DIGS O' THE DAY (2006-03-21): THE FIRST OUTING OF SPRING
lordmarcovan
Posts: 43,530 ✭✭✭✭✭
DIGS O' THE DAY (2006-03-21): THE FIRST OUTING OF SPRING
Ahh, yes. Spring has sprung in the Golden Isles. The azaleas are blooming, and purple wisteria hangs from the trees in sweet-smelling clusters, almost like bunches of fragrant grapes. It’s a good time to enjoy the great outdoors, though one of the less savory aspects of springtime is now apparent- the sand gnats are active.
I got a call from Billy Ridenour today. Billy is an extraordinarily talented relic hunter and one of my few local treasure hunting buddies, but we seldom get to go out together. The hours I’ve been keeping on my new job prevent me from going out much at all these days, so it was a happy accident that Billy just happened to call me on my one day off, to tell me about a site he’d found. He said he’d gotten a really nice military button there. Upon his arrival at my place, he showed me a nice early U.S. Artillery button, of a type adopted in 1808. It still had the shank and much of the original gilt intact, and had fancy backmarks, too. While I’m primarily interested in coins, Billy’s into military relics, and I must admit I share his enthusiasm for finds like this. He said the button was “nothing but a dirtball” when he dug it, and that he cleaned it with hydrogen peroxide. Hmm. That’s interesting. As I quizzed him on this cleaning method, he explained that he takes hydrogen peroxide, presumably the household 3 percent solution one finds at the drugstore, and heats it in the microwave until it’s near boiling, then plops the crusty object into it. Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, just like the old Alka-Seltzer slogan. Interesting. I’ll have to try that sometime.
U.S. Artillery button, circa 1808-1821. If a detecting buddy of yours showed you a relic like this, and offered to take you
to the site where he’d found it, you’d go along, wouldn’t you? Of course you would! Especially on the first day of spring.
Since we both had the afternoon free, he told me he’d take me to the site where he’d found the button, and we piled our detectors and gear into my van and roared off to Camden County. Prior to leaving, I found my preferred relic hunting detector, the Troy Shadow X2, was not working, so I put a new battery in it. It still wouldn’t turn on. Uh-oh. Still, I had my coinshooting machine, a Garrett GTAx-550, so I took that along. I’ll have to tinker with the Shadow later- I certainly will miss having it and its 10.5” coil when I’m out relic hunting. This is why it’s nice to have two detectors. I always have a second machine to loan a friend or to act as backup.
I drove through some nice rural areas on our way south, while Billy directed me and commented on various landmarks and sites that had produced old coins and relics. It was a fine day to be out in the country. When we got to the site he intended to hunt, I noticed it was nice high ground, and looked good. Piney woods gave way to a partially cleared area where the bulldozers had recently been active. Billy pointed out the spot where he’d recently found the Artillery button. Any site that produces such relics from the War of 1812 era sounds promising to me!
I parked the van in the cleared area, and the moment I opened the door and stepped down onto the ground, I noticed a mocha ware pottery fragment from the late 1700s or early 1800s- a promising sign that Billy wasn’t exaggerating about the potential of this site. Billy was out and detecting in a flash. I got my own detector out, then leaned it against the van for a moment, to pause and snap a photo, as Billy knelt to dig his first target.
A rural site in Camden County, GA, on the first day of spring, 2006. Billy Ridenour is at the right of the photo, near where he’d dug that nice button on a previous visit.
It was a pleasant afternoon, with the temperature in the mid seventies. The sand gnats had been pretty bad in my front yard as we’d loaded the van, but surprisingly, they weren’t quite as fierce out here in the piney woods. I swung my coil along the cleared area for a while, and then decided to work the far edges of it, on the outer perimeter of Billy’s hotspot, since Billy and other relic hunters had worked the crest of the hill pretty well. There were plenty of low-grade iron signals, all of which proved to be old square-headed nails, or the remnants thereof. Down at the bottom of the hill, in a somewhat swampier area, I suddenly got a loud and very clear signal that registered in the upper midrange of the detector’s meter- plainly not an iron target. It had to be a button or coin, or a similar nonferrous target, to produce such a hot signal!
With visions of early military buttons and Capped Bust dimes floating in my head, I dug. The target proved to be a big, nonferrous target, all right, but it was a 20th century sardine can. Argh. Oh, well. That happens, even on these more remote rural sites- there is often at least a little 20th century trash in most places, deposited by hunters or logging crews. Soon I found three more pieces of sardine cans. So much for my theory about the outer perimeter of the site. I headed back a little closer to Billy’s area, and soon began seeing old pottery sherds on the surface again, and the nail signals on the detector resumed. I worked my way through the woods on the hill, finding lots of pottery. There was also a big, thick steel cable, rusty but obviously more modern- probably used by logging crews. By now, from the physical activity and the long-sleeved shirt I’d worn to prevent my becoming a chew toy of the gnat gods, I was sweating profusely, and the sweat was dripping into my eyes. Being overweight and out of shape was taking its toll on me, for sure, since it wasn’t that hot out. I detected in a path back toward the van, then took a long swig from my can of soda. Upon resuming my detecting, this time just behind where the van was parked, I got a midrange signal that could have been a button or a small silver coin like a half dime. It wasn’t, though. It proved to be merely an old shotgun shell, but it encouraged me, because it told me that the clearer, easier-to-hunt open area was not necessarily picked over. I picked up a pottery fragment which had a hallmark of some sort beneath the glaze. Finding bits of pottery and clay pipe stems with makers’ marks on them is a plus- that doesn’t happen to me too often. I can’t really make out what this one says, though- part of the inscription appears to say “NEW YORK” on it, perhaps.
