A Whole Weeks Worth of Detecting!

[Ill Digger]

Last week was spring break for our kids so we booked a trip to Florida for a week of sun and fun on the beach! Oh yeah....some detecting too.!
I got to the condo, carried in my bags and was on the beach swinging within 35 minutes. After 45 minutes of finding random beach junk I got my first good find! A sterling silver cross and chain! About 10 minutes later I got a 10-41 and shifted the sand a little and seen a glimps of silver! It turned out to be a .925 silver ring! I thought "Here we go! This beach is going to be loaded with goodies!


During the rest of the week, about 32-36 hours of hunting.. not one more piece of jewelry! Nothing! Not even junkers! Well, one plastic ring I eyeballed, but other than that, just a bunch of exercise and a ton of that crusty beach clad! We checked out Friday morning. Mamma the kids and her aunts and kids went thier way I went in search of some new ground to detect. I stopped in a small town in Alabama checked out a school. Too new, lots of dirt work. So I moved on. Found a empty lot next to the local police department and hunted the parkway almost to dark. I found a Buff and a couple of wheats. So I decided I better get back on the road. As I was leaving town I turned a corner and there is the remains of a old school. It only had two walls still standing. I pulled over and started hunting. Nabbed a couple of wheats, just as it was getting too dark to see I got a nickle signal right next to the sidewalk. I dig it up and it's this tiny little coin. I couldn't read the writing on it. I just figured it was a play coin.

After getting it cleaned up it's a Alabama State Tax Commission token! (Sorry the pictures are blurry)


The other side: 5¢ Luxury Tax Token


After finding that token I was happy so I jumped in the truck and drove 12 hours straight through to meet up with Tony 2¢. He took me to one of his favorite little town parks. The one he calls SLQ park. We hunted there for a few hours I found a Merc, a War nickle, and a few wheats. Then we went to the local school. Only got one wheat there. So We were drooling over this old house we kept driving by.



I told Tony, "I'm just gonna go ask if we can hunt it." The owners were soooo nice! Offered to hunt all we wanted. The good finds started right off the bat! As you all probably know Tony dug a LC within the first 5 minutes we were in the yard! My first good find (other than a wheat) was something I've hoped to find someday.

A Railroad baggage tag!

I'm having a hard time finding any history on it. If anyone can help I'd be much obliged.

Here's a group picture of the weeks finds.


(It was getting dark tonight while taking the photos. I'll get some better pics and post them.)
Some of my favorite things to find are old tokens. Got a couple of those too! One is "Good for one glass of Archer Beer"

All in all it was a great week. And a unbelievable two day hunt with my buddy Tony!

I'll get some better pictures and post them later.
As always... Thanks for lookin' & HH!

[mownomo]

It looks like a great time for all of y'all. The finds are incredible and I wish that old house was around here. Thanks for sharing a happy story.

[Trooper Bri]

Wow. Nice pile o' silver!
That house is a beauty. Congrats on the very cool adventure!

[Digger Don]

Wow Tim, what can I say. Some very nice hunts. I really like the Baggage Tag, very cool find.
Almost as nice as the house that you and Tony Found. LOL
Very nice variety of coins you found. GREAT JOB!!

[del]

wow who could complain about that weeks worth of finds and the bold cold door nock was ...well

[Full Metal Digger]

Dang Tim,
That's a good haul of goodies. That silver necklace is a nice chunk of bullion! I like the RR tag. I have never found one. You are a nickel magnet! Looks like 3 buffs and 3 V's. Any visible dates? The 2 IHPs look to be in pretty good shape & 3 mercs is always a welcome addition to the pouch. Were both marbles in the holes you dug? I've never gotten more than 1 marble on a hunt before. What does the little shield say? Best wishes and HH, Dave.

[Tony Two-Cent]

Great to see your post, Tim! I had a blast hunting with you. You ended up with some terrific finds! That silver cross and chain you found on the beach is one hefty hunk of silver! The silver ring is nice too.

I also like that Alabama tax token a lot. I have never seen one like it.

