  The large balls are .69 or .70 caliber, the  third from the end looks like a Colt pistol .40 or .44, the next to last looks like a .58, the last something around .30 cal. could be a pistol or part of a buck part of a buck and ball. Nice finds


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## southern Maine diver (Jan 8, 2007)

6pack...

 Thanks for the info Dennis... I was wondering why the holes looked to be drilled into the coin..[8|] now I know!

 The area I'm working has a lot of lead... sinkers... scrap stuff... fishing stuff... lots of debris.  [:'(]  Hard digging through this kind of stuff, but it has paid off.  I found a lot of coins and trinkets... all by hand.  I don't think an underwater metal detector would work out in this spot just because there is soooo much junk!![&o]

 I'll be going back to this spot in a week or so.  Looks like the visibility has improved enough where I can see something and I want to dive this spot again before I go under the knife.[:-]

 Thanks again for the info,

 Wayne


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## southern Maine diver (Jan 8, 2007)

beerswede...

 Hey Ron... I don't know why they are coming out so big either...  If these were Cap's photos, I'd say it was because of his huge EGO...[]

 I just havn't been able to find the right adjustment to reduce it in size to keep it under the 200kb format for the
 forum posts.  [:-] I'll keep on looking and trying...

 Wayne[&:]


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## GuntherHess (Jan 8, 2007)

wow, you found those items just digging and eyeballing them? thats amazing. I have trouble seeing the artifacts half the time when using a metal detector and I know where they are to within 6".


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## southern Maine diver (Jan 8, 2007)

Thanks Matt...

 The coins and trinkets are a bit heavier than the mud and sand on the bottom, so theses heavier objects tend to "roll" back into the hole you dig... kinda like panning for gold I guess... but in this method, your whole body is in the pan (hole) []

 You can see that some of the stuff comes out pretty chewed up and unrecognizeable... is there any way to restore them to better condition?  Particularly the copper coins?  

 I found one piece, that has a Ram rearing on its' hind legs, in the center of what looks to be the size of a silver dollar.  Over the top it says ... GOAT CLUB and the bottom has 1930... sounds like something Warren would be a member of... or even President of []  I'll try to get some better photos of it today.  I'm off from work so I can make a doctor's appointment, so I have some free time.

 Wayne


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## bearswede (Jan 8, 2007)

Wayne...

  Have you tried cropping for starters?

  Ron


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## capsoda (Jan 8, 2007)

*EGO!!!! WHAT EGO!!!  I DON'T HAVE AN EGO PROBLEM!!! NO WAY I HAVE AN EGO PROBLEM!!! WAIT, DO I HAVE AN EGO PROBLEM!!!*

*SO I HAVE A LITTLE EGO THINGY, SO WHAT, WHO CARES, NOT ME, NO WAY, NOT ME!!!  [sm=lol.gif][sm=lol.gif][sm=lol.gif][sm=lol.gif][sm=lol.gif]*


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## cc6pack (Jan 8, 2007)

Wayne here's some coins I found in CW camps that have been altered spanish real and a seated dime.


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## cc6pack (Jan 8, 2007)

and some bullets and stuff


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## GuntherHess (Jan 8, 2007)

Looks like you dig a lot of Enfields? Any with marked bases?


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## capsoda (Jan 8, 2007)

Great finds Dennis. There is so much of that kind of stuff still to be found around where I live and you can't get people to give you permission to look. For some reason they all seem to think you are looking for buried treasure or gold.

 On public land if you get caught they will through the book at you.

 There was alot of activity around here during the Civil War and before, including several of General Jacksons camps, with 5 fort and all.


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## cc6pack (Jan 8, 2007)

Gunther

 We found one spot that every enfield we dug was marked 57, and over the years a few L's and some that were numbered. Still have a few that the box wood plug is still in them. Also found a few Frankford arsenal and some swage U.S marked.

 Cap use to hunt Mobile and the surrounding areas for Artillery shells in the late 70's I did find a real coin on one of the hunts if I remember correctly around Bay Minnette.


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## capsoda (Jan 9, 2007)

Yep, There was alot going on in Mobile and several scrumishes in Baldwin county. Found out that Blakley was a city and not just a battle field. Used to have a map of the defences of Mobile.


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