Last spring, we were invited to metal detect a property owned by East District City Councilor Ron Marsan’s family. We spent four days covering their plot of land and saved many historic relics and even some coins. The oldest recovery was a large copper coin dating back from 1793-1857!
It was a large property and the outlook was promising! We covered lawn areas, woods and some dirt piles using our Garrett AT Pro’s and Gold. Due to the area’s history, we also added larger coils. These items push our depth-detecting to almost 2 feet. They definitely add weight to our arms, but give us a better possibility of finding older items buried deep.
We recovered many of the usual suspects including horse buckles, ox shoes, old buttons, jackknifes and pieces of harmonicas. Surprises included items from the 1950s-’70s including Lesney matchbox cars and some pieces of toy guns. My son Jonathan also saved a toy lead soldier!
Along with the relics, a few old coins were found including a 1925 Buffalo Nickel, a 1942 Mercury Dime and a 1942 Washington Quarter.
One coin, however, stood out and was found near the woods buried around 18 inches deep. After locating the signal with my detector around 88-92 VDI (Visual Discrimination Indicator), I used my Garrett waterproof Pro Pointer pinpointer (handheld small detector used to pinpoint an object) to locate the object that was sitting under water. That particular part of the property does not drain well and had a lot of standing water. However, I pushed through the muck aided by my pinpointer and I recovered a United States Liberty Head Copper Large Cent – the first penny established in the U.S.! The condition, however, was not that great, a hard-to-read date and the reverse side unreadable or what we call toasted. This is what happens to coins and relics over time sitting in wet, muddy conditions. The minerals in the soil react with the copper and water causing deterioration. Yet aside from its rough appearance, it can be positively dated between 1816 and 1857 due to its left-facing bust and star formation. It also means I recovered an amazing lost treasure in our hometown of Methuen 200-plus years later!
The United States Large Cent was minted between 1793 and 1857. The coin was made of pure copper and was, in fact, the first penny much larger than what we are accustom to today. It was about the size of a U.S. half-dollar. The design has shifted through its history with the original on its obverse side depicted a right-facing Lady Liberty with windblown hair, the word “Liberty” and the date. On the obverse is printed “The United States of America” with a center circle of chains and etched “One Cent 1/100.” It is the most sought-after edition that is very rare and what we detectorists call the Flowing Hair variety. Coins in this year certified can fetch up to thousands of dollars, depending on condition and grade.
After the first year, the coin had a series from 1794 to 1796 that changed the style of Liberty’s hair and the reverse became a wreath instead of a circle of chains. Then again, in 1796, another change took place and the coin was now known as a Draped Bust that ran until 1808. In the third revision, the obverse changed the bust of Lady Liberty to face left instead of right. Her bust design was also enlarged and the word “Liberty” was now placed in a crown above her forehead. Thirteen stars were also added for the 13 colonies. The reverse had no changes. The next remake, known as the “Classic” version, ran from 1808 to 1814 and the only change would appear on the reverse removing the 1/100 and underlining the word “cent” for One Cent.
The final rendition (the coin I recovered) ran from 1816 to 1857 and was known as the “Liberty Head.” The changes on the obverse included a thinner Lady Liberty with the 13 colony stars now in a continuous line around the coin. The previous editions had a space above the bust due to its larger profile. The reverse again had no changes.
An interesting note is that the U.S. Large Cent was not minted in 1815 due to a shortage of copper involving the War of 1812. So, if you have an 1815 Large Cent, we are pretty confident you have a counterfeit coin. Following 1857, the U.S. penny was not minted again until 1859. It would be completely redesigned and known as the Indian Head Cent (1859-1909). It also would change its shape to the actual size of today’s penny, known as the Lincoln Cent (1909-present).
The values of the U.S. Large Cent over its life are based on condition and grade with many (including ours) ranging from $10 to as much as $250,000. There are versions of the original and the 1799 year that steep in value (1799 due to its low mintage).
We love finding old coins and saving them from being lost forever. Most people think there is nothing to save underground on their property, but here in our own home community we love proving everyone wrong! We thank the Marsans for the opportunity to save some history and encourage others to offer us the same experience. We have a “history” of surprising many people, teaching them about our recoveries, and sharing with others in MethuenLife!
Methuen father/son treasure hunters Steve and Jonathan Stewart were the August 2019 MethuenLife cover story. They run YouTube, Facebook and Instagram accounts called Mass Metal Detecting and have followers around the globe. They love to save history and enjoy talking about it. If you’d like to invite them to your property for a hunt, you may be included in a future article! Please drop them a note via MethuenLife@msn.com.
