Another Great Day of Relic Hunting!

[Brendan M.]

The weather was ideal here on Friday so I managed to duck out for the afternoon and put in a good solid 4+ hours in the woods. It had poured the night before, so the ground was nice and soft, and I decided to hit some new cellar holes and shoot for the deep stuff. I've been on a little bit of a personal roll here in early '08 after making some new adjustments to my machine, so I was eager to get in at least one more good day before the deep freeze comes later this week.

The spot I hit has a few different depressions in fairly close proximity. Well in short, basically the place was so hot that I literally spent the entire four hours giddily digging one target after another all within a roughly 10x10 square. There's very little modern trash at all, so I'm more inclined to dig all signals, which has turned out to be the right choice. There was such a thick density of quality targets that I'm starting to wonder if it's the fabled virgin ground... I'm going to be cleaning this place out every chance I get from here through Spring!

Here's a quick list of my take for the day:

• 1887 IH cent -- not my first, but the first I've dug that's in actually decent condition (after a hot peroxide cleaning and a coat of Blue Ribbon)
• 1925 wheatie
• One large brass Long Island Railroad (LIRR) baggage tag (my second in a week!)
• Engraved silver pocketwatch lid
• Three buttons: one flat loop-back, with backmark "Benedict & Co." (possibly Waterbury, CT, 1823-1829) and "Best Double Gilt"; a two-eye button with "B&W Co." and "Paris"; and a third tiny ball-shaped loop back (maybe for child's clothing?)
• Two crotal bells -- one lovely ornate brass one and one with plating engraved with "Pat. Oct 24 76 & May 14 78"
• Two antique spoons: one silver-plated and made by "Wm Rogers & Son AA"; the other marked "Peoples Mfg. Co."
• Not just a dog tag, but the whole leash too! (Modern, but funny) Apparently Cloe from Bohemia's collar didn't stay on so well
• A whole bunch of various brass/bronze/copper relics, including two lantern bases, a doorknob, a very large buckle/harness of some sort (any ideas anyone?), shotgun shells, some kind of metal lid marked "Eveready Pat. 1912", and a few whatsits
• Various iron relics (especially note the "2" thingy and the oil can)
• A large ceramic-glazed iron/steel tea kettle (This was five inches down, so of course, I was praying "cache"!)

All in all a great day of digging that sent me home with a bag of goodies. I KNOW the silver coins have to be there somewhere. I'll let you know when I find 'em!

Cheers and HH,
Brendan

 

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[Brendan M.]

Another pic

 

[Joe G]

Well now that what I call a hunt! Great assortment of stuff ya got there.

Love the pocket watch back. How come your IH looks that good and the one I found was toast

Bet your wife was "thrilled" at all the stuff you found

Looks like that's going to be it for a while... was kinda hoping I'd have a 3 day weekend I could hunt.

 

[Brendan M.]

Thanks, Joe. It was a really fun day and a great way to go out until the next thaw.

Yeah, I was psyched to find the watch. As for the Indian, I was just as shocked as anyone. You should give yours the hot peroxide bath we discussed. It may make a huge difference and what do you have to lose really?

Oh yes, the wife was delighted. I've got so much iron stashed in my trunk that my muffler's dragging...

Yeah it's too bad about the weather, but I'm in dad mode anyway. Any day now!

Cheers,
B

 

[Cynangyl]

sheesh I don't get that much neat stuff in a month....of course everything is frozen here and I am a cold weather wimp so everything anyone else gets looks extra good too! lol Nice finds...and honestly a great deal for a hunt too! Thanks for sharing!

 

[CRUSADER]

you must have a big pouch.

 

[Moonshadow]

Fun stuff! Can't wait to see the rest!!
Good luck and I hope you've had your tetanus shot!

HH,
Moon

 

[West Jersey Detecting]

Those are some nice relics.

WTG!!

Better get out your hammer and chisel if you plan on getting out this week! Temps will be in the 20's and 30's!!

 

[oldhermit34]

I'm new, what's the blue-ribbon you put on the coin? thanks

 

[Brendan M.]

sheesh I don't get that much neat stuff in a month....of course everything is frozen here and I am a cold weather wimp so everything anyone else gets looks extra good too! lol Nice finds...and honestly a great deal for a hunt too! Thanks for sharing!

This is the first winter I've hunted this much (granted, the weather has been oddly warm), and I think it's become one of my favorite seasons for detecting. Not nearly as much sweat, overgrowth isn't as bad, and the ticks -- a big problem around here -- are gone, gone, gone. I'm actually going to be pretty sad when the weather warms up, as many of my spots will turn into bug-infested briar patches.

 

[Cynangyl]

lack of ticks sounds like a very welcome thing but it has not been oddly warm here....supposed to be single digits this week for temps and I noticed some nasty white stuff falling out of the sky when I looked out there this morning. I am trying real hard not to look back out there! lol Sure is good that someone is able to get out and find goodies and share them with the rest of us!

 

[Brendan M.]

I'm new, what's the blue-ribbon you put on the coin? thanks

It's called Blue Ribbon Coin Conditioner. You can find it online or in coin shops for about $20 a bottle. It lightly cleans the coins but more importantly it protects them after you've cleaned them yourself (in peroxide, vinegar, etc.) and adds a nice light luster to the coin. I find it really helps old coppers and pennies (LCs, IHs, etc.). You only need a tiny bit, so the bottle should last you a long time.

Welcome to the hobby and forum!

Cheers and HH,
B

 

[Pete Sluder]

Great haul!!!!

As a fellow Long Islander I am jealous. Not really. I'm glad to see that there is some relics being pulled from the ground on the island. That meaans that the bulldozers haven't gotten everything plowed under.

 

[Brendan M.]

lack of ticks sounds like a very welcome thing but it has not been oddly warm here....supposed to be single digits this week for temps and I noticed some nasty white stuff falling out of the sky when I looked out there this morning. I am trying real hard not to look back out there! lol Sure is good that someone is able to get out and find goodies and share them with the rest of us!

Sorry to hear. Although I'm glad I could entertain while I had the chance -- it's getting pretty cold here too, so that may have been my last hurrah for a while!

 

[Brendan M.]

Great haul!!!!

As a fellow Long Islander I am jealous. Not really. I'm glad to see that there is some relics being pulled from the ground on the island. That meaans that the bulldozers haven't gotten everything plowed under.

I hear you. I tell myself that every time I find something. I almost find it an obligation to try and recover everything I can with my time. Lord knows, before too long everything's going to be buried underneath a Super Target or a townhouse subdivision.

Whereabouts on the Island do you hunt?

 

[donny nj]

Nice Joe!! WTG!

 

[panzermeyer]

Wow !!! Awesome variety of finds !! I wish this cold weather and snow would leave so I could get hunting too lol/HH....Panz

 

[Brendan M.]

Nice Joe!! WTG!

My name's Brendan, but thanks!

Cheers,
B

 

[meathead]

Being a dog lover and have 3 dogs now. It would be killing me to know what happened to the dog , I would just have to call.
Now that just me, but I would have to know if the dog got lost with the collar.

 

[Brendan M.]

Being a dog lover and have 3 dogs now. It would be killing me to know what happened to the dog , I would just have to call.
Now that just me, but I would have to know if the dog got lost with the collar.

I hear you. I have two dogs myself, and my wife wondered the same thing. Maybe I'll give them a ring and satisfy everyone's curiosity....