Just Excavated!

Mole hole digger.

This page displays my latest treasure and relic finds.

I finally dug something up!!!

Here is my best find ever!!! I finally found a Civil War relic!!! This is a C.S.A. button. It's a cast button, meaning that it was made from molten metal that was poured into a sand mold. There is little information on this type of button, there were produced in the South, after supply lines were cut off in the war. No information on the producers of the button type.

This is a 1915 Expo coin.

It was issued by the state of South Carolina and sold to obtain funds for the financing of the South Carolina exhibit in the Panama-Pacific Exposition held in San Francisco in 1915. They are not particularly scarce, but not common either. In nice condition (Uncirculated or nearly so) they bring about $50. But in worn condition, or dug, or damaged in some way, they bring $20 or less retail.

Information provided by Tony Chibbaro.

Check out his awesome web site.

South Carolina Tokens

This is a 1930's advertizing token for Green River Whiskies. On the front it has an old nag horse and an old black man. On the back, there is a horse shoe, four leaf clover, and a wishbone, all symbols of good luck or good fortune. The back also has "It's Lucky to Drink Green River Whiskey" stamped on it.

Gold and silver serpent charm.

!955 Lincoln wheat cent, back view.

The snake charm is stamped on the back .925 1ofaKind. It appears to be made of silver with a gold overlay.

[A gentleman recently e-mailed me. I lost his name, so I hope he writes back so I can include it here. He is in Oregon and found the same charm on the beach on the West coast. That's pretty amazing in my book. I found this one on the east coast. Sir, if you come here again, please e-mail me back so I can include your name. Thanks.]

The second is a 1955 Lincoln wheat cent.

I found both on the beach at Cherry Grove, South Carolina. The charm was down abouth 3" deep in the low tide line. The wheat cent was up in the sand above the high tide line. It probably was mixed in with some pocket change that someone had.

I also recovered $3.06 in lost coins, that count includes the wheat cent.

Dollar coin from canada.

I found this nice coin today. It is a dollar from Canada. The other side (not shown) carries the likeness of Elizabeth II and is dated 1867-1992.

This coin is called Lucky Mojo. It's a good luck coin. I was lucky I found it. I don't know how long its been around, but it's well worn.

New information: My friend Carolyn Herel has provided me with a link to a site called Lucky Mojo. Just click on the picture to go there. It has a lot of information on good luck stuff.

Thanks Carolyn for the information.

Broken dolphin ring. Found 3/25/2002.

Found this .925 silver ring today. It's shaped like a dolphin. It's broken, so that's why it got lost, or was thrown away. It's still a good find, reguardless of its condition.

Horse shoe. 4/13/2002.

Found this modern horse shoe on the old farm. It's about twenty-five years old. That was when Uncle Ed owned the horse.

Monopoly game piece. 6/12/2002.

Found this at an old house site today. It's the little dog game piece from Monopoly.

1943 P silver war nickel. 6/22/2002.

This is the first silver nickel I've ever found. It's 1943 P. During WWII, 1942 to 1945, the silver was added to replace the nickel it contained, because the nickel was removed and used for the war effort.

Cross and chain.

Found this cross and chain at the local lake today. It was about three inches deep. The lake level is being lowered, for what purpuse, I don't know, but it gives me a chance to search where I normally couldn't search.

Berkeley Windproof Lighter.

Another find from the local lake. It's part of a Berkeley Windproof Lighter.

The other side list the manufacturer: Flashlight Company of America, Jersey City, New Jersey.

This lighter was produced during the 1950's.

Silver ring, before and after cleaning.

This is a silver diamond ring I found at the bottom of a small lake. The water level has been going down, due low rain fall. It was buried about four inches deep. Sliver will tarnish and turn black in watery area's.

I carried it to the jeweler to have it cleaned. The cleaning process removed the blackness, but left the ring a gray color. I made a cleaning paste out of backing soda, a couple drops of warm water and polished it to a bright luster. As you can see in the before and after image.

By the way, the jeweler said the diamond is made of glass. He did say it was an old ring because of the "glass diamond". They use that modern stuff now, CZ, cubits zeconium.

WW I/U.S. military uniform button. 3/9/2002.

Back of button shows manufacturer. Horstmann Co.

I'm still researching this button. What I've come up with so far is that the design was produced between 1893 to 1935, by the Horstmann company in Pliladelphia. I found it in a field owned by my friend, Stacey. He said that his grandfather fought in WW I, and originally lived there on the property after the war. The original homestead and barn have been gone for years. Till I find out when, and how long he served in the military, I can't come up with a rough date for the button.

The sew loop for the back of the button was only held in place by the dirt that was in it. It didn't survive being in the ground all these years.

New infromation: I can date the button to 1916, that's when Stacey's grandfather went into the service. Carolyn Herel, another metal detectorist and friend, gave me the information about what type button it is. It belonged to an enlisted man's uniform. That was the first question I asked Stacey "Was you grandfather an enlisted man?" He said, "Yes."

Thanks to Carolyn and Stacey for the information they gave me.

.925 Silver Palm Tree Charm. 3/9/2002.

I found this nice charm at a local playground/ballfield today. It is .925 silver.

American Flag pin, found 3/15/2002.

Found this pin today. It still had the back clip for it. I put it on my detecting cap. Makes a good, good luck charm to wear.

Hartsville Junior High ring. Found 3/25/2002.

I found this nice white gold junior high ring today. The image under the stone is the school mascot, the Red Fox. I'm now in the process of finding the owner. I hope to return the ring to them, because I lost my high school ring six times. I found it four times, one time with a metal detector, and had it returned to me two times.

Today was a good day. I was able to return the lost class ring to the owner. This is a picture of me and Kathleen. This is what makes the hobby fun. To find something someone lost, and reurn it to them.

Silver plated spoon.

Found this old silver plated spoon on my cousin's property. His name is Robbie. When he saves up his money for a detector, we're going to be hunting partners. The few times we've gone detecting together have been fun.

Chevy Hubcap. 4/4/2002.

Robbie and I found this hubcap on some property he had gained access for us to hunt. It was about six inches deep.

Tractor gear shift knob. 4/14/2002.

This is a knob off of the gear shift of a 1964 Masey-Ferguson tractor. The tractor is still used today to farm with. It also has it old knob back on it. It really suprised Uncle J.W. when I showed up with it. It was in one of the field's he use to cultivate with the tractor. It was lost about twenty-five years ago.

1973-1975 Yorkville Bicycle License 111.

Here is an unusal find. I found it at the bottom of our family pond. It's been drained for repairs to the spillway and to have a boat ramp built. It was buried about six inches deep in the sandy/gravel bottom. It registered as a half dollar. It's still a good find none the less. The town it came from is eighty to ninty miles from the pond.

Old charm and old marble.

This is an old book charm and marble I found at the old family homestead. The marble, I saw it sticking out of the soil. It may have been one my dad played with as a child. The charm may have belonged to one of dad's sister's, I'm going to try and find out.

All new finds will be displayed here, for a time. At a later date, they will be relocated to their category page.