Bust Halves - Mohawk Valley Hoard
FEVER
Posts: 232 ✭
Just for fun I thought it might be interesting to post a few pieces, for your perusal, from the famous Mohawk Valley Hoard. These three examples came directly from one of the two highly skilled finders. I especially like the 1811 as it has some dirt and grass still in the shield! Anyone else have an example(s) they would like to post?
Edgar
P.S. Slumlord98, do you still have your 1814 piece?
Up first, 1811, O-108 (with grass and dirt attached!).
1819, O-115
1826, O-117
Edgar
P.S. Slumlord98, do you still have your 1814 piece?
Up first, 1811, O-108 (with grass and dirt attached!).
1819, O-115
1826, O-117
0
Comments
I like them... it looks like the '11 and '26 are on their way to becoming holey coins.
were they hit with a BB gun or what is up with that?
The Upstate New York Hoard(s)
In 2002, in Mohawk Valley in Upstate New York, at an old-fort site (on private property with permission) a number of caches were found. This site was active in the French and Indian Wars, The Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.
According to the finders and the individual marketing these pieces at online auction these Capped Bust halves were all marked (by the original owner) with a small chisel along the dentilation or small round punch on one side of the coin. This way if one showed up in circulation the original owner would know that a cache was discovered.
After ten years of listening to local landowners telling the same story of hidden treasures, one of the detectorists marked the locations on a map where pieces had been found in the past and soon came to the realization that there was a pattern. The biggest difficulty, aside from getting permission of the owners, was the problem that it covered over 1000 acres!
At first only military buttons, artifacts and some British and Colonial coppers were found. Then, after continued persistence, eventually the first cache surfaced. And unbeknownst to the two men at that time it was just the “tip of the iceberg”. They had found a small group of several pieces of silver, that at first were thought to be a pile of Reales. After one was rinsed in a nearby stream it turned out to be an American half dollar! Shortly thereafter, both men worked a search pattern around the first group and within a short time discovered another pile of several more coins – five of which were half dollars. At the end of the first day they had come up with 19 silver pieces.
Returning the following day and hunting the same area, one of them received a strong signal. Strong signals with a metal detector more often than not turn out to be large pieces of scrap metal or even an old tractor tire rim. But this one turned out to be a ... bicycle chain! Nevertheless, being experienced with a detector he knew to check the spot again, once he removed the junk object, just to make sure. The signal was still there! After removing some rocks he began digging with his hands. That is when they appeared. Roughly two inches down were the outlines of large silver coins with lettered edges! And to quote him, “Stacked like poker chips!” It took over an hour to CAREFULLY lift out the stacks (thank you gentlemen!). There were 163 halves, plus one 8 reales dated 1807, and all from the same hole – and it was not to be the end of the story.
More caches were found over the next week and a half including about 100 silver coins (mostly American quarters). The duo searched through the summer and fall and still managed to find more stray coins including the “Spanish Pile” which consisted of nearly fifty 2 Reale pieces beneath a large tree.
So far the combined caches have totaled over 500 silver coins dating from 1773 to 1838. And 288 were half dollars (there were twenty-five 1809 CBHs alone!). Interestingly most of this hoard is in high grades of Choice VF to AU.
Edgar
Capped Bust Half Series
Capped Bust Half Dime Series
VERY COOL pieces!!! I just bought my first CBH for my 7070 type set... I can hardly wait!
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Will PCGS grade them and designate the hoard?
Or would they BB em for the damage?
AL
As someone who spent his youth in Upstate New York I find the hoard story fascinating (this is not the first I've heard of it). I used to snorkel in Lake Champlain searching for Revolutionary war artifacts. I never found anything but knew people who found cannon, canon balls and other Revolutionary war material. There may still be lots of undiscovered treasures in those parts.
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myurl
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Thanks for asking. I just sent you an email to your "info" email address with the number to call direct from the publisher.
Best Regards,
Edgar
I know that NGC slabbed quite a few of them and designated them from the Mohawk Valley hoard. I don't recall for sure if they graded them - I think they were just labeled AUTHENTIC.
I've never seen one in a PCGS slab.
Regards,
Edgar
My mom grew up in the Lake Champlain area. My mom and dad are buried in Keeseville.
@FEVER , thank you for that history. It makes those coins come alive now with a history all their own!
Very cool hoard story, which I had not heard of previously. Shame they were marked but it makes sense as to why they were!
While I agree its a shame they were marked, but on the other hand once you know how and where they were marked it is easy to identify one….
I bought a few, on eBay, back when they first flooded the market. Now, you don't even hear about them, anymore. They were all very high grade, originals but the 'hallmark' bothered me, too much, so I sold them, years ago. I had an 1812, 1817 & 1819.
“I may not believe in myself but I believe in what I’m doing” ~Jimmy Page~
My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947):
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/