7/16/09 Hunt Finds. Big Silver Included

[d-dub]

Got out with Lookn4seated yesterday for a 13 hour MDing marathon. We started at early at 5am on what was supposed to be a Tour de Tot Lot, but after the 3rd lot the novelty wore off and we decided to hit a picnic grove. Once we got there we decided to trek into the woods to see how bad the mosquitos were. With a properly applied layer of Repel Sportsmen max(this stuff is the --deleted--) not a single mosquitos bothered us the whole time. Probably helped that we had a slight breeze but the 40% DEET was doing its job.

My first signal was a 1969 quarter and then 2 hours went buy without a single coin signal save for the handful of shotgun shells. Then finally I got a zinc penny signal which to my surprise was a 1905 IH.

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Just a few feet from that I got another zinc penny signal and out came this trade token.

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A little while later I pulled out this bird tag.

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The tag is from a racing pigeon. ARPU stands for, "American Racing Pigeon Union". I haven't been able to find any information on this particular bird tag, but hopefully an email to the organization can provide some more info. Would be neat to find out the make, model, and racing record of the bird.

After the bird tag the dry spell returned for another couple of hours until I finally got a nice quarter signal from a 3 quarter pocket spill. A (2)1965 and a 1973. What a buzz kill. Feeling down and out of luck I convinced Jon we should check out another grove.

Once at the new grove we decided to check out the picnic areas in the open fields. By this time it had cooled off considerably and it felt great to be out in the open. Another hour or so and copious amounts of clad later, I finally happened on the find of the day for me. Here it is. My second and BIGGEST silver bling.

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Funny thing is I actually passed up from digging this signal at first. It rang up as a solid half @ 2". We were on the last leg of our hunt and I was on "E" in the energy department and I was thinking it was probably some trash or something. I don't know why but a few steps forward and I turned around and relocated, pinpointed, and pulled it out. Man, am I happy I did. It certainly made up for how lousy the day had been and put the closure on a long day of hunting.

All in all it was certainly a great day. We found two new places that we got to hunt and few sections of these locations that warrant a little more research and a return visit. I also learned that my body is not happy with 13 hours of swinging and digging. I think I may put a time cap on future hunts. We'll see.....

 

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[Silvergurl]

Dan, Wicked finds! Wonder what happened to that bird.

 

[treasurefiend]

Great finds, love the old token!!!!!

 

[litefire56]

Yeah, the ring is huge and really cool, but I like the token the best. Very detailed !
You probably have this info, but thought I would forward it...

http://www.pigeon.org/bandlist.php?year=2002&f=A

 

[Lowbatts]

Wow! Nice token!

As for them pigeons, Lil' Lowbatts got one that was extraordinarily high priced one time in the backyard. The pigeon had lost it's drive apparently. Took two days to return it to an Elgin club for the guy in Waukegan who owned it. Told him I'd have ate it if it took one more day, then he told me how much it was worth. I should have ate it. Never gonna go anywhere that costs that much for dinner.

 

[d-dub]

I guess the jury is out that the token was the best find. I think its cool too, but it just doesn't do it for me. Different strokes for different folks I guess.

@LiteFire - Ya I found the website but couldn't find any listings for 1998 which is when the band was registered or installed. I shot off the following email to the ARPU on the bird band:

This week I was out in the woods metal detecting and came across one of your bands. The band code is AU 98 ARPU 18833. I searched your site as well as google and was not able to find any info. I was wondering if you had any information on this band code? It would be neat to know the details of the bird or possibly return the band to the birds owner.

Thank you for your time.

I'll let everyone know if I get a response. Thanks for all the comments.

 

[kimsdad]

Great hunt, Dan!!!

I don't know how the heck you did it for 13 hours, though. Most I ever went was 8, and I was dragging!

You'll get a response from the Pidgeon union. That's a cool find - and I like the token, too!

 

[watercolor]

Very cool stuff!! . . . for 13 hours of toil

Sweet ring & pigeon band

 

[Pocket Spill]

Super selection of finds! Great token!

 

[twistidd]

D-Dub,

I'm not too much into the tokens either but I do like the local ones. The silver ring is a great find as well. I'm due for a silver ring, come to think of it I'm due for a gold one too! You'll find one sooner than me if you can actually complete a tour de tot lot! Nice finds.

Joe

 

[Mayo South Elgin]

Having grown up in Skokie, I recognized the name on that trade token and did a little googling to see if it was related to the same store I used to go to when I lived there. I think it must be the same family from when the store used to be a tavern. In the '40's they changed it into a packaged goods store. Just this year it was sold to someone else. They might be interested in obtaining that token - or maybe you could redeem it! Based on their web site, the token could be as old as 1936 - the year they opened.
http://www.schaefers.com/about_us/our_history/