A Couple of Days in Southern Illinois

[Ill Digger]

My son had a two day baseball tournament this past weekend 3 1/2 hrs south of were we live. His first game was Friday at 2:30 p.m. So I left Thursday night, ,got a room for the night (a few hrs :lol:). Got up gone by 6 a.m. Drove around town, spotted a old looking school, obviously being used for something else now, so I started hunting the parkway. Found some clad and some junk and 1 wheatie. But I couldn't help but notice the empty corner lot across the street with the 5 huge old trees in it, with old sidewalk leading up to nowhere. :drool: Almost as if it was ment to be. The neighbor from the other corner comes out and starts asking what I'm finding YYY... so I asked him what he knew about the lot and he said the city owed it. They knocked down a old house 5 or 6 years ago. :drool::drool:He said I should go check that place out. So I stared hunting the parkway and finding more clad, junk and a couple more wheaties, then I crossed the sidewalk into what would've been the front yard and everything got real.....FUN! Really fast! Wheaties gallor, then I got a 12-41 at 5". Dig down and in my dirt pile is a large cent! :shocked05: Wasn't expecting that!!
It's a little roached but.. hey! I know what it is. And we don't find too many of these here in Illinois.
http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx310/IllDigger/DETECTING%202016/20160328_174512-1_zps24stlo3y.jpg (http://s766.photobucket.com/user/IllDigger/media/DETECTING%202016/20160328_174512-1_zps24stlo3y.jpg.html)

The reverse is a little better, but not much. Anybody notice the type of LC?
http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx310/IllDigger/DETECTING%202016/20160328_174522-1_zpssac4iiyg.jpg (http://s766.photobucket.com/user/IllDigger/media/DETECTING%202016/20160328_174522-1_zpssac4iiyg.jpg.html)

I found 2 IHs (one buried with a wheat), a Merc, 2 Rosies and a bunch more wheaties, when the neighbor came over and asked if I found anything interesting. I showed him the stuff I was finding and said I should check his yard!:happydance01: He said it was built around 1900. I told him I had to go to my sons game and it would be close to dark by the time I could get back. He said come back anytime hunt as long as you want, hunt in the dark for all I care......so that's what I did!:lol: (We'll come back to that.) Right be for I left I realized I didn't check around the 3 trees in what would've been the side yard. The first tree I came up to I got a screaming quarter signal at 2 or 3 inches. Stuck just the tip of my knife into the soft dirt and flipped up the dirt and seen just a flash of silver! :shocked04:

Turned out to be a worn out SLQ!:thumbsup02:
http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx310/IllDigger/DETECTING%202016/20160328_174535_zpsfokhgjos.jpg (http://s766.photobucket.com/user/IllDigger/media/DETECTING%202016/20160328_174535_zpsfokhgjos.jpg.html)

So after the game I started to head back to the neighbors house the I realized I couldn't find it! Its a big town. By the time I got there it was getting dusky fast! I found only a couple of wheaties and a some clad. As I was about to walk back across the street to the empty lot in the now pitch black darkness, out in the front yard, I got a deep quarter/dime signal showing about 8 or 9 inches deep! :drool:

And from around 10" I find this Abraham Lincoln watch fob!!
http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx310/IllDigger/DETECTING%202016/20160328_174408_zpsvcx9qlxa.jpg (http://s766.photobucket.com/user/IllDigger/media/DETECTING%202016/20160328_174408_zpsvcx9qlxa.jpg.html)

On the reverse.
The Illinois Watch Company Springfield ...
http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx310/IllDigger/DETECTING%202016/20160328_174424_zpsnrdoaa2k.jpg (http://s766.photobucket.com/user/IllDigger/media/DETECTING%202016/20160328_174424_zpsnrdoaa2k.jpg.html)

I spent a little while longer there not finding much so I walked back across the street, and around 11:30 p.m. with my head lamp on :crazy::lol: I got a choppy 9-39/40 in a area Id been over alot. I flipped open the plug and after chasing it around in the shadows I seen the edge of a thin silver dime! :shocked04: Nailed the dime Tri-fecta a worn 1898 Barber dime and the Penny Tri-fecta too!:groovy: After that I called it a night.:goodnight: :sleepy:

A great day!
http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx310/IllDigger/DETECTING%202016/20160328_174352_zpsffy8uhra.jpg (http://s766.photobucket.com/user/IllDigger/media/DETECTING%202016/20160328_174352_zpsffy8uhra.jpg.html)