Then I found a coin! An orangey-colored coin!
Was it a Classic Head $5.00 gold piece? Nope. It was a modern Lincoln cent, on the surface. It hadn’t even been in the dirt long enough to tarnish.
I found no other nonferrous targets that afternoon, aside from the shotgun shell, the sardine cans, and one small piece of lead shot. Everything else my detector sounded off on was nails. I did manage to pick up quite a few bits of old pottery from the surface, though. Billy found half of a cast lead button with the shank on it, a tiny little buckle that looks to be from the late 1700s, and lots of lead shot. While nothing really noteworthy was found, it was nice to have a new site to hunt, and it was good to see Billy again. There may be some future reports from this site- it certainly has potential. Billy says no coins have been found there yet, aside from the modern cent I found today and a modern nickel he dug on one of his previous visits. We’ll have to do something about that- I have a strong suspicion that there are some large cents and/or Spanish silver sleeping somewhere in that soil…
Old square-headed nails and surface-collected pottery fragments from the late 1700s to early 1800s.
While not particularly special finds in themselves, these are always a signpost to other goodies in the ground.
~RWS
INDEX OF DIG STORIES
Ahh, yes. Spring has sprung in the Golden Isles. The azaleas are blooming, and purple wisteria hangs from the trees in sweet-smelling clusters, almost like bunches of fragrant grapes. It’s a good time to enjoy the great outdoors, though one of the less savory aspects of springtime is now apparent- the sand gnats are active.
I got a call from Billy Ridenour today. Billy is an extraordinarily talented relic hunter and one of my few local treasure hunting buddies, but we seldom get to go out together. The hours I’ve been keeping on my new job prevent me from going out much at all these days, so it was a happy accident that Billy just happened to call me on my one day off, to tell me about a site he’d found. He said he’d gotten a really nice military button there. Upon his arrival at my place, he showed me a nice early U.S. Artillery button, of a type adopted in 1808. It still had the shank and much of the original gilt intact, and had fancy backmarks, too. While I’m primarily interested in coins, Billy’s into military relics, and I must admit I share his enthusiasm for finds like this. He said the button was “nothing but a dirtball” when he dug it, and that he cleaned it with hydrogen peroxide. Hmm. That’s interesting. As I quizzed him on this cleaning method, he explained that he takes hydrogen peroxide, presumably the household 3 percent solution one finds at the drugstore, and heats it in the microwave until it’s near boiling, then plops the crusty object into it. Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, just like the old Alka-Seltzer slogan. Interesting. I’ll have to try that sometime.
U.S. Artillery button, circa 1808-1821. If a detecting buddy of yours showed you a relic like this, and offered to take you
to the site where he’d found it, you’d go along, wouldn’t you? Of course you would! Especially on the first day of spring.
Since we both had the afternoon free, he told me he’d take me to the site where he’d found the button, and we piled our detectors and gear into my van and roared off to Camden County. Prior to leaving, I found my preferred relic hunting detector, the Troy Shadow X2, was not working, so I put a new battery in it. It still wouldn’t turn on. Uh-oh. Still, I had my coinshooting machine, a Garrett GTAx-550, so I took that along. I’ll have to tinker with the Shadow later- I certainly will miss having it and its 10.5” coil when I’m out relic hunting. This is why it’s nice to have two detectors. I always have a second machine to loan a friend or to act as backup.
I drove through some nice rural areas on our way south, while Billy directed me and commented on various landmarks and sites that had produced old coins and relics. It was a fine day to be out in the country. When we got to the site he intended to hunt, I noticed it was nice high ground, and looked good. Piney woods gave way to a partially cleared area where the bulldozers had recently been active. Billy pointed out the spot where he’d recently found the Artillery button. Any site that produces such relics from the War of 1812 era sounds promising to me!
I parked the van in the cleared area, and the moment I opened the door and stepped down onto the ground, I noticed a mocha ware pottery fragment from the late 1700s or early 1800s- a promising sign that Billy wasn’t exaggerating about the potential of this site. Billy was out and detecting in a flash. I got my own detector out, then leaned it against the van for a moment, to pause and snap a photo, as Billy knelt to dig his first target.
A rural site in Camden County, GA, on the first day of spring, 2006. Billy Ridenour is at the right of the photo, near where he’d dug that nice button on a previous visit.
