Detecting in Saxapahaw: Buckles, buttons, coins, and ... peacocks?

Following yesterday's fun but less-than-successful Halloween hunt, I really wanted to get out there and try again.  I went down closer to Saxapahaw proper to detect the Buckner Farm on Sax Beth.  The property is a North Carolina "century farm", or a property actively farmed by the same family for more than 100 years.  It appears on an 1893 map of Alamance County as part of the Newlin farms, who are of course counted among the founding fathers of Saxapahaw.

Both my detecting partner Brad and myself have searched this property in the past, but the good finds just kept on coming today!  The oldest finds for the day came from the same hole (a note for the new detectorists - always always check you hole before replacing the sod!).  The first one out of the ground was a flat button without the shank, typical of the 1800-1860 timeframe.  The second find is a really nice small buckle.  Both tines are still intact, and it has a great flower pattern on the front.  The center bar is marked "GERMANY."  This is most likely a suspender buckle or pants waist adjuster, typical of the 1850's and 60's (matching the later timeframe of the flatbutton found with it).

I also managed to find several old coins today, including two wheat pennies (1940 and 1918), and two silver dimes (1958 Roosevelt and 1937 Mercury).  Both dimes were surprisingly shallow for a worked site, so I'm sure there's more out there to find.

The coolest find by far is this large brooch, which was once silver plated.  It was recovered in two pieces, so again I remind new detectorists to always check your holes.  The front image is of two peacocks kissing, their bodies forming a heart.  The decorative style looks to be Victorian to me, but I'm can't say for certain on the age.  Regardless, this is my favorite piece for the day, and I'm really thrilled to have found it!

Thanks for checking out the blog, and you can also keep up to date with Detecting Saxapahaw on Facebook.  Until next time, happy hunting and God Bless!