silversweeper
Sr. Member
- Aug 22, 2011
- 340
- 252
- Detector(s) used
- Minelab Etrac, CTX 3030
- Primary Interest:
- All Treasure Hunting
Have been hitting an area where a local construction company has been dumping a few hundred dump-truck loads of dirt from a project at another location in town. All together I think the dozer driver told me that they've moved 17,000 cubic yards of dirt!! Much of that is clay from beneath habitation level but there was still a lot moved that potentially had relics in it. I've spent many hours going over those piles with little to show for it until last week. Up until then, all I had found was a few Civil War bullets, assorted saddle rivets and what-not's, a few wheat pennies, and 2 religious pendants. No great discoveries, no silver coins, and definitely nothing to brag about. But then they moved 60 so more loads from a future parking lot area and I happened to catch the dozer driver out on the dump area. He knocked down most of the piles for me after I finished my initial search. I returned the next day and swung for a few hours in the 94 degree sun...again no big finds until I was about to call it a day and found my first railroad tag! I didn't recognize the initials, but had a feeling that it was an important line...the tag turned out to be just what I had hoped for, a remnant of one of the first railways in our town. A man named Louis Houck was pretty much responsible for single handedly bringing the railway here and this tag came from one of his earliest lines. It was the St. Louis, Cape Girardeau and Fort Smith Railway which was eventually bought up by the San Francisco Railroad that most of us are familiar with. There's a great tale to go with this tag and the Railway, but too long to retell here. The history, though, dates this tag to 1891 give or take one or two years. AWESOME local history and, to the right collector, a very rare and valuable relic. May very well be the only one in human hands today. To me it's a priceless piece of local history, which I love, and will remain in my own collection.
The other good finds of that day worth mentioning were a medal from the May 7-8, 1915 10th Annual High School Meet presented by the Cape Girardeau Commercial Club (forerunner of the Chamber of Commerce here), and the largest brooch I've ever seen! The brooch is missing the stones and the pin back but is still pretty cool, may have been a hat pin and dates to the late 1800's I would guess. My silver dimes in the pictures came from another site and have been patiently waiting some companion silvers for some time while sitting here on my desk. Maybe if I get them put into sleeves, labeled, and put away...some more will allow me to discover them and bring them home. The book shaped cigarette case came from a walk with my 3 yr. old son along the Mighty & Muddy Mississippi.
Happy Hunting to all!
The other good finds of that day worth mentioning were a medal from the May 7-8, 1915 10th Annual High School Meet presented by the Cape Girardeau Commercial Club (forerunner of the Chamber of Commerce here), and the largest brooch I've ever seen! The brooch is missing the stones and the pin back but is still pretty cool, may have been a hat pin and dates to the late 1800's I would guess. My silver dimes in the pictures came from another site and have been patiently waiting some companion silvers for some time while sitting here on my desk. Maybe if I get them put into sleeves, labeled, and put away...some more will allow me to discover them and bring them home. The book shaped cigarette case came from a walk with my 3 yr. old son along the Mighty & Muddy Mississippi.
Happy Hunting to all!
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