My uncle and I were detecting in a farm field that had finally seen beans planted and harvested for level ground. Prior trips had knee high cover crop to contend with but we knew there was an old home site. I had done a bit of research to help locate a mid-1800's homesite in the past, but we were excited and surprised to discover a much older colonial home site lost to time in the back field. Out of the field and iron we found old buttons, buckles, adornments and several coins, both whole and cut. They helped date the site from the early 1700's through the early 1800s. As I was slowly working my way through an iron patch with my 800, I came across a solid 15 signal. I was hoping for another old button and not a shotgun shell. Instead, I found a glint of gold in the dirt. My next thought was it must be a bit of old can trash. When I removed the dirt, to say I was shocked would be an understatement. It took me a minute to process what I might be holding. I yelled for my uncle in a rambling of words and told him several times to "Please tell me this is gold!". He was as excited and shocked as I was. It was my first gold coin and colonial era at that. It turned out to be a 1729 Portuguese Escudo. It was amazing. It was even holed in the middle where someone must have worn it at one time. I would love to know the history and stories it could surely tell. Thanks Minelab!
