Interesting First Find in Etzenricht, Germany

[ODA 226]

I got permission to hunt a hill/field in Etzenricht, that has an old church on it that dates back over 400 years. My landlord and I hit the hill at about 10:30 this morning and found nothing but old bottle caps, melted lead and iron.


About an hour later, I noticed a stump from a very large tree sticking about 5 inches out of the ground. I walked over and with my first sweep, got a 75-81 hit on my AT Pro and pinpointed the object to a 10 inch depth. I dug down and found a lead toy soldier, which I thought was kind of cool. I rechecked my hole, found nothing and refilled my hole.


About 20 inches away, I got another huge hit, 75+ repeatable at a depth of 10+ inches. I dug down to about 12 inches and out popped a VERY OLD necklace locket. All I can make out is that one side has the face of Jesus and the other side has the face of a female. (Mary perhaps?) Both sides have some writing on them but The object is so old and dirty that even after some light cleaning, I still can't read it.


I don't know what kind of metal this is and don't want to destroy it. I'm thinking about taking it to a jeweler for cleaning. Anyone have any suggestions on how to clean this otherwise?


Oh yeah.....and after finding this, I found my first horseshoe and once I get my camera replaced, I'll post pics!

[del]

A picture or two of the locket can tell us a lot of its design , age and possible metal composition , although most jewelry is just plated over either brass or copper .

[coinnut]

As far as cleaning it, use a soft brush and remove as much loose dirt as it allows. I use a round tooth pick to get into the crevices, gently removing the loose dirt and then brushing it again. When you post a picture we can see what you are dealing with. Congrats on hunting such a cool spot. Some suggestions I have said before: if you go back there, do not just go after the solid readings. I would dig anything that reads on the positive side (non-iron). Many good targets come in as bouncy signals.

[Timewarpdigger]

Sounds like a great find. Good luck with cleaning it up, would like to see pictures. Congrats Safe & HH

[Vito]

Soaking in olive oil for few days/weeks sometimes does it. And what I do to fasten this up is, putting the bowl with the oil and item inside to a ultrasonic cleaner.

[ODA 226]

As far as cleaning it, use a soft brush and remove as much loose dirt as it allows. I use a round tooth pick to get into the crevices, gently removing the loose dirt and then brushing it again. When you post a picture we can see what you are dealing with. Congrats on hunting such a cool spot. Some suggestions I have said before: if you go back there, do not just go after the solid readings. I would dig anything that reads on the positive side (non-iron). Many good targets come in as bouncy signals.

Because of the age of this site and that it has never been dug before, I'm digging every signal that doesn't sound like an iron nail.

[ODA 226]

Soaking in olive oil for few days/weeks sometimes does it. And what I do to fasten this up is, putting the bowl with the oil and item inside to a ultrasonic cleaner.

I'll give this a try. Thanks!

[ODA 226]

I managed to take a few pics of the above referenced finds at this pristine site. Can anyone help ID these objects? The first is the front of the medallion I found very deep (12+ inches):
36230

And now the reverse:

36231

Here's the lead soldier I found a few inches away but at not at the same depth:

36232

Here's another interesting find. Is it a button or something else? It is large and measures 4 cm across.

36233

I've found out today that there was a major battle fought on this sight in 1631 and Etzenricht was destroyed. This site is also the dominant terrain feature for the entire area. Needless to say, I'm digging EVERY hit I get and I'm going to take my time since I'm the only person with permission to dig there. I'll continue to post as I recover more items. If anyone can ID what I've put up so far, I'd really appreciate it!

[coinnut]

Some great finds. The last item is a cloak button. In the US, we generally date them to around 1800 and prior. On the medal, reverse side, is that an anchor on the bottom left side? If it is you may be able to find out which saint protected maritime. Also is that a possible date above the saint on the reverse side? We can only take guesses on some of the items you find there, as they may be different from here.

[ODA 226]

It's not an anchor at the bottom, but rather what appears to be a septer in a womans' hand. I'm still soaking the medallion in olive oil, hoping to be able to eventually read the text, but right now, it's anyone's guess, but it doesn't appear to be in Latin script. Greek possibly.

[Digger Don]

Those are very nice finds. Got to love that AT Pro. It's a great machine
Congrats

[ODA 226]

I've been soaking this medallion in olive oil for the past few days and now I can clearly read the word "TORVA" on the side with the female picture. After doing some research, I've found that there is a city named Torva in Estonia. I recovered this item on the hill where the Etzenricht Evangelical Church stands.

Etzenricht was destroyed during the 30 Years War by the French and this is the dominant terrain feature in this area. I've found that Estonia was fighting on the side of Protestants (Evangelicals) during the 30 Years War. Is it possible that this is a relic from that battle back in 1631? :)

[coinnut]

I've been soaking this medallion in olive oil for the past few days and now I can clearly read the word "TORVA" on the side with the female picture. After doing some research, I've found that there is a city named Torva in Estonia. I recovered this item on the hill where the Etzenricht Evangelical Church stands.

