Dug up a Roman coin and a colonial button side by side in my backyard last week

I was digging a new flower bed near my house in rural Virginia. Found a crusty copper coin about 6 inches down. Cleaned it up a bit and it's Roman, looks like a late 3rd century antoninianus. Right next to it was a 1700s British uniform button. One spot had stuff from two totally different eras. Has anyone else found mixed layers like this? What does it mean for the site history?

2 comments

2 Comments

barbara_sanchez881mo ago

That Roman coin and colonial button together means someone was digging in that same spot a couple hundred years ago. The button probably fell off a British soldier's coat around the time of the Revolution. If they were side by side like that, the soldier or whoever found the coin and dropped it back down with the button. You basically found an 18th century guy's pocket litter mixed with leftover Roman change.

the_mary1mo agoMost Upvoted

Those British soldiers were often veterans from other European wars too, right? Could that button have come from a guy who fought on the continent first and brought that coin along as a souvenir? How do you even start to trace something that far back, do they check old records for uniform designs from specific regiments?