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View Full Version : A bell of a weekend.



MangoAve
02-29-2016, 11:01 AM
For those who have to inquire, I have been a little scarce on the site due to a few reasons, not just the cold that put off most from detecting New England for two or three weeks. Things have been a bit hectic at work and I've actually been doing stuff around the house... lol.

Last weekend I did hit a few spots. I only managed a lantern piece and a nice 1902 IH. Maybe I shall take a pic and add to the thread later... but who hasn't seen an IH? First I started in some fields. I had found a set of stone walls that lined a path into a set of fields. Two or three members who think they know this spot, you are wrong. This was literal fields and not a wooded area. To my surprise, there wasn't much along this path. I found 1 memorial. The only spots with any iron activity was at the openings to the fields. But they couldn't teleport...so why wasn't there any iron up this path? I did a B-line across one of the fields picking up a few lead pieces. The site might warrant another check, but I decided to head to another spot. I thought it was State owed. It said per the assessor. But when I went to park I see private No Trespassing signs. My parcel site doesn't work on my phone, so I just decided to go to a nearby cellar. AND.... someone was there within the past few months. The cellar was actually a little ways from the road and it had a massive barn. I could not understand why the large field on the opposite side of the road had almost no activity. One small depression had some iron near it. Maybe they put a privy by the field. So I left and went to the next town over. I have about 4 or 5 cellars that I check more often. I focused mostly on the spot I had the most luck. A tiny plateau in the side of a hill. Last time I was there I picked up a wheat. This time was an IH. It made the day at least not a total bust.

This weekend I went to the Penguin hunt on Saturday. There were many people in attendance. There were a few gifts in the drawing I would have like to have been able to pick, but I was far into the pic for some reason. I also only had 1 planted wheat find.. so I didn't get anything for finds prizes.

Sunday I went with Bama up to a town we been hitting regularly. We did try a door knock for two parcels that belong to a descendant of the original builder. Unfortunately, a family member had already had rights to do so and has gone through the properties. So we headed up to a cellar I was intending to hit. It was a grueling hunt in through the laurel bushes. Turns out it would have been better to go in a different way. In the laurels we found a far far barn along with an old horse drawn plow and a truck chassis. I believe the 'freeze plugs' at the bottom of the engine said 'Wisconsin".
We found the cellar hole. I did a little scan around the cellar and after a few min kev said someone had been there. ugh. I thought it was a 'hidden' place. So I worked away from the hole to a spot just past where I thought was the old driveway. My first target I kinda tripped on the darn log near it and the machine gave me a nice tone. I thought it could be a falsing...but it turned out when I checked it, there was a nice high tone. The first target was a huge crotal bell pulled from the mud. This is my largest one i ever found. Just slightly larger than last years big one. It still has the clacker inside. Only a small crack on the side. It was made by J. N. Goff, Amiel Abel, and Alfred Williams between 1837 and 1851 in East Hampton CT. I checked each flat spot I could find. By the edge of the back hill of property, just inside a few walls, I got a lower mid 20s tone. I pulled up a leg of some sort. Like a mini stove leg. I think it went to some sort of box like a music box or jewelry box. There were a few other items in the hole that I have to reclaim from the trash bin. Lucky there are no bags in there right now. lol. I ended up scanning the hole to find the second matching piece. Then the third. I figured why not.. and I found the 4th one. Up in the briers behind a medium tree at the edge of the driveway, having a rock next to the base, I pulled up a second crotal. Well, both are petal bells. This one is heavy for its size and it too still has the iron clacker present inside. I am not sure what it is made of, but it is silver-like. This is also my smallest one ever. I believe I also pulled up a pendant which was used to hold a picture. Too bad there is nothing inside. It is a bit frail too. I may return there with my machete to take care of some of the briers, and a smaller coil.

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Bucknut
02-29-2016, 01:16 PM
Ding Dong! that's a big crotel bell!

OxShoeDrew
02-29-2016, 02:45 PM
You lucky dog you! :lol::envious: I've yet to find a large crotal....and a small one? wow :clapping:

Digger_O'Dell
02-29-2016, 09:10 PM
Nice selection of bells-and you didn't even mention the telephone bell!

Lodge Scent
02-29-2016, 09:27 PM
Nice! That is a big crotal. Hard to find them in one piece. I would have been more impressed however, if you had dragged that cultivator home with you. :thumbsup01:

MangoAve
03-01-2016, 09:00 AM
Buck, it sure is huge.... Not expected.

Drew, Lol... More items I have that the master hasn't yet achieved.

DOD.... Now that you mention it. I pulled it up. Thought of it as some sort of bell. Was reminded of the bicycle bell I found which was slightly different. Then put it in my bag paying no more mind to it. I guess it is a telephone bell for one of those old rotory phones the size of a payphone.

Jeff, thanks. It was cracked. The Seth North crotal I found last year was cracked and missing a small chunk. I just got lucky this one wasn't cracked enough to have a missing piece. As far as the old plow....it actually isn't much more than 100ft from the road. Now having a pickup truck or a trailer is more of the other concern. Sure cant take it in a car. Lol. Would be a nice addition to the yard, tho. Sanded and painted of course.

BTV Digger
03-02-2016, 10:42 AM
Nice snags on those crotal bells. I'm like Drew, found several small crotals over the past few years, but no largies. I agree on the little iron legs. Likely went to a jewelry, snuff or other small functional box. Too small for a stove.

John