August 4, 2012: Sterling Swastika hat pin???
pcgs69
Posts: 4,324 ✭✭✭✭
Went back to pick up some more scraps from Scrap Park. I spoke with a town resident, and apparently guy #1 has found an 1836 dime! BOOOO, but didn't stop me from picking up his scraps.
Within 5 minutes the 1914 Barber dime pops out. And 30 seconds later, the 1945 Wartime nickel! That makes 60 silver coins for the year. My record for a year is 64 so things are looking good to beat that. Also got a 1925 buffalo nickel and a 1927 Canadian nickel in the same hole. My goodness what a difference in preservation. Canada, tell us our secrets to long-living coins!
Sometime in the hunt I got an odd signal. This certainly wasn't a signal that screamed "dig me." It kind of sounded like some kind of junk sheet metal. Since it was repeatable I dug anyway. Upon getting it out I was swiping around the dirt with my hand and got poked with something. "oh my, glass in there, better be careful" Then I saw the tip - "oh, I got poked by an aluminum nail, let's get that baby out of here... what the heck?" It's a swastika piece that's marked Sterling on the back. Is this a hat pin? Measures 2.75" long. Would this be pre-Hitler, and it means good luck? Pretty cool find!
Also picked up 3 IHCs - 1863, 1907, 1XX3
Within 5 minutes the 1914 Barber dime pops out. And 30 seconds later, the 1945 Wartime nickel! That makes 60 silver coins for the year. My record for a year is 64 so things are looking good to beat that. Also got a 1925 buffalo nickel and a 1927 Canadian nickel in the same hole. My goodness what a difference in preservation. Canada, tell us our secrets to long-living coins!
Sometime in the hunt I got an odd signal. This certainly wasn't a signal that screamed "dig me." It kind of sounded like some kind of junk sheet metal. Since it was repeatable I dug anyway. Upon getting it out I was swiping around the dirt with my hand and got poked with something. "oh my, glass in there, better be careful" Then I saw the tip - "oh, I got poked by an aluminum nail, let's get that baby out of here... what the heck?" It's a swastika piece that's marked Sterling on the back. Is this a hat pin? Measures 2.75" long. Would this be pre-Hitler, and it means good luck? Pretty cool find!
Also picked up 3 IHCs - 1863, 1907, 1XX3
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Comments
I have one, that I recently gave to my son, that is about 8" long and inlaid with
turquoise. They are very cool and yes, pre-Hitler they did mean good luck. My
societies used this form or one similar for good luck including the American Indian.
bob
Try to get a pic next time I'm over to their home.
I mean, I don't know for sure that swastika is military, but with that orientation I do think it is WW2 vintage and Nazi related. Of course the swastika is a much more ancient symbol (of good luck, before the Nazis ruined it), but that looks 20th century and WW2 era to me. Perhaps some sort of party pin? VERY cool.
That George V Canadian coin is awfully nice and clean for a dug nickel. At first I thought it might be a silver quarter, from looking at the picture, but then I saw the Buff next to it. Same hole, huh? Very cool. Once again, the Royal Canadian Mint trumps the US mint in quality! That's an amazing difference.
<< <i>Dude! What is it with you and the cool military relics?
I mean, I don't know for sure that swastika is military, but with that orientation I do think it is WW2 vintage and Nazi related. Of course the swastika is a much more ancient symbol (of good luck, before the Nazis ruined it), but that looks 20th century and WW2 era to me. Perhaps some sort of party pin? VERY cool.
That George V Canadian coin is awfully nice and clean for a dug nickel. At first I thought it might be a silver quarter, from looking at the picture, but then I saw the Buff next to it. Same hole, huh? Very cool. Once again, the Royal Canadian Mint trumps the US mint in quality! That's an amazing difference. >>
HAHA, guess it's the year or military finds!
Did the Nazis have the orientation of the swastika different? (I'm not too up to date on my history.)
A couple people on another forum think it might be early 1900s and might not be Hitler-oriented. Either way it's stil an awesome relic and will fit nicely in the display case.
Both nickels were in the same hole! I was thinking that it was silver because what you see is how it came out (after washing dirt off of course). Had to look it up to make sure, but it's apparently 100% nickel. Would be nice to pull buttalo and v nickels out like that.
My totally random feeling on that is that I'd give 60-70% odds that it is indeed Nazi-related, and 30-40% that it isn't but is rather an earlier, prewar manifestation of the ancient symbol. I wonder about the STERLING mark, and whether that was used in Germany? I guess there is a fair chance that it could be American or British made. All intriguing riddles.
<< <i>Arrgh, I'm so far away from finds of this caliber that it's depressing! >>
There are still plenty of good things out there. It's just a matter of finding the right place and swinging the coil over it! And it pays to keep digging those iffy signals. Not all good finds are solid, perfect signals.