Metal Detecting discussions and finds

The person that passed should have assigned a more qualified executor.

 

You should browse Martin's archive of many years of scavenging, it blows my mind the finds he has made. I really want to get out of it and get a real job.

 

prob dont want to know...make you sick to your stomach what they throw away....

 

I did browse. It's sad the things people discard. Think of the things that don't get found.
A person really needs to know what they are looking at when sifting through these materials. That makes all the difference.

 

Funny, the fourth week I went back to that house but went later than normal and the owner saw me as she was pulling in her driveway and called the police.

Long story short, police did ask me if I had been in the owner's trash and I'm always honest, saying I was. In Massachusetts, once the trash is placed curbside it's basically anyone's, so the police officer just said to be careful and not to take any of the aluminum cans.

 

be like officer: "if you only knew how much money these people have thrown out, you'd be in here digging in their trash too"....

 

I agree, but as Martin would tell you some people don't care and just want it gone, some just have so much money that they discard items we "regular" people would never throw out.

 

man that trash can was way more exciting than "Capones Vault"....Even Heraldo would be digging in there...

 

Hahahaha... I did just what you posted for why I was doing it, but the police officer was more worried about me making a mess, which I'm always careful to always leave as I find it.

 

lol show him the pics...bet he changes his tune...

 

That was nice of you to be so honest and advise her of the earings potential value, wish there were more people like you in this world!

 

Problem with antiques is the knockoffs. You really dont know unless you are an expert. The lady also had some German Lead glass bowls at home, but she didnt bring them. Said it was something her Grandma brought over before WWI...also could be of some value. I just told her she should get some stuff especially Jade and silver with turquoise appraised. Especially with a known artist initials. Im curious to see if she gets them appraised.

 

Also try to help people out like that, I'd hate to have something of value and not know it, then have someone know the value and low ball me then go and sell it for the higher value. Ripping people off like that always seems to bite you in the ass eventually.

 

Heres a question, so ive found a few old abandoned houses, one is a small log cabin, roof caved in years ago but where ideally would you look for their trash dump? I found one couple hundred yards away from a 1920's cabin. The one with roof caved in i havent found a trash pile but i know there should be one..it has hand forged square nails so i know its old. I have looked a little but havent seen anything un less they buried it

 

If the inhabitants just tossed their trash on the ground or in a ditch, it would be obvious (barring thick vegetation). Perhaps more likely, they tossed trash in the outhouse hole. If the outhouse has been dug, you will see a small crater with trash (rusty bits and broken glass usually), around the rim. I understand that digging old outhouses for bottles was popular in the 1970's. If you do not see an obvious crater that has been dug, you should look for the outhouse spot.

Typically outhouses were placed just steps away from the dwelling with a mind for wind direction. If you are lucky, you may be able to see old use trails were people were walking around. I would certainly swing a detector around the whole area and see what comes out of the ground. I would also look for additional buildings in the area.

Old nails are a very good means for estimating the age of a site. While not a perfect science, the type of nails found give clues to when people were living at a site.
I have included a couple websites with nail information.

http://www.uvm.edu/histpres/203/nails.html
http://www.worthpoint.com/blog-entry/tale-nails

Good luck to you!

 

Here are some of my finds - all from family land here in south GA.

CSA buckle and buttons. One of three CSA buckles I found. Many CSA buttons, too.



War of 1812 pewter Light Dragoons buckle. One of only two known in existence.


1792 Copper.


I have found so much stuff over the years...at least one 5 gallon bucket of Civil War bullets. Buttons upon buttons, etc. Not to mention all the colonial stuff.

 

WOW! Looks like you have found some great stuff! What kind of colonial stuff have you found?
Have you found any other coins? Interesting stuff!

 

Thanks! I've found a lot of coins. I'll try to take some pictures tonight if I can. All our land is near the Savannah River and we (Dad and I) have found quite a few colonial home sites and many coins from that era (Rosa Americana, silver, coppers, etc). Besides military stuff from the Civil War, Revolutionary and War of 1812, we found a lot of civilian stuff, too. Buttons (flat and ornate), hair pins, gun parts, buckles, drawer pulls, etc. Heck, I even found a silver ring looked to sized for a woman (found at an old site we determined to be Dutch because of a Dutch coin Dad found) - she must have gotten mad and thrown it lol. Dad found an old ornate hatchet head that he treated. Looks awesome!

I have no doubt there are many more sites we haven't found. You never find it all.

 

nails look like 3rd one down on first link. Yeah i havent really looked for old out house. Nothing was obvious like broken glass or tin. Which is what i was thinking they buried it... ill have to take some pics and hammer to get some nails...the inside was weird like a big dip in it but like i said i havent investigated it much. Always something more pressing going on. But still would be neat to find some thing like old bottles etc