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Bud has found another Oak Tree threepence. See end of article for photos of all coins.
Bud Bing had been working hard for days. Finally he was able to squeeze in a nice day of metal detecting between work days and frigid New England temperatures when he found more than he had hoped for - but let him tell us. Bud writes from Colonial Massachusetts. It was early in January 2000.
"In the few days it warmed up I arrived at a portion of the field where I received a faint signal. I dug and the signal became stronger. In a minute, lying in my palm, was an irregularly shaped disc. I thought it might be silver but I could see no pattern because of the dirt. My vision without glasses is not that good but I thought it might be a worn seated dime, as several had been found in that field. I just put it into my pouch and went on. When I arrived home later, I took care of some chores. Finally, I decided to go over my finds which included 3 worn English coppers. I saw one was a "King George". Then I looked at that irregular coin and was amazed to note a design that looked like tree branches. I turned it over and saw the 1652 - it was an oak tree threepence - not in great condition, clipped, crusted, but definitely tree coinage! I called my friends who were congratulatory and envious (who wouldn't be envious). But the story is not over…
The next day, I finished my work early and returned to the field about 3:00PM. I went back to the same area of the field. In the next hour I found three additional small silver discs. I was able to identify one as a half reale in very good condition. The last I found as my friend Rich arrived in his van and was walking over to me. He waited as I dug a faint signal. I gave him the clump of dirt producing the signal and he said "I can't believe it, another TREE coin!" - it was a Pine Tree Threepence - bent and a little broken but I'll take it. The last small silver coin was holed and very worn and turned out to be another half-reale -date unreadable. The other half-reale was dated 1781.
Unfortunately, I do have to worktoday, but tomorrow I hope to go back to that area of the field if the ground is not frozen solid. Has anyone found more than one tree-coin in a lifetime? Can't believe I found two in 2 days!"
Congratulations, Bud!
But there is more excitement from Bud in Colonial Massachusettes. Earlier. in the same field, Bud came up with a Washington Inaugural button (WI 17A) in Albert's Button Book.
Also, in the current issue of Western & Eastern Treasures, look at Mark Parker’s column and see the (possibly 1500s) brass cannon that was found by another member of Bud’s family.
Bud will try to make some scans of his "Tree" coins so we can see them. In the meantime, just look them up in your Red Book. If you have no Red Book and/or don't know about Massachusetts Colonial Tree coinage, see below.
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Photos: Row one - Oak Tree threepence obverse and reverse
Row two - Pine Tree threepence Obverse and Reverse
Photos courtesy of Al Jones
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