MidMoTreasure
Sr. Member
- Jul 2, 2012
- 335
- 713
- Detector(s) used
- Minelab CTX 3030, Minelab E-Trac, Garrett Super Sluice, Banjo Pan
- Primary Interest:
- All Treasure Hunting
Last Sunday I went detecting at an old park that had been well-hit since the 1970's. My first dig of the day was a solid 12-18 signal on my CTX. Normally, this would be a hard pass for me in a park because experience has taught me that such signals are almost always pull tabs or can slaw. However, the solidness of the beep and the depth made me curious, so I put shovel to turf and popped out a small object that appeared to be gold. I quickly ran it over to my digging partner who agreed that it was solid gold. After a little water, the dirt was cleaned away. No hallmark, but it felt like it had some weight to it. I was sure it was solid.
I used my scale and acid kit at home and confirmed that the pin is 2.8 grams of 14-karat gold. I believe the letters on the front, "MNS" stand for Missouri Normal School, which was the former name of my alma matter Central Missouri State University (now called University of Central Missouri). The "05" would be Class of 1905. On the back are the hand-etched initials "E.M.S." The entire pin was hand-engraved in excellent craftsmanship. The weak link was the soldered-on brass stick in the back that probably could not keep up with supporting the weight of the gold pin. Poor EMS lost his/her pin a long, long time ago when the brass stick failed. Why the maker used a brass stick rather than gold is a mystery, as is the identity of "EMS." I may have to see if the university has any graduation rolls from back in 1905 so I can learn more about the pin's former owner.
I used my scale and acid kit at home and confirmed that the pin is 2.8 grams of 14-karat gold. I believe the letters on the front, "MNS" stand for Missouri Normal School, which was the former name of my alma matter Central Missouri State University (now called University of Central Missouri). The "05" would be Class of 1905. On the back are the hand-etched initials "E.M.S." The entire pin was hand-engraved in excellent craftsmanship. The weak link was the soldered-on brass stick in the back that probably could not keep up with supporting the weight of the gold pin. Poor EMS lost his/her pin a long, long time ago when the brass stick failed. Why the maker used a brass stick rather than gold is a mystery, as is the identity of "EMS." I may have to see if the university has any graduation rolls from back in 1905 so I can learn more about the pin's former owner.
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