Hamilton History Hunters

The spot my Son and I call the Button Forest has certainly been crazy this spring so far.
An area I had not detected before behind the forest had coins literally scattered everywhere.
Five trips there over a few weeks, and I have dug over 80 coins so far.
-8 Quarters 1904-1953
-9 Dimes 1911-1949
-6 Nickels 1927-1949, including my first 1945 US 35% silver War Nickel
-42 Canadian Pennies 1932-1952
-17 US Wheat Cents
1926-1951
Oddly enough, there were ZERO old buttons in this area but 18 silvers in this one spot is crazy.

Good Friday was a good day indeed. My first ever silver quarter coin spill, 1942, 1952, 1953 with 1940 and 1942 pennies and a 22LR bullet in the hole as well.
The 1938 Newfoundland penny a few feet away was another first ever find.
This forest just keeps giving up the goodies.

Little forest hunt on Sunday turned up a couple old buttons including a Tomback circa 1760-1790 with the iron wire eye still intact.
Probably been in the ground for around 250 years but cleaned up super nice.

Interesting find by my son Nick at an old fair ground.
Nice old military badge from the Disabled American Veterans -World War-
As a military collector, I love when we save little bits of History like this from the ground.

Well, it seems like forever since I posted anything on here but after having sprained both my wrists last summer, wiping out like an idiot, detecting was out of the question.
Getting back at it now before the winter hits.
Trying out a new spot for metal detecting that my son Nick found while looking on Google maps. An old dirt road through a huge forest.
Nick got the 1928 silver 25 Cent coin and I got the 1917 Large Cent and 1913 silver 5 Cent Fishscale coin.
All three are in amazing condition for being buried nearly 100 years.
Detecting Parks and Fairgrounds is fun but you expect to find stuff where thousands of people have been for 150+ years.
Bushwacking a hundred acres of forest hoping you find an old coin someone dropped in that same time span is tough going, but all the more satisfying when you do get something.
We dug lots of other bits of history so far there too, looking forward to going back.

Father and Son Bank Tokens, dug about 5 feet apart from each other.
My first 1837 Un Sou and Nicks 1844 Montreal Half Penny.
I can imagine them being dropped by the same person long long ago.
That would have been a bad day for them but a good day for us nearly 200 years later.
Happy Hunting

Hey folls! Nick here. It's been a busy year with not much time for fun, but we managed to get out recently and turned up some good finds.

Of note, my first half dollar! Barely 3 inches deep, and 6 feet from the back door. A good day for firsts, my dad also found his first 1830's Lower Canada bouquet sous.

One of my flat buttons turned out to be a very early white metal button (circa 1800-1830) which actually predates the settlement of the property and may have come along with the crown patentee from Scotland!

Todays History lesson ...
Interesting little find the other day out metal detecting with my son.
A heavily impacted bullet known as a Minie Ball or 3 Ringer.
They were hollow bottom, .58 caliber, 500 grain, weighing 32.4 grams
This one split in half on impact and now weighs 14 grams.
These were used in the British 1853 Pattern Enfield Rifle or the U.S. 1861 Model Springfield Rifle, which were Muzzleloader Percussion Cap rifles used in the mid 1800s

Although I did not get any buttons from the Button Forest on Saturday, I did however get my second silver coin from there and it's also my second oldest coin from there.
1858 Fishscale 5 cent, the first year mint, and it has 2 die crack errors on it.
I also got what I thought was an old copper coin with a square nail hole in the center, but it is so smooth, it's impossible to tell.
It could be a Blacksmith token made into a washer but I have no idea.
Oh, I also got bit by a tick on my leg. Careful out in the woods people, the little monsters are active.

Another trip to the Button Forest and my son gets ... you guessed it, another Button with a bonus Thimble as well.
The Thimble has lots of designs and detail and says FRIENDSHIP.
Apparently Circa 1830-1859

This is why we call it the Button Forest ...
24 in total so far this year, 12 for my son and 12 for me. Most are from the late 1700s to mid 1800s.