Etzenricht was destroyed during the 30 Years War by the French and this is the dominant terrain feature in this area. I've found that Estonia was fighting on the side of Protestants (Evangelicals) during the 30 Years War. Is it possible that this is a relic from that battle back in 1631? :)

Is it a relic from 1631? Hard to tell. Or is it a relic commemorating 1631? Or is it just a religious medal from Estonia? It's going to be hard to determine what it is. Hopefully with more writing revealed, it will help. What does the hole look like that a chain would go through?

[ODA 226]

The hole is definately for a chain. So far, I can see no date on this object. I'm not going to jump to conclusions and I'm continuing the cleaning process, but boy, it's nice to think that I might have something from that battle!

[coinnut]

Hey ODA, is the hole uniform?, is it centered? A lot of times older relics are not perfectly made. That may be your first clue to its age.

[ODA 226]

Hey ODA, is the hole uniform?, is it centered? A lot of times older relics are not perfectly made. That may be your first clue to its age.

It's not even close to being centered.

[coinnut]

It's not even close to being centered.

Good :lol:

[ODA 226]

Last Sunday I went back to the hill and found that there site was LITTERED with 9mm pistol blanks from New Years Eve! :mad:
Then, at about 12 inches, I found a musket ball...my very first one! I'm going to hit this site hard this weekend!

36597

[del]

looks like a pretty big caliber ball too , congrats on your first ODA 226

[leslie(nova scotia)]

Sounds like a fun hunt and a place you should hit again me bouy!

[ODA 226]

Since it's only 300 meters from my house, I'll be there every weekend and then some!

[del]

the medallion looks very very close to "Jesuit trade medals" some are found here at Native American villiage site and early trading posts . they were used by early missionaries or priests to built friendships with Natives and also to help converting them to Christianity . try googling "Jesuit trade medal pictures" you should see some very close examples.

Dan

[ODA 226]

I will! Thanks Del!

[ODA 226]

the medallion looks very very close to "Jesuit trade medals" some are found here at Native American villiage site and early trading posts . they were used by early missionaries or priests to built friendships with Natives and also to help converting them to Christianity . try googling "Jesuit trade medal pictures" you should see some very close examples.

Dan

The halo and style look very similar to mine!

[ODA 226]

UPDATE: Yesterday, I received my cleaning chemicals from my new best buddy Mayadigger AKA Kevin from Noble Roman Coins! Evidently the USPS and US Customs intercepted my first package that Kevin sent me and they completely DESTROYED everything in the package! It was cut open, the #1 bag of chemicals was EMPTY, the rest were cut open also and the contents mixed together in the main envelope and on top of that, my tin of wax was stolen! (I can only hope that the lye in the #3 pack burnt the bastards!) :crossfingers:

Kevin had already sent a replacement and I got it on the same day! I can't sing enough praise for Kevin's customer service! Thanks Kevin!

Anyway, I soaked this medallion in the #2 for 12 hours and it did a great job of cleaning this item!

Now here's the question: This item is not metallic and has a bright silverish color. However, the encrustation is cleaning off BROWN, like rust. Does anyone have an idea what type of metal this could be?

[giant056]

Fantastic finds you got there for your first hunt :thumbsup02:

[coinnut]

Now here's the question: This item is not metallic and has a bright silverish color. However, the encrustation is cleaning off BROWN, like rust. Does anyone have an idea what type of metal this could be?

Are you saying the medallion is not metal or not iron? :confused: Can we see a picture? If the medallion is metal and silverfish, then can it be silver or silver plated? Also it could be the same material which we call Tombac (like the buttons) and is a type of brass with mostly copper and either tin, zinc., lead or arsenic to give it that silver color. So a picture would help. As for the rust color, it could be a produced from the dirt it removes, reactions from the cleaning agent or from the surface oxidized metals that are removed. I've seen some buffalo nickels that are red and brown and they are made from 75% copper and 25% nickel. Just some thoughts.

[ODA 226]

Sorry. I was typing fast. I meant to say non-MAGNETIC. Here's the best pics I can take tonight. It's definitely not lead. Any clues?

36869

36870

[coinnut]

My first guess would be silver or a silver mix. Unless your soil is extremely mild then maybe plated, but probably not. Just guesses though.

[ODA 226]

I found a very similar one on Yahoo from around 1700!

36887

36888

I'll be finished cleaning mine tonight and I'll post some new pics tomorrow.

[KCFindIt]

I love this hobby. Very engaging. You learn so much from the most helpful group of guys (and gals). What a neat find, a cool hunting ground and great dialogue as we seek some answers!

[ODA 226]

Here it is cleaned:

36973

36974