7/16/12 Report - Button Find & Reading Finds



Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.

Old Button Found by Bernie C.

Bernie C. found this nice old two-piece button and originally didn't know very much about it.  He submitted the photos, but before I got it posted, did his research and identified the button.

This is an older button that would tell you that you are in a good area.

In the top photo, you can see some of the detail, but not the words around the button.

On the second photo, you can see "WATERBURY" on the back of the button.  Button backmarks can be a huge help in identifying buttons.

Back of Bernie's Button Showing "WATERBURY"

The Waterbury Button Company began operation in 1812 when America needed to find a manufacturer for military buttons.  Previously they got buttons from England. 

The Waterbury Button Company is still in operation in Connecticut and makes quality buttons for companies such as the Disney Cruise Lines.

Bernie has identified his button as a post Civil War Tennessee agriculture button like the one shown below.



You can easily learn more about the Waterbury Button Company online.

Here is a link that you might find helpful for conducting research on buttons.



Picture of Button Like Bernie's Find



http://www.waterburybutton.com/cart/pc/home.asp



As I said in my last post, always try to figure out what your finds might be telling you. That goes for any find. On a beach, a find almost always can tell you something.  It might give you clues to how it got  there? How long has it been there? What  people have done there in the past?  What other detectorists might have done? And very important, the distribution of objects of different materials, size, shape, age, and density?

Below is a photo showing the types of coins that I found at the base of the cut that I showed in my last post.  Notice that they are all encrusted.  None were found real near the surface.  I would say the average depth of these coins was about six to eight inches.

I haven't cleaned them off yet, and haven't determined the exact dates, but I can tell that they aren't very old.

The fact that they are encrusted tells me that they aren't what I would call recent drops.  Not real recent anyhow.  

Encrusted Coins Found in Coin Line Near Base of Cut

I always intended to do some experiments to determine how long it takes modern coins to become encrusted like this.  Maybe some day I'll actually get around to it.

The lack of any recent drops suggested to me that the site had been detected by others in recent days.  

The encrusted coins were either eroded out of the dunes since the previous detectorists were there, or they were missed by the previous detectorists.

Looking at the condition of the cut (obviously not real new) along with the depth of all the encrusted coins, suggested to me that the previous detectorist simply missed them.

They were found in a line (what I call a coin line) within a short distance from the cut.  In the past I've explained how to identify a coin line and how to work it.

I expected to find coins at the foot of this cut, and I did.  That wasn't a surprise.   When I saw evidence of a coin line emerging, it told me the area that I should carefully search.   As one encrusted coin after another emerged, the distribution pattern became more clearly defined, as did the depth of the coins.    After the first few coins, I knew to work slowly and listen carefully for quieter signals.

I think that gives you some idea about some of the things to consider when you make a find, and how the information can influence your search pattern.



Not much new to say about beach conditions.  There is a little stirring going on, but not enough to change my beach conditions rating.

The wind is out of the south with seas reaching around four feet and peaking today.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net