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Newbie needs some help
NHhunter
Posts: 6
I've been reading the boards for months and finally decided to join. I will have some questions about upgrading my machine but first to the latest find.
I love in NH and my son and I found this in our yard. It was about 4 inches down. Any help?
Than ks a bunch and I look forward to spending some time on here.
I love in NH and my son and I found this in our yard. It was about 4 inches down. Any help?
Than ks a bunch and I look forward to spending some time on here.
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If you don't mind, may I ask what part of the state you're in? (There's always a "Private Message" if you don't want to reveal that in a public place too.) Actually, you don't have your Private Message function turned on. If you go to "profile" you can see it near the bottom - "Allow Private Messages"
I'm in Somersworth which is near Dover...about 10 minutes from Portsmouth. My son really loves looking for treasures so it's getting me back into the hobby once again. I have a pretty basic machine but I want to trade it in and upgrade. Nothing serious but one that is more modern. Once that is taken care of, off we go...somewhere
I live north of Franconia Notch (home of the ex-Old Man of the Mountain) but periodically head downstate. I actually went to Hampton Beach a couple of weeks ago after that big storm (and that whole blocked burned). Only found 51 cents, haha. But you never know what will pop up next.
It's fun to see the things people pull out of the ground.
Dave
Nice find. It's a sure sign that there might be other early goodies around. Consider that the round musketball was technically obsolete by the Civil War, when they were supplanted by the conical Minie-type bullet designed to fire from a rifled barrel, and later the more modern bullets with their brass cartridges. Though militarily obsolete by the 1850s or so, round musketballs and the smoothbore guns that fired them continued to be used by sportsmen and hunters for several decades, and even today. That ball's an oldie, though. Not only was it four inches down, but it's got that white patina on it, which is actually prized by many relic hunters. Lead can get that whitish color after being in the ground a long time.
Funny, I found a musketball like that myself, just on my last outing.
Oh yes- I should also add that your musketball looks as though it might be a "drop"- that is, one that was dropped without ever being fired. Being lead, they tended to flatten or distort a bit when they hit something, so the round ones are drops, unless they were fired from a very long way off, and "spent" by the time they landed. (Even then, they're usually a little smushy on one side.) The good news about finding a "drop" as opposed to a fired one is that you know without a doubt that somebody stood on that exact spot 150-ish years ago. Maybe he had a hole in his pocket and dropped a coin or two? Or the button on his coat was loose and also fell into the dirt? Start out where you found that, and work your way outwards in a slow and deliberate spiral pattern. You might find other old stuff, who knows? It happens.
<< <i>Hey, welcome fellow New Hampshire treasure hunter! I'll agree with davbec... or something similar as I have no idea how big a .54 caliber is. >>
"Caliber" refers to the diameter of the bullet, usually in inches. A .54 caliber bullet would be 0.54 inches in diameter. In Europe, and other places around the world, caliber is measured in millimeters. The US military uses metric also. A .308 caliber is also known as the 7.62mm NATO cartridge.