I was more than happy to take you to "SLQ Park". I'm glad you found a couple silvers there. The highlight of the weekend was definitely the mansion though! I am so glad you had the tenacity to stop and ask permission. To say it worked out well for us is an understatement! You definitely cleaned up on the nickels! Three V Nickels and three Buffaloes, awesome!

That railroad baggage tag it WAY COOL! I have never found one. I hope you are able to find out more about it.

Like DaddyDigger I am curious about what it says on the shield.

Congrats on all of you cool finds and thanks for meeting me for an awesome weekend of detecting! It was a great time as always!

[Tony Two-Cent]

Here you go Tim, I found this online. Some info about the name on your baggage tag:



And some more info here:

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg...GRid=38782950&

[MangoAve]

A lot of varied finds there. Seems like there seems to be an abundance of those luggage tags in the central US. I am not remembering many from this side of the map. The fact there was obvi some landscaping there (the trees out front are not much older than 60 years), which I kinda worry about when I see old houses here. Obvi it wasn't an issue there.

[Robbie]

I need your courage .Great job. So tell me how did you ask? Did you share /pay ?

[Dan]

Great hunts Tim. Lovely group of coins, relic's and marbles!

GL & HH

[Ill Digger]

Wow. Nice pile o' silver!
That house is a beauty. Congrats on the very cool adventure!

Yes it is! It had Tony and I!!

It looks like a great time for all of y'all. The finds are incredible and I wish that old house was around here. Thanks for sharing a happy story.

It was a great time! Just keep your eyes peeled. There's gotta be some old places near you too.

Wow Tim, what can I say. Some very nice hunts. I really like the Baggage Tag, very cool find.
Almost as nice as the house that you and Tony Found. LOL
Very nice variety of coins you found. GREAT JOB!!

Thanks Don! I've always been kinda when I'd see other members posting thiers. Definatly happy with that one!

wow who could complain about that weeks worth of finds and the bold cold door nock was ...well

Well thanks Dan! I tell ya I ain't complaining.....well too much, since Tony got the only two BIG 1800's coins from the yard. (J/K Tony )

[Ill Digger]

Dang Tim,
That's a good haul of goodies. That silver necklace is a nice chunk of bullion! I like the RR tag. I have never found one. You are a nickel magnet! Looks like 3 buffs and 3 V's. Any visible dates? The 2 IHPs look to be in pretty good shape & 3 mercs is always a welcome addition to the pouch. Were both marbles in the holes you dug? I've never gotten more than 1 marble on a hunt before. What does the little shield say? Best wishes and HH, Dave.

Thanks Dave! The cross weighs 5 grams, and the little silver ring is 1.5 grams! Yeah the tag was one of more favorite finds over the week. As for the Nicks, 2 Buffs are slicks, one has a D mint mark, and the third is a 1919. 44P War nickle. The V's are 1901, 1906,and a 1910. Nope one marble ( the white one, thats only half a marble, I found in Alabama where I found the tax token , and the other came out of a hole with 2 wheaties from "SLQ Park".

Great to see your post, Tim! I had a blast hunting with you. You ended up with some terrific finds! That silver cross and chain you found on the beach is one hefty hunk of silver! The silver ring is nice too.

I also like that Alabama tax token a lot. I have never seen one like it.

I was more than happy to take you to "SLQ Park". I'm glad you found a couple silvers there. The highlight of the weekend was definitely the mansion though! I am so glad you had the tenacity to stop and ask permission. To say it worked out well for us is an understatement! You definitely cleaned up on the nickels! Three V Nickels and three Buffaloes, awesome!

That railroad baggage tag it WAY COOL! I have never found one. I hope you are able to find out more about it.
Congrats on all of you cool finds and thanks for meeting me for an awesome weekend of detecting! It was a great time as always!

Thanks Tony! It was a blast! The silver necklase and ring were a nice way to start the week. The tax token is one of my more favorite finds of the weekend. It's in the running with the baggage tag! Thats the first one I've ever found too.
Thanks Again for meeting up with me for a hunt(s)
And as for asking for permission. No problem. It can only go a couple of ways. It's either yes, no, no ones home, or I even had a guy threaten me with... well we'll just say not living anymore. But those types are far and few. Thank goodness. Right Don!
I'd hunt with you anytime my man! It's always a good time!

A lot of varied finds there. Seems like there seems to be an abundance of those luggage tags in the central US. I am not remembering many from this side of the map. The fact there was obvi some landscaping there (the trees out front are not much older than 60 years), which I kinda worry about when I see old houses here. Obvi it wasn't an issue there.

Thanks. There was some landscaping done there for sure. But only in the rear and right side of the house. The front was untouched. The lack of big trees are because they already got so old they already died. We could see depressions in the yard were there was obviously big old trees taken out. Most of the good finds were in the 6 to 10+ inch range and it was in that pitch black, midwest, topsoil, all the way down! I never did see any clay in the front yard.

I need your courage .Great job. So tell me how did you ask? Did you share /pay ?

First off thanks Robbie. I don't know if it's so much curage as mush as obsession that gives me the drive to go up and ask a stranger to hunt their property. I first asked about the houses age, told them how beautiful it was, asked how long have they lived there?.... He said was built in the 1870's, then I told him we were into MDing, and our favorite places to look around are at old places. "Would you mind if we looked around your yard?" That's it.
We didn't offer to share or pay. We just asked politely and they said go ahead. He just requested to see what we came up with. So after each hunt we showed them the items, they held them, and handed them back to us.

Great hunts Tim. Lovely group of coins, relic's and marbles!

GL & HH

Thanks Dan! Too bad both marbles are messed up. The white one is broke right in half, and the other has at least 3 chips in it. It won't even roll straight!

What does the little shield say?

Like DaddyDigger I am curious about what it says on the shield.

It don't say anything. Front or back. It just has a eagle , stars, and bars. Both vertical and horizontal.
Here's a little better picture of it.

[MangoAve]

Thanks. There was some landscaping done there for sure. But only in the rear and right side of the house. The front was untouched. The lack of big trees are because they already got so old they already died. We could see depressions in the yard were there was obviously big old trees taken out. Most of the good finds were in the 6 to 10+ inch range and it was in that pitch black, midwest, topsoil, all the way down! I never did see any clay in the front yard.

First off thanks Robbie. I don't know if it's so much curage as mush as obsession that gives me the drive to go up and ask a stranger to hunt their property. I first asked about the houses age, told them how beautiful it was, asked how long have they lived there?.... He said was built in the 1870's, then I told him we were into MDing, and our favorite places to look around are at old places. "Would you mind if we looked around your yard?" That's it.
We didn't offer to share or pay. We just asked politely and they said go ahead. He just requested to see what we came up with. So after each hunt we showed them the items, they held them, and handed them back to us.

That's a little worry for me. I will start by saying I found a 'Cellar hole' really close to me by the old dead trees out front. Seems the house was removed within the last 8 years. The trees are older, but not compared to the age of the property. Lucky there I don't believe I have to worry about the landscaping. However, just a bit further was my "Maybe. Come back and ask me during the spring" place. Assessor has it 1730 but the guy who owns it now says the back part of the house is 1600s. The town was settled in the 1680s. Out front is an older tree, maybe 80 years old, but I can't see the roots of it. The grading seems to mesh with the founation to level of the road.. so who knows. Maybe the tree was just planted a bit deep way back? We'll see if the maybe turns to a yes.

And.. at that same specific place too it was brought up about sharing finds. Besides the "umm. no" I got over the summer and the "Hell no, only I will be the one detecting here [even tho I'm not the owner]." this guy did actually bring up the "whats in it for me?" I would never bring it up; I let them bring it up.

[aloldstuff]

Tim, great hunting on both the surf and turf. Kudos for not letting that mansion just be a driveby. Some fantastic finds, love the tax token and that baggage tag. Also all those coins have gotten me up to charge up the batteries and go hit some turf. Great post.

[Fire Fighter 43]

No wonder you did not return my text message last week, you couldn't with a detector in your hand all week, LOL. Congrats on some nice finds and a good week of detecting. Bummer about the lack of finds on the beach but atleast you were hunting.

[PL8MAN]

Looks like one great week of treasure finds ! Congrats
Glen