Dug up a Wheel Barrow!...Plus Silver.

[Wildcat1750]

I got a nice solid hit on the Ace 250. It was 8 inches down and so strong that I was certain to find an aluminum can. I was even a bit careless and nicked it a bit with my digger. I’ve found many silver plated spoons with most of the plating gone but this was my first solid coin silver spoon!

It has engraved initials RB on the front and a maker’s mark I&S. BALDWIN on the back. My research of land deeds and genealogical records for the site show a possible match to Rebecca Barnum (b. November 25, 1813 – d. January 5, 1869 in Redwing, Minn.) who was married to Hart Barnabus Baldwin on May 6, 1835. She would have been a sister-in-law to Abraham Lines Baldwin (b. 1827 – d. 1924) who farmed the land from the late 1850s until and lived here until he died in 1924. There is no way of proving this connection but it is quite possible. The maker’s mark on the back is just a coincidence and I don’t believe there is any relation.

My second best find is the button with the delicate leaf design on it.

Getting yet another strong signal I dug and dug until at last I uncovered an entire crumpled wheelbarrow! At first I thought it was a car hood but once I had much of it uncovered I was determined to remove it once and for all.

Thanks for looking!
Nick

 

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[John Boy]

Great hunt.like that spoon and button.That wheelbarrow has seen better days.Lol....

 

[Argentium]

That spoon is nice !- consider taking it to a local silversmith , having the bowl restored - the joy of restoring a nearly 200 year old spoon
such that you can use it , especially since you found it -would more than offset the expense in my opinion .

 

[vpnavy]

Nice finds Wildcat1750!

 

[John_Deere]

Nice finds! congrats on the played spoon!

 

[JABBERWOCKY]

Amazing ol' silver. Congrats!!

 

[BruceB]

love the spoon

 

[Sobo]

Nice spoon and button

 

[fireford10]

The wheel burrow find cracks me up.. lol. I give you an A+ for the determination of removing that thing. And great sivler and button finds!.....I personally disagree with restoring it. just my opinion

 

[Wildcat1750]

The spoon has a real nice tone to it, that's not visible in the photos, so I hadn't really considered restoring it. I have been tempted to eat a spoonful of something with it tho...just to be the first person in perhaps 2 centuries to use it!

PS: I haven't yet figured out what to do with the wheel barrow. I definitely won't be restoring that!

 

[fireford10]

too bad it wasnt in better shape, you could of used it to fill the hole back in form the void it left behind LOL

 

[Erik in NJ]

The spoon is very beautiful! I dug a similar coin silver spoon (also with a damaged bowl) with the letters AMA hand engraved--perhaps you can help me to a search as to whom it might have belonged to--there was a very prominent family in the area whose last name begand with A and the house across the street was owned by an AA, but the middle initial was different.

The wheelbarrow is amazing, unless it was buried by a bulldozer, it's incredible that it was destroyed, lost, and then finally buried. Have the strata in that yard been mixed up at all?

Very nice array of finds overall!

 

[Wildcat1750]

The spoon is very beautiful! I dug a similar coin silver spoon (also with a damaged bowl) with the letters AMA hand engraved--perhaps you can help me to a search as to whom it might have belonged to--there was a very prominent family in the area whose last name begand with A and the house across the street was owned by an AA, but the middle initial was different.

The wheelbarrow is amazing, unless it was buried by a bulldozer, it's incredible that it was destroyed, lost, and then finally buried. Have the strata in that yard been mixed up at all?

Very nice array of finds overall!

Thanks, Erik. I would research the land deeds at Town Hall to find past ownership and then check the Census records for all members of the household. Geneology records for that person could give you names of extended family members that could be related from that prominent family. There is a chance that the middle initial might have been mixed up in various references.
You are absolutely right about the strata on this site being mixed. The original homestead was demolished a decade ago and the topsoil was spread about after new construction. I have found matching pieces of several objects here that were in different ends of the yard.

 

[Wildcat1750]

too bad it wasnt in better shape, you could of used it to fill the hole back in form the void it left behind LOL

I used my working wheel barrow, the one that still has a wheel on it, to do that!

 

[pepperj]

The spoon I&S Baldwin -The I S symbol stood for the International Silver Company - Baldwin is the pattern? I could be wrong on this though, but in buying it was the normal thought that's what the I S stood for.

Cool old spoon either way, congrats on the find. I haven't ever seen another wheel barrow ever been posted before guess one doesn't know unless digging it completely out of the ground.

 

[coiny]

I like the garter clip!

 

[Wildcat1750]

The spoon I&S Baldwin -The I S symbol stood for the International Silver Company - Baldwin is the pattern? I could be wrong on this though, but in buying it was the normal thought that's what the I S stood for.

Cool old spoon either way, congrats on the find. I haven't ever seen another wheel barrow ever been posted before guess one doesn't know unless digging it completely out of the ground.

Thanks for taking a stab a IDing it pepperj. I actually misread the maker's mark. It is really reads: J&S BALDWIN. Jesse Garrettson Baldwin and Seymour Wesley Baldwin were silversmiths who had a partnership from 1833-1834 in Middletown, Connecticut. This helpful info was pointed out to me by an alert metal detectorist on another forum.

Below is a picture of Silversmiths Jesse Garrettson Baldwin (1804-1887)

and Seymour Wesley Baldwin
(1807-1891)

from Ancestry.com:​

 

[frogginfish]

Great finds! The spoon is awesome!

 

[jewelerguy]

great spoon!

 

[Argentium]

I guess my bias toward putting it back into servicable condition is based on two factors , 1. I am a silversmith/jeweler so I am drawn to
seeing the bowl "put right" 2. I am a silver addict , especially when it comes to "older American ,English , and Canadian silver. I do
however respect the opinion of all of you who do not share my opinion regarding this spoon !