When it comes to finds, it's all about context for me!

kiyote

I have an Anthropology degree, and I know there's some archaeologist vs. detectorist debate out there-- I think I'm right on the middle of the fence. I've posted some finds only to be told: "Keep looking, the good stuff is out there!"-- but, like with the 54-S cent I found in the 50s era home, I was excited mostly because it fit the context of where I was searching. As exciting as finding a foreign gold coin would be in that yard, it wouldn't make sense.

I found a cheap, tin spoon in the field next to our farmhouse near the foundation of some long-razed homes. It turns out those homes were a few shacks set up for folks during the depression. It's exciting knowing the history of what you've found for me more than any monetary value.

Well, that depends on how much monetary value we're talking, I suppose.

In any case, I'd encourage all not to just toss aside "junk" that isn't silver or gold and think about the broader context of the find. It'll help you get through the days when you're digging nothing but junk.

DUBBA

i hear ya kiyote....i too find great pleasure in the historical aspect of our hobby as i'm sure most md'ers do....the ones who are in it for the money, soon get out of it for the lack of the money...know what i mean verne?... "sj > st" the sum of the junk is greater than the sum of the treasure ( theory/formula of metaldetectreasurty) hh

millennium

I always look at the "junk", that I recover....It does help date the site and also gives me an insight to the daily lives of the people that settled here in the early years...Finding pipe bowls and stems along with pieces of dishes really is a find for me too...A foreign gold coin in a yard here is not surprising.....most of the worlds coinage was legal tender until around 1857...so a gold coin from Spain, France or Mexico, would fit right in to this area...Actually if you go to an old colonial home site here, you will EXPECT to find the Mexican Reals, and British coins from that period..

2bits

I also agree that the relics and period dated coins for the site Im Mding are cool finds ,, nothing like digging up a toy car from the 40's or earlier.

I found a chauffers badge in the yard of my house ,,Im sure its from the first owner based on the date the house was built ,, I also dug up a couple of Mexican coins which Im sure were from the work force that built the house ,,those are cool stuff to me and they will forever be a part of my dug collection of treasures .

ricko

Relics are every bit part of the excitement of MD'ing.... and can add valuable history to the site. Cheers, RickO

crispy

Whatever you find that you can derive pleasure from is worth the hunt. I love relics as well. Finding things that haven't seen the light of day in decades or more, is fantastic (be them coins, relics or jewelry). History plays a big part in metal detecting for me. It is sometimes hard to convey that to people that don't have the "fever" but that's OK. Different strokes.

Hurricane

I agree about the historical aspect...makes the whole thing worthwhile to me. Clad coinage is fine, and out here in the NW there is'nt much more than that. I found my first wheatie in a long time at an old homestead that is now a County Park that I hunt on a regular basis. Not much silver there, but lots of old Iron horsetack and woodworking tools. If I want to shoot coins, I go to the "populated" portion of the park, if I want to find a relic or two I go to the old pastures and such that have'nt been used since it was a working farm. I've been hunting this park for a couple of years, and I really believe that I'm the only one that hunt's it on a regular basis. It's close to home and always pay's off with somthing interesting.

lordmarcovan

<< <i>I know there's some archaeologist vs. detectorist debate out there-- I think I'm right on the middle of the fence >>

I don't have any academic degrees like you, unless you count a Masters degree from the School of Hard Knocks, but you're absolutely in the right place, I think. As in most things, the middle ground is the right place to be. Too far to the archaeologist end of the spectrum, and you become overly scholarly and snobbish in your science. Too far to the treasure hunter end of the spectrum, and you're in danger of letting greed overwhelm your sense of context, if you're all about the money and don't care about the backstory.


<< <i>In any case, I'd encourage all not to just toss aside "junk" that isn't silver or gold and think about the broader context of the find. It'll help you get through the days when you're digging nothing but junk. >>


Sage advice. That odd "junk" item can often have suprising significance, within the right context.

It sounds to me like you're a detectorist for all the right reasons; a player who's in it for the love of the game, and I salute you for that.

Finding valuable items is great, but putting the right historical context around those relics of non-monetary value gives them a value that can't be calculated in dollars and cents.

Every relic has its story. Or if the story is unknown, it at least can present an intriguing mystery.

It's all good.

lordmarcovan

At one site in North Carolina I used to hunt with some friends (an old church), a buddy of mine dug up an old spoon. It had "US" marked on the back of the handle. This made us think it might have been a military issue. When we read up on the history of the place and learned that Federal troops had camped there for a night or two during Stoneman's Raid, suddenly that simple spoon became far more significant, and we were able to guess the near-exact date it had been dropped by the Yankee raiders.

I was also able to date a War of 1812-era Artillery Corps button I found in Fernandina, Florida, to Gregor MacGregor's attack on Fort San Carlos. That means the button was lost in 1817, and one could probably date it to the artillery barrage, so the loss of the button could be pinned down almost to the day.

Another time I was hunting a colonial-era site when I dug a flattened musketball from right at the base of an old brick wall that was about 200 years old. As I was refilling the hole, I noticed a deep pockmark in the brick of the wall, a foot or two above ground level. It was immediately obvious to me that the crater in the brickwork had been caused by the musketball. It was obvious which direction it had come from when it struck the wall, too. Gauging the approximate range of an early 19th-century musket, I could roughly figure out where the person firing it had been standing, even if I couldn't figure out what he'd been firing at. (Probably squirrel or bird hunting, since the site was adjacent to an old cemetery with lots of trees- not to mention squirrels and birds). He would've been standing pretty far off, and the ball had to have been nearly spent when it struck the wall, since the chunk knocked out of the wall was so low down. Things like that make little historic movies play inside my head.

There's some classic examples of "context" for you, where simple items of humble value speak across centuries of time.

And of course my "Ming Medallion" story I linked to in the previous post is another such example, though the context can only be guessed at in that case.

pocketpiececommems

All of my One Room School "junk" is sorted by school in seperate jars or display cases.

kiyote

Very cool stories, LordM! I had heard about the medallion before, but not the other finds. It's a LOT of fun to his the 'net and libraries to try and trace down just what you found. Actually, we MD's do a lot of research, both before, and, depending on whatcha find, after the hunt.

Now I wanna get back out there!

lordmarcovan

I agree with you on that last point- the 'Net is a godsend.