Saturday my sons first game was at 10:30 a.m. and then again 2:30 p.m. So, up at 5 a.m., heading to the empty lot and I came down the street from the opposite direction and notice two more lots that you could tell had houses on them at one time. But people had their boats and pig roasters and R.Vs parked on the lots so I started to check out the parkway in front of the lots. Second signal was a squealy 12-49. And out pops a rosies from 4 inches! Nice way to start the day! :thumbsup01: Down along the curb it looks like the snow plow got on top of the curb and cut off about 4 inches of dirt for one and a half of those two empty lots. So I started next to the staircase and the first signal 12-46 at 1' A silver Rosie! :shocked04: The next two signals were identical to that one, with the same thing! Two more silver Rosies back to back! :groovy: I went o my sons game and called my buddy Dave, a.k.a. Daddydigger and he said he'd drive up and do some door knocking with me in the afternoon. So that's what happened we got permission for 4 houses Dave did really well. I did score a Merc at the 3rd house,

And that was the end of the good coins for the day.
Not too shabby. 5 more silvers!
http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx310/IllDigger/DETECTING%202016/20160328_174817_zpsqsmgsoqe.jpg (http://s766.photobucket.com/user/IllDigger/media/DETECTING%202016/20160328_174817_zpsqsmgsoqe.jpg.html)

But at the 4th house just at dusk again I got a deep 11-38/39 at 6 or 7 inches it took me about 10 minutes to get threw all the roots, just as Dave walks up and says he's gonna head home the home owner walked up to me as I'm on my knees and finally pull out my target. (I'm so glad I didn't hit it). As I pulled it out of the hole and realized what it was I told Dave and the home owner, in a really excited manner, I hold up my closed fist and said, "I just found one of the coolest things I've ever found!" Dave says, "yeah, well, lets see it." :lol:

I hold out a short, thick, heavy skeleton key!!:yahoo:

You can just make out the letter "G" on the bottom of the loop.
http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx310/IllDigger/DETECTING%202016/20160328_174636-1_zpstswik2zf.jpg (http://s766.photobucket.com/user/IllDigger/media/DETECTING%202016/20160328_174636-1_zpstswik2zf.jpg.html)

And the number 4 on the bottom of the loop on the other side.
http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx310/IllDigger/DETECTING%202016/20160328_174626_zpsq013ifal.jpg (http://s766.photobucket.com/user/IllDigger/media/DETECTING%202016/20160328_174626_zpsq013ifal.jpg.html)

Some of the oddities... thimble, a steel toe tap....
http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx310/IllDigger/DETECTING%202016/20160328_175007_zpss7d0lzel.jpg (http://s766.photobucket.com/user/IllDigger/media/DETECTING%202016/20160328_175007_zpss7d0lzel.jpg.html)

Is this a Civil War era pistol bullet?
http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx310/IllDigger/DETECTING%202016/20160328_175044_zpsjg7mt2r1.jpg (http://s766.photobucket.com/user/IllDigger/media/DETECTING%202016/20160328_175044_zpsjg7mt2r1.jpg.html)

So two days 10 silvers, 2 IHs, Buff, SLQ, A rare Illinois LC and a whole bunch of other neat stuff! Plus some more good time spent hunting with Daddydigger! :cool:

If you've made it this far, Thanks for lookin'!
GL & HH! :peace:

[groundhog53946]

Fantastic outings! I'm happy when I can find a wheatie, much less that assortment of goodies! Congrats

Sent from my XT830C using Tapatalk

[Ill Digger]

Fantastic outings! I'm happy when I can find a wheatie, much less that assortment of goodies! Congrats

Sent from my XT830C using Tapatalk
Thanks Groundhog! It was a special couple of days! They don't come around too often.

[Digger_O'Dell]

:wow: Talk about awesome! Incredible finds! Those coins and relics are amazing!
Might want to try a lye soak on that LC and see if you can get some details and a date.

[del]

:shocked04: Large cents , silver dimes , SLQ , Watch fobs and skeleton keys !!! what a nice smorgasbord
of finds you had Timmy :bananadance:huge congrats !!

Dan

[Full Metal Digger]

I'm really happy to see this post Tim! You had an AWESOME weekend. I'm still kicking myself about that key though! LOL. 10 silvers is a really good haul for any weekend. Thanks again for the invite. I enjoyed meeting your lovely wife and charming mother too. I'm looking forward to hunting with you again. Best wishes and HH, Dave.

