Was hunting an old park with my good buddy Bucknut and found this 1800's US Customs lock. It almost blew up my Nox at about 5 inches, and I'm really surprised no one ever found it before me. I may contact the local Museum and see if they want it. It's kinda cool though. I also found another buff and a 1901 Indian at a couple other spots this past week - no Silver though (darn it!).
Last edited by Tony Two-Cent; 03-21-2018 at 08:02 AM. Reason: Addid photo
Equinox 800
Still figuring out how inserting photos work here. The 1902 is an old find, tried to delete it but can't figure out how.
Equinox 800
That old padlock is awesome! I've never seen one like it. Can you make out the patent date at the bottom?
I will delete the 1902 Indian for you.
Lifetime totals:
10 Large Cents, 415 Indian Heads, 2 Two Cent Pieces, 1 Capped Bust Half Dime, 1 Seated Half Dime, 10 Shield Nickels, 68 V Nickels, 124 Buffalo Nickels, 31 War Nickels, 16 Seated Dimes, 131 Barber Dimes, 405 Mercury Dimes, 249 Rosies, 4 Seated Quarters, 18 Barber Quarters, 20 Standing Liberty Quarters, 89 Silver Washingtons, 1 Seated Half, 3 Barber Halves, 16 Walking Liberty Halves
YouTube Channel: Tony Two-Cent https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmz...RlHTBIU42bUORg
Thanks Tony. It reads "PATENTED Jan.18 and Nov. 29 1870". There is actually quite a bit of documentation about this particular lock. They had Glass seals to prevent tampering, and they were made in batches of 50, with a single key to open all 50 locks in the batch. The original order from the US Government was for 1000 locks, with 12 additional glass seals per lock, at a cost of $60.00 per dozen locks. Order dated September 20, 1870 from the office of Hon. George S. Boutwell, Secretary of the Treasury.
Equinox 800
Very nice lock with a lot of detail and even more history. Always enjoy finding old locks very rarely in such good condition especially for its age.
Glad you posted this because I knew there are many people here who will like to see this relic. I think it is very cool and would make a interesting pc in your collection.
Detectors I use: Minelab Equinox 900 & Manticore
Favorite finds I have made:
1,000+ silver coins
92pcs of 1700's Trade Era Silver
Copper Culture Indian Artifacts
125+ War of 1812 Era buttons and relics
My wife (probably should have started with that one)
COOLEST LOCK I have ever seen! Absolute beauty. Congrats and HH, Dave.
Oldest Coin: 100-60 BC Gallic bronze coin (Sequani Tribe)
Oldest Silver Coin: 1156 hammered Pfennig from (now) Bavaria
Oldest U.S. coin: 1805 Draped Bust Large Cent
Best Coins EVER: 1625 4 Sols from Kingdom of Chateau Renaud, France
1662 15 Kreuzers, Leopold I, Austria
Best Relics: Bronze Age Arrowheads & Spearhead, 2c Roman silver ring, complete medieval knight's spur (x6)
YouTube Channel: Full Metal Digger
Fantastic lock. Your research is appreciated. Display it proudly....
V3i- Prism IV- Pro Pointer
2020 GOAL: Any Flowing Hair coin
TOTAL 100 YEAR OLD COINS - -280
2020:
Silver: 11
Oldest U.S. Copper - 1795 Liberty Cap
Oldest U.S. Silver - 1829 Capped Bust Dime extra large 10C
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Holy cow!!! What a great lock!! Congrats!
On Instagram- oxshoedrew
Very cool lock! Love it when there is good documentation to find too. Thanks for the research!
Equipment:
Minelab: CTX 3030, GPX 4800, X-Terra 705. Whites TDI SL.
2024: Silver 1, Gold 0
Best finds: 28 silver dime spill, 1800s Dutch customs seal.
Oldest/best coins: Late 1700's Chinese Cash Coin, 1837 Upper Canada large cent, 1877 Seated Dime
Oldest Relic find: 1800 Sailors Luck token
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Quote: Treasures are like potato chips, you can never have just one!
That is a beauty !
Oldest find: 5,000 year old copper spearhead
Oldest coin: 1699 William III halfpenny
Purdiest coin: 1832 Capped Bust quarter
Coolest find: USA button with blue threads still on shank
"He who would search for pearls must dive below."
Wonderful old lock and great back story! Don't you love researching the history of your finds? I sure do!
john
Vermont relic hunting, one swing at a time.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG2...OLib30A/videos
Thanks for all the comments everyone. All I have used to clean it up so far is a nylon brush and water. I would really like to clean the sides and front better, so any tips would be appreciated. I am not a "Relic" guy, so this piece really doesn't mean that much to me, but I would like to clean it up better.
Equinox 800
Nice find Scotty, I used brasso to clean mineOriginally Posted by ScottyB
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