tigerbeetle
Full Member
- Jan 2, 2009
- 166
- 275
- Detector(s) used
- Many -- Fisher, White's, Minelab, Cobra, others
- Primary Interest:
- Metal Detecting
Jerseyana find isn't that old but plenty nostalgic --- and worth quite few clams
After weeks of coin and button hunting in Federal Period sites of NJ, I recently opted to hunt a modern-ish “War Years (WWII)” dump area near my Jersey Shore home. In nothing flat, I came up with not just a fine modern historic find but also got an implicit lesson in what might be called the localized value in downhome artifacts.
It’s a classic brass New Jersey clamming license, meant to worn by any and all commercial baymen when in the water. Recreational licenses back then were chinzy iron buttons. These showy, embossed clamming licenses (with hand-painted lettering), though a piece of fairly recent coastal Americana, are highly sought after. Admittedly, there ain’t a whole lot of ‘em being found – helped along by the fact that many treasure hunters forsake “modern” sites that only go back a mere 75 years or so. I was long amongst those who went nose-up when coming upon sites that contained the likes of plastic pieces and light bulbs within. I now seek out even modern-ish dumps.
I’m not being mercenary, but I can quickly get a nice chunk of change for this clamming license -- far more than what I can get for many older coins and buttons. Not that I’m selling it. I’m just trying to alert detectorists to an oft underappreciated value in such hometown artifacts, including items not dating back all that far.
And home is where the heart is, so to speak. Believe me, this piece of Jerseyana wouldn’t garner much gab if being displayed at a California flea market or the likes. This find – along with three other similar brass clamming licenses I have found over the years – is bound for a local museum, where I know it’ll be a highly popular display – with my name, as “lender,” residing nearby. Hell, that hometown recognition is a far better payday than just selling off the vintage licenses.
Detector Note: I couldn’t have missed finding this large brass item. It sung out “good” even amid loads and loads of decaying iron pieces within the dump area. The signal was helped along by the fact my Fisher CZ-3D does very well in ferreting out hard metal (brass, bonze, copper) from amid soft metal (Fe). The trick is setting the machine to ignore iron, then swinging the loop well above the ground, maybe a foot or more. Sure, larger iron pieces will sometimes sing out as “good” – and smaller hard-metal items might be fully masked -- but, on average, larger hard-metal pieces will let you know they’re hiding there among the rust.
Tip: There’s an item called Whink Rust Stain Remover (google same) that is amazing for neutralizing/removing iron stains from dug items (metal, glass, porcelain). Just don’t let it sit too long before rinsing, as in hours on end.
After weeks of coin and button hunting in Federal Period sites of NJ, I recently opted to hunt a modern-ish “War Years (WWII)” dump area near my Jersey Shore home. In nothing flat, I came up with not just a fine modern historic find but also got an implicit lesson in what might be called the localized value in downhome artifacts.
It’s a classic brass New Jersey clamming license, meant to worn by any and all commercial baymen when in the water. Recreational licenses back then were chinzy iron buttons. These showy, embossed clamming licenses (with hand-painted lettering), though a piece of fairly recent coastal Americana, are highly sought after. Admittedly, there ain’t a whole lot of ‘em being found – helped along by the fact that many treasure hunters forsake “modern” sites that only go back a mere 75 years or so. I was long amongst those who went nose-up when coming upon sites that contained the likes of plastic pieces and light bulbs within. I now seek out even modern-ish dumps.
I’m not being mercenary, but I can quickly get a nice chunk of change for this clamming license -- far more than what I can get for many older coins and buttons. Not that I’m selling it. I’m just trying to alert detectorists to an oft underappreciated value in such hometown artifacts, including items not dating back all that far.
And home is where the heart is, so to speak. Believe me, this piece of Jerseyana wouldn’t garner much gab if being displayed at a California flea market or the likes. This find – along with three other similar brass clamming licenses I have found over the years – is bound for a local museum, where I know it’ll be a highly popular display – with my name, as “lender,” residing nearby. Hell, that hometown recognition is a far better payday than just selling off the vintage licenses.
Detector Note: I couldn’t have missed finding this large brass item. It sung out “good” even amid loads and loads of decaying iron pieces within the dump area. The signal was helped along by the fact my Fisher CZ-3D does very well in ferreting out hard metal (brass, bonze, copper) from amid soft metal (Fe). The trick is setting the machine to ignore iron, then swinging the loop well above the ground, maybe a foot or more. Sure, larger iron pieces will sometimes sing out as “good” – and smaller hard-metal items might be fully masked -- but, on average, larger hard-metal pieces will let you know they’re hiding there among the rust.
Tip: There’s an item called Whink Rust Stain Remover (google same) that is amazing for neutralizing/removing iron stains from dug items (metal, glass, porcelain). Just don’t let it sit too long before rinsing, as in hours on end.
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