[Bucknut]

Great digs! Awesome key! Lots of silver including a SLQ! Congrats!

[Tony Two-Cent]

Awesome finds, Tim! Wow, a large cent and an SLQ! I really like that Abe Lincoln medallion too! :yes:

That key kind of looks like an old railroad key. Is the shaft hollow at the end? I would say that it's definitely a key for a padlock and not a door. Great find! :thumbsup02:

:congrats:

[aloldstuff]

Tim, what a sweet hunt indeed. Love that skeleton key and Lincoln fob. Huge congrats on all your silvers and other coins (especially the "rare" Illinois LC)

[Ill Digger]

:wow: Talk about awesome! Incredible finds! Those coins and relics are amazing!
Might want to try a lye soak on that LC and see if you can get some details and a date.A lye soak? I've never heard of that one. How do you go about it?


:shocked04: Large cents , silver dimes , SLQ , Watch fobs and skeleton keys !!! what a nice smorgasbord
of finds you had Timmy :bananadance:huge congrats !!

DanThanks Dan! Couple questions for ya. First the fob; I believe it's a brass alloy of some kind? Any suggestions on cleaning it up? And the key? And the other, any ideas on the bullet?


I'm really happy to see this post Tim! You had an AWESOME weekend. I'm still kicking myself about that key though! LOL. 10 silvers is a really good haul for any weekend. Thanks again for the invite. I enjoyed meeting your lovely wife and charming mother too. I'm looking forward to hunting with you again. Best wishes and HH, Dave.Thanks Dave! It's always a good time huntin with you too! Sorry you had to wait so long to see my thread.:lol: I don't type real fast either :lol:


Great digs! Awesome key! Lots of silver including a SLQ! Congrats!Thanks Bucknut! I love when you get a variety in a hunt:thumbsup01:


Awesome finds, Tim! Wow, a large cent and an SLQ! I really like that Abe Lincoln medallion too! :yes:

That key kind of looks like an old railroad key. Is the shaft hollow at the end? I would say that it's definitely a key for a padlock and not a door. Great find! :thumbsup02:

:congrats:Thanks a lot Tony! I know I'm torn between the key and the fob. They're both great finds for me! It's funny you should ask. I've been wondering about that key too. While taking the pictures for my thread I took this one too. In hopes that maybe it'd give someone a clue in helping maybe finding out what it could've been for.
http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx310/IllDigger/DETECTING%202016/20160328_175218_zpsuiuljbi8.jpg (http://s766.photobucket.com/user/IllDigger/media/DETECTING%202016/20160328_175218_zpsuiuljbi8.jpg.html)
Now what do you think Tony? And how about the G and the 4?

Tim, what a sweet hunt indeed. Love that skeleton key and Lincoln fob. Huge congrats on all your silvers and other coins (especially the "rare" Illinois LC):hystericallaugh:Thanks Al! It is rare! :yes:
Stop making fun of us "hardly finding LC Midwesterns". :pirate: :lol:

[Full Metal Digger]

Hey Tim, I think your key is what is known as a furniture key. It would have gone to a large wardrobe cabinet or something similar (from before houses had closets).

[Digger_O'Dell]

I posted about this under cleaning finds. But basically just soak copper or brass items in lye for a while. Lye based oven cleaner works-it's what I use. Lye will soften and detach the crud without removing the patina or damaging the metal. Just don't go too long (such as overnight) or it will open the pores if the piece is porous already. A couple hours usually does the trick for even heavy crust. You'll see a halo of black in the liquid as stuff dissolves.

[Fire Fighter 43]

You had a good weekend Tim, congrats on all the silver. You are off to a great start this year.

[Digger Don]

Geeze Tim. That's what I call a haul. 10 silvers & a Largie. That Lincoln FOB & key are really cool finds as well.

[MangoAve]

TimMeh, Good to see you are getting some luck. That Lincoln fob is unique. I didn't see any answer but almost certain you had a matron cent there. Prob before 1839. Every one I have found from 1839 on are in great shape. The earlier ones are hit or miss. My 1818 would be amazing if I immediately cleaned it and didn't let it have any chance to bang around in my pocket. But the last 1822 I found was really bad.

That Key is pretty neat. I still haven't found any skeleton keys. Just locks and the escutcheon for a skeleton key. Nice score on the trifectas, too.

[relichunterryan]

EPIC finds! Congrats!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk