Frozen hunts at a few cellars.

[MangoAve]

This weekend I got out to a few cellars. Saturday I refused to use my Ironclad gloves that have been washed 3 times. I made due with my regular nitrile coated cloth gloves. They sure got wet and cold. The first cellar I went to I was thinking it was so far out in the forest, that it would be untouched. There didn't seem to be any dig holes, but I was finding cans 3-4" deep around the well. I pretty much stayed away from the cellar, but I did do a quick scan managing a small buckle. Most of the finds on both places were on the other side of the road. Prob overlooked areas. The big spoon came from a small depression just 10-15 ft from the cellar. Three nails came out of the hole before the spoon did... so you better believe masking is merely a relative thing. A small dime under a nail might be masked, but a larger target like this spoon you sure will hear with a few nails over it. The pic with the two spoons comparison is a large tablespoon (from my silverware drawer) and the larger serving spoon piece. It looks like pewter. Sure, the pic is a little unfocused due to the glare from the new spoon, but it doesn't matter for a size comparison.


Across the road I did see some older trees and what appeared to be either a barn or a cabin site. Just off the beaten road I picked up a crusty IH. It appears to be an 1864. It's thin so it's not the fatty variety. I doctored one pic to show the beginning of the date as is it not easily visible in either. The other pic you can surely see the '4' in the 7 o'clock position clear as day. By a big tree I dug up what I thought was a ring... turns out it must be one of those two sided lockets where there would be glass. Kev figures it would be like one of those lockets with a lock of hair vs a photo. Looks gold plated and it still opens. Not 2 ft away was the suspender buckle with the patent dates of 1871 and 1874. I figure both items are close in age.
I saw a cellar on the way driving that I decided to touch lightly on the way home. I found some odd cap right on the lip of the cellar. It has a big hole in the middle and a thread. Not something I can recognize a use for having a big hole. The gf said its prob just a cap that had a wick. Around the back of the cellar was an ornate brass piece. Maybe a furniture decoration or piece of a clock.

The following day Kev and I went directly to this cellar, but focused across the road. We both noticed this road lined with stones going off from the main road. I figured that was the best place to start with the most carriage/foot/oxen traffic. Turns out there wasn't much in there. I didn't even hear much iron. The second time thru I did catch a bigger piece of iron right to make it sound like a good signal. It was just like a bucket piece. Flat stock iron with a metal ring. Next to the road was a pen. I gave that a check. I noticed this area that almost looked like an entrance next to an entrance to the pen. I got a solid tone of 86... I was thinking silver. Turned out to be a 1995 quarter. It was encased in the frozen ground. I smacked the clump a few times to break it up. Once I saw the rim I was a little disappointed, but still optimistic, until I finally broke it out and saw it was modern. Ugh. But a few feet away I did get a less stable tone. Turned out to be my first LC of the year. The flaking patina gave me a bad notion that it wouldn't clean up too well. I could see 1822 coming out of the ground. I instantly noticed the classic bust. The date is semi visible now with the porous metal. I am still happy to get an LC. Near what appears to be a barn I pulled up a buckle similar to the previous day. Other than that, the other notable find was across back at the cellar. Kinda up behind the cellar and a retaining wall I did get a splitting wedge. Just a ways from the wedge (as I knew the spot was active) came an iron buckle. Seems like it was semi-dressy. Not the Sunday Silver, but something that was thin and not for working.