It was a pleasant afternoon, with the temperature in the mid seventies. The sand gnats had been pretty bad in my front yard as we’d loaded the van, but surprisingly, they weren’t quite as fierce out here in the piney woods. I swung my coil along the cleared area for a while, and then decided to work the far edges of it, on the outer perimeter of Billy’s hotspot, since Billy and other relic hunters had worked the crest of the hill pretty well. There were plenty of low-grade iron signals, all of which proved to be old square-headed nails, or the remnants thereof. Down at the bottom of the hill, in a somewhat swampier area, I suddenly got a loud and very clear signal that registered in the upper midrange of the detector’s meter- plainly not an iron target. It had to be a button or coin, or a similar nonferrous target, to produce such a hot signal!
With visions of early military buttons and Capped Bust dimes floating in my head, I dug. The target proved to be a big, nonferrous target, all right, but it was a 20th century sardine can. Argh. Oh, well. That happens, even on these more remote rural sites- there is often at least a little 20th century trash in most places, deposited by hunters or logging crews. Soon I found three more pieces of sardine cans. So much for my theory about the outer perimeter of the site. I headed back a little closer to Billy’s area, and soon began seeing old pottery sherds on the surface again, and the nail signals on the detector resumed. I worked my way through the woods on the hill, finding lots of pottery. There was also a big, thick steel cable, rusty but obviously more modern- probably used by logging crews. By now, from the physical activity and the long-sleeved shirt I’d worn to prevent my becoming a chew toy of the gnat gods, I was sweating profusely, and the sweat was dripping into my eyes. Being overweight and out of shape was taking its toll on me, for sure, since it wasn’t that hot out. I detected in a path back toward the van, then took a long swig from my can of soda. Upon resuming my detecting, this time just behind where the van was parked, I got a midrange signal that could have been a button or a small silver coin like a half dime. It wasn’t, though. It proved to be merely an old shotgun shell, but it encouraged me, because it told me that the clearer, easier-to-hunt open area was not necessarily picked over. I picked up a pottery fragment which had a hallmark of some sort beneath the glaze. Finding bits of pottery and clay pipe stems with makers’ marks on them is a plus- that doesn’t happen to me too often. I can’t really make out what this one says, though- part of the inscription appears to say “NEW YORK” on it, perhaps.
Then I found a coin! An orangey-colored coin!
Was it a Classic Head $5.00 gold piece? Nope. It was a modern Lincoln cent, on the surface. It hadn’t even been in the dirt long enough to tarnish.
I found no other nonferrous targets that afternoon, aside from the shotgun shell, the sardine cans, and one small piece of lead shot. Everything else my detector sounded off on was nails. I did manage to pick up quite a few bits of old pottery from the surface, though. Billy found half of a cast lead button with the shank on it, a tiny little buckle that looks to be from the late 1700s, and lots of lead shot. While nothing really noteworthy was found, it was nice to have a new site to hunt, and it was good to see Billy again. There may be some future reports from this site- it certainly has potential. Billy says no coins have been found there yet, aside from the modern cent I found today and a modern nickel he dug on one of his previous visits. We’ll have to do something about that- I have a strong suspicion that there are some large cents and/or Spanish silver sleeping somewhere in that soil…
Old square-headed nails and surface-collected pottery fragments from the late 1700s to early 1800s.
While not particularly special finds in themselves, these are always a signpost to other goodies in the ground.
~RWS
INDEX OF DIG STORIES
0
Comments
Hopefully those of you who're still snowed in or frozen will thaw soon, and get the coil to the soil.
It looks as though March, like February, will only contain one outing for me, and again, only pottery and a few rusty nails.
But I have some new dirt to hunt, at least.
<< <i>DIGGER’S DIARY, TUESDAY, MARCH 21, 2006
Was it a Classic Head $5.00 gold piece? Nope. It was a modern Lincoln cent, on the surface. It hadn’t even been in the dirt long enough to tarnish.
<< <i>
Maybe phut put it there,
<< <i>Good reading LM.......Looks like one nice site to be explored. Do you have any idea what was actually there? Homesteads, forts? Indian settlements? >>
Dunno, Steve. Certainly that general area had all three, at various times. I didn't find any Indian pottery on this site, like I often did on the Crescent site where you've hunted and where Tim got that 1799 half real. This site has nice high ground but is not near any rivers- presumably they'd have to have dug wells for water. From the pottery and nails I would say there were some old homesteads there, but the fort is a possibility, if Billy's button is any kind of clue. I'd expect to find a lot of musketballs around an old fort site, though, and this hasn't been the case. Billy found a lot of lead shot, but it was smaller buckshot as far as I know.
Al
gold coin - gold coin - gold coin (forum chant starting
I hope you get the X2 back up an running.
Good luck to you and Steve!
<< <i>If a detecting buddy of yours showed you a relic like this, and offered to take you... >>
I'd bring flood lights and a tent.