Spanish American War medal

[van Gogh]

Howdy. I am new to the forum as a poster but have been reading and enjoying other posters comments and tips for some time now.
During a recent hunt near a veterans care facility I was fortunate enough to find a Spanish American War medal. To say the least, I was surprised. It's kind of humbling really when you think that someone earned this medal for risking their life for what they felt was a great a cause, something they really believed in. I had certainly not earned the honor of possessing it so I went ahead and took it over to the nearby veterans facility to turn it in, hoping to find the family of the honoree. Note the medal was not engraved with a name as many of them were not. The Commandant's administrative assistant was very excited to get the medal and was going to do her best to track records to see if anyone had reported one lost over time. If they were unable to find who it belonged to she said they would place it in a museum they have on their campus. Good deal!
Anyway, wanted to share this with everyone and I hope it brings you some enjoyment seeing it as well!

I also found a button at the same location. Can anyone help identify it? It is marked Waterbury Scoville MF'G Co.

Thanks for your help and an extra special thanks to all of our military veterans and active personel.

Have a good one and HH'ing.

 

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[Floater]

Very nice and great story Van Gogh. I am not familiar with the button but the medal has Provenance and I hope the Administrator Recognizes its value and they do find the owner or place it the Museum. Sometimes we turn things in only to find someone never follows up. Great finds though and Welcome. HH

 

[van Gogh]

That's a great point. I gave them my phone number when I turned it in and let them know I would certainly be following up in a few weeks. Hopefully I will have some good news to update the group on soon.

 

[buckeyehunter]

nice button! I dont know anything about them though. ? ?Great story about the medal to! ? keep posting!

 

[Nana40]

Don't it make you feel really great when you do a nice thing!!!

You did good!

Nana

 

[lonewolfe]

Nice finds!

Love the medal!

HH

Lonewolfe

 

[Getty]

Very nice finds van gogh!! WTG!! That was a very noble thing to do and remember kharma goes a long way! Wecome to the forum.

HH,jimmy

 

[downindixie]

Very nice button,I glanced thru Albert's book and didn't find it.It could be from a school military program or soldiers home.I would keep it if I found it.

 

[allen]

those are wonderful finds and hope your good deed gets repaid in a genorous way. keep on digging !!!!

 

[van Gogh]

Thanks for the great replies and for attempts to help identify the button. I really appreciate it.
HH
van Gogh

 

[cableman79]

Great finds; where are you located? We can only hope more people did the honorary thing.

 

[van Gogh]

Hi Cableman79 - I am located in Iowa. The weather has been optimal for hunting here lately.... a lot of rain, mostly at night, making it easy for digging and for ground repair. I hope it keeps up....

 

[van Gogh]

Re: Spanish American War medal - Updated

Just an update on this - I got a letter from the commandant of the Soldier's Home where I turned this medal in at. I felt like an idiot... the medal had a number right on the side of it that I had never noticed. It is a unique number they can use to track down the original owner, or in this case his or her family. They thanked me for my help and welcomed my detecting on their grounds anytime! If they are unable to find the owners family they plan to put it in their museum. It's kind of nice to know they appreciated the return on this item and it won't be sitting in a drawer somewhere... and the standing permission to detect their 250 acres worth of ground doesn't hurt either!
Have a good one and HH'ing!

van Gogh

 

[Getty]

Job well done van gogh!!

 

[Mississippi Yankee]

"and the standing permission to detect their 250 acres worth of ground doesn't hurt either!"

That very well could be the understatement of the year.

Good job. You did something not all would have.

 

[Floater]

WOW Nice going VanGogh. congrats on the permission and thanks for the update. I love this stuff. HH

 

[JerV3]

THat medal is really nice. Would have been hard for me to part with it. It's a very good deed and hopefully it will be displayed or returned. It's a great piece of history and needs to get it's proper place in life.

Good Luck let us know what happens with it.

HH jer

 

[van Gogh]

Thanks for the comments and feedback. I would have to say that I have stumbled onto a bit of a gold mine. I have already picked up mercs, barbers and even my first large cent during my recent trips back. I never dreamed I would find a large cent in Iowa... If it wasn't 50 minutes drive I would be there a whole lot more often!
My nephew was with me when we found the metal and I also took him along when we turned it in a few days later. Figured it would be a good example for him even if it was hard to see the metal go. I did keep the button though
Can't wait until my son, who is 3 now, can participate more actively. It's a great hobby to share as you all know.

 

[PRAIRIEWOLF]

The company that made the button is of the Civil War Era I think you will have to contact one of the many button sites and ask for assistance . I don't think this was made in huge numbers so it may be valuable . Good luck with it .

 

[van Gogh]

Thanks PrairieWolf. That's a good idea. I am pretty new to the whole button thing as you can probably tell. Any suggestions of who to contact?