Some more stuff, actually from yesterday.

[Old Pueblo]

Some more old stuff from town, washing up out of the trash dump and surrounding area. Got some more date nails, a few from the ground and a few I pulled from a fence, including that nice big 1942, which is a new one. Ive found a smaller 42 before, but never a big one like this. Its always cool to find the different varieties. Theres also a little wheat penny, but its so rusty? (Is that even possible?), I cant tell what the date is, but I can make out a "191". Any ideas on how to clean this up a little bit to expose the date and mint, if there is one? Also that Oregon Short Line RR car seal thing, kind of cool how it ended up all the way down here. And thats a fossil I found in a pen. There was a bunch more of this rock around, but this piece was the only one I noticed having any fossils in it. There are a couple more fossils I noticed on the other side, but its all scratched up. The best fossils I see are the ones in the photo, which are not very clear, my apologies. And thats some ancient seashell sticking out at the left, I think.



Heres another little rattlesnake I nearly stepped on out in the desert, along with a big horny toad.





And does anyone know what this is, and how old it might be? I found some "Larson" wire related stuff online from the 1910s, but I dont know if this is the same "Larson". The thing broke when I tried to unscrew it.

 

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[trapperart]

Congrats on some more nice stuff

 

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[Old Pueblo]

The larger and smallest date nails are found at the end of the RR tie and the medium sized head nails are found in between the rails (Or where the rails would have been), usually closer to one rail than the other. So when these things are used as fence posts or standing up in a corral as a post, one end is buried in the dirt. So its like a 50-50 chance that the side with the nail was buried. Ive dug some out at random, but have also dug many empty holes. Sometimes the dirt has already washed away enough so you can see and dont have to dig, but most of the time I just keep walking. I usually only dig the most intact looking ties where I really think Id find one, and if I havent found one in the first few inches I stop digging. All that said, Im sure there are many more nails around, buried in the ground.

 

[GB1]

sweet finds gotta be careful with snakes my cousin was in his yard barefoot at dusk he stepped on a baby copper head and bit him

 

[trdking]

sweet finds gotta be careful with snakes my cousin was in his yard barefoot at dusk he stepped on a baby copper head and bit him

He stepped on it AND bit it? Thats just mean

 

[Old Pueblo]

sweet finds gotta be careful with snakes my cousin was in his yard barefoot at dusk he stepped on a baby copper head and bit him

Funny you should mention that. My cousin once got too close to rattlesnake by the gate next to his house and was bit. Hes okay now but it cost an obscene amount of $$$ in hospital bills. When I walk around in tall grass I wear snake guards.

 

[Old Pueblo]

The so called "golden age" of railroading and date nail use was in the early 1900s and the latter, specifically about c.1930, which is why I find so many from the late 1920s and early 1930s. I have about 60 1930 date nails I found in one fence line, but that was only because some resourceful rancher back in the day used a bunch of salvaged date nails from other ties to attach his barbed wire to his fence posts (RR ties).

 

[Kurios1]

Lethargic or a little bit of trickery. I bet he would get very active if you tried to pick him up Just ask my good friend Dumb Bob, Lost his thumb to one.

Did Dumb Bob receive the nickname before or after the rattler took his thumb?

 

[Kurios1]

The item marked Larson is a turnbuckle.

Mr Horney Toad looks very intense.

I really dig the little Horney Toad. He looks "BAD ASS". Old Pueblo should get one to ride up on his shoulder like a pirate with their parrot.

 

[PikesPeakCharlie]

Nice finds !!!! Congrats !! I stepped over a baby rattler in New Mexico once never saw him, buddy's says hey check this out then another time in New Mexico a sidewinder and I crossed paths out hunting nuggets, he went his way I went mine ,but he was a pretty cool to see .

 

[trdking]

Did Dumb Bob receive the nickname before or after the rattler took his thumb?

Um... Prior to him trying to picking up a rattler by the tail, his name was just Bob. To finish the story, (Add alcohol in large quantities of course) Bob announces that he is going off to do his business and hops in his pickup truck and drives away. 15 minutes later he comes driving back holding a baby rattler by its tail outside of his truck window. He is grinning ear to ear shouting "lookie what I found" We come up to the truck and see that this thing has bitten him multiple times in his thumb and the fleshy attachments to his palm. We dispatch the poor helpless? little guy and rush Bob into town. Long story short, Bob lives! Thumb does not. At least it was his left hand.

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Congratualtions on the cool finds!

 

[Carolina Tom]

I like the rattler... and the horned toad...

Those dated nails are very nice. I have been looking closely at every big nail I find... just in case it has a date on it.

Best of luck to you sir!

 

[mk4125]

Hey you found my liver! ...or a rock that looks just like it.

 

[scruggs]

Great assortment you found! Love the green marble!

 

[Old Pueblo]

Nice finds !!!! Congrats !! I stepped over a baby rattler in New Mexico once never saw him, buddy's says hey check this out then another time in New Mexico a sidewinder and I crossed paths out hunting nuggets, he went his way I went mine ,but he was a pretty cool to see .

Yeah, Ive seen a few little sidewinders near my home over the years. They're usually very quick though and they blend in much better than a rattlesnake here, so you never get a good look at them.

 

[Old Pueblo]

I like the rattler... and the horned toad...

Those dated nails are very nice. I have been looking closely at every big nail I find... just in case it has a date on it.

Best of luck to you sir!

Thats how I started out. If you arent having much luck, look for an old RR nearby. If its an old abandoned RR that hasnt been torn up, there could still be some in the tracks. If its been ripped up or replaced with modern tracks, look to the adjacent areas along the tracks. Out West here you often see old barbed wire fences along both sides of the railroads in the more open rural areas, and they often used old RR ties as fenceposts.

 

[IAMZIM]

Pueblo
I like all your finds except the rattler !
Gary

Yeah, I don't like snakes either!

 

[Carolina Tom]

Thats how I started out. If you arent having much luck, look for an old RR nearby. If its an old abandoned RR that hasnt been torn up, there could still be some in the tracks. If its been ripped up or replaced with modern tracks, look to the adjacent areas along the tracks. Out West here you often see old barbed wire fences along both sides of the railroads in the more open rural areas, and they often used old RR ties as fenceposts.

Thanks for the info OP. I was completely unaware of these, until your posts. Thanks for teaching me something new.