Street tearout, part 2

Digger_O'Dell

New member
Hi all!
Got out Saturday for a little more tearout hunting. The first road I had high hopes for was a total bust. Guessing Milco was there first! :hystericallaugh:

So I went back to the street I worked previously though I didnt think I would find much since it wasn't dug out nearly as deep. Well, it was hit and miss. I didnt find the loads of IHs I was hoping for, but did manage a couple wheats. I did find some rather interesting relics to make up for the lack of coins.

The first surprise was a Waterbury 3 piece WW1 button. That took a bit of work to clean because it had concrete stuck to the front. Next find I thought was more junk, but turned out to be a rolled souvenir penny from the 1939 New York Worlds Fair- The world of Tomorrow.

But the "star" of the hunt turned out to be the bottom half of a Grand Army of the Republic pin medallion. It was pretty rough when I found it, but 6 plus hours soaking in CLR really did the trick!

Researching this, I found the GAR is a fraternal organization of Civil War veterans run like the military. Only the "official" medals were to be worn, which were issued by their quarter master and made from CW cannons. Each one was serial numbered to prove authenticity, and and GAR member found to be wearing a fake was subject to a dishonorable discharge from the organization. Unfortunately they didnt keep records of who got which serial number, so it can't be traced to the owner.
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More nice finds! You don’t have to worry about me, as I am seldom out this year. It’s the five or six other guys that are on every tearout these days. I guess that’s what happens when you talk/post about the tearout finds!
 
More nice finds! You don’t have to worry about me, as I am seldom out this year. It’s the five or six other guys that are on every tearout these days. I guess that’s what happens when you talk/post about the tearout finds!

Yep, I remember that tearout where we met. Don't remember exactly how many people were waiting for the next sidewalk slab to be pulled up! At least I got the only silver after you left, and seated to boot!
 
Very nice! I'm quite familiar with the GAR --- it's my avatar fwiw! Vermont GAR medallion that is. Never tried street tear outs around here. Do you have a contact to know when they're happening or scheduled, or do you just drive around?

John
 
You made me go digging through my display cases Chris!
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I found the hanging pendant part to a GAR medal too. Way back in 2011!(man time flys) When I found mine I hit the internet looking for all the info I could find on it. I learned they were made from melted Confederate cannons. But I never seen a reference to each medal being stamped with a authenticity number! So I went through my cases and dug my medal out.... sure enough, there it is!!
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Nice bit of research Chris!!
And Congrats on your finds!![emoji106][emoji16]

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
 
You made me go digging through my display cases Chris!
c92710e1f798d7a4ebd13a4372f9ef13.jpg


I found the hanging pendant part to a GAR medal too. Way back in 2011!(man time flys) When I found mine I hit the internet looking for all the info I could find on it. I learned they were made from melted Confederate cannons. But I never seen a reference to each medal being stamped with a authenticity number! So I went through my cases and dug my medal out.... sure enough, there it is!!
527990fedca5d29d36839a7fc5db5aa7.jpg


Nice bit of research Chris!!
And Congrats on your finds!![emoji106][emoji16]

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

Very nice! Glad you saw my bit on the serial number and it helped you with your find.
 

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