RustyRelics
Gold Member
- Apr 5, 2019
- 5,910
- 32,383
- Detector(s) used
- Equinox 600/Ancient Whites MXT
- Primary Interest:
- Relic Hunting
I have shown this before, but y'all haven't heard the story behind it. Besides, I took a neat pic of it.
I had only taken a few practice swings in my front yard, the day before my three day digging trip to Virginia. Diggin' In Virginia XL. Diggin' In Virginia is the best relic hunting event I know of, and I'll be a regular for as long as I can. Anyways, the first day I walked over five miles. I ping-pong all over the map on the first day, and the first half of the second day. All I had found were two bullets, and they had a very crappy sound and VDI reading on them. I only dug the signal because I was desperate to find something.
The second day started much like the first. I walked hither and yon all over creation to find something...anything! After I walked down the side of a large hill/ridge, I made it to a large clearing. At the end, I saw two stone chimneys standing tall among some trees. Two guys were digging the foundation. I asked if I could watch, and with a nod, I sat there for a while to vegetate. After a while, I got enough pluck to ask if I could detect. "Knock yourself out" was the reply. Withing two minutes, I found a large "dandy" flat button. was so excited, I said, "I gotta get my dad!". I ran up that impossibly steep ridge to go find him.
About three hours later, me, my dad, his friend, and his friends son-in-law made it down to the house. The other guys didn't care if we detected or not because they were digging out a ice cellar, and one was digging the side of the house.
I turned my detector on, and got a trashy signal. It sounded like iron, and the VDI said foil. I was desperate to find something, so I dug it. Out popped this little coin like object. I got bad eye sight, so I took it to my dad and told him I thought I had a coin. The "disk" was filthy, and he could barely make out an eagle. "I think it is a Washington inaugural button." I was excited! I thought that was so cool! Not Civil War, but hey, that was awesome!
About two hours later, I took it out of my pouch to show my dad again. By now, some dirt had dried and fallen off. I saw him squinting, then rubbing his eyes, and squint some more. Then his eyes got big. Really big.
"CS! CS! THIS THING SAYS CS!" Everybody within hearing distance dropped their shovels, detectors, packs etc. and ran over rocks to bear witness to the event. Sure enough, the eagle said CS right in the middle. I was floored. I think I was zonked out for a while. The hardest part was keeping a secret so that 400 diggers didn't end up in one spot. I handed it to Butch Holcombe, publisher of American Digger magazine*, and he started shaking! When somebody asked what it was, Butch said "Oh, just a fancy flat button." It was very hard to keep a straight face.
We found out later why I wasn't finding anything, while everybody else filled their pouches. My detector was only operating at 35% power. Some wires or something got crossed, so it only read probably 1/10 signals. I waved my detector over spots where folks got good signals, but I heard nothing. It was a miracle that I found that button. That will always be my best relic, and I'll cherish it forever.
*American Digger is an awesome relic hunting magazine. If you haven't subscribed, you need to. It has metal detecting, arrowhead hunting, bottle digging, coins, informative articles and how to's, etc. I wrote an article for the magazine featuring the button, and better detail about the history of the location.
I had only taken a few practice swings in my front yard, the day before my three day digging trip to Virginia. Diggin' In Virginia XL. Diggin' In Virginia is the best relic hunting event I know of, and I'll be a regular for as long as I can. Anyways, the first day I walked over five miles. I ping-pong all over the map on the first day, and the first half of the second day. All I had found were two bullets, and they had a very crappy sound and VDI reading on them. I only dug the signal because I was desperate to find something.
The second day started much like the first. I walked hither and yon all over creation to find something...anything! After I walked down the side of a large hill/ridge, I made it to a large clearing. At the end, I saw two stone chimneys standing tall among some trees. Two guys were digging the foundation. I asked if I could watch, and with a nod, I sat there for a while to vegetate. After a while, I got enough pluck to ask if I could detect. "Knock yourself out" was the reply. Withing two minutes, I found a large "dandy" flat button. was so excited, I said, "I gotta get my dad!". I ran up that impossibly steep ridge to go find him.
About three hours later, me, my dad, his friend, and his friends son-in-law made it down to the house. The other guys didn't care if we detected or not because they were digging out a ice cellar, and one was digging the side of the house.
I turned my detector on, and got a trashy signal. It sounded like iron, and the VDI said foil. I was desperate to find something, so I dug it. Out popped this little coin like object. I got bad eye sight, so I took it to my dad and told him I thought I had a coin. The "disk" was filthy, and he could barely make out an eagle. "I think it is a Washington inaugural button." I was excited! I thought that was so cool! Not Civil War, but hey, that was awesome!
About two hours later, I took it out of my pouch to show my dad again. By now, some dirt had dried and fallen off. I saw him squinting, then rubbing his eyes, and squint some more. Then his eyes got big. Really big.
"CS! CS! THIS THING SAYS CS!" Everybody within hearing distance dropped their shovels, detectors, packs etc. and ran over rocks to bear witness to the event. Sure enough, the eagle said CS right in the middle. I was floored. I think I was zonked out for a while. The hardest part was keeping a secret so that 400 diggers didn't end up in one spot. I handed it to Butch Holcombe, publisher of American Digger magazine*, and he started shaking! When somebody asked what it was, Butch said "Oh, just a fancy flat button." It was very hard to keep a straight face.
We found out later why I wasn't finding anything, while everybody else filled their pouches. My detector was only operating at 35% power. Some wires or something got crossed, so it only read probably 1/10 signals. I waved my detector over spots where folks got good signals, but I heard nothing. It was a miracle that I found that button. That will always be my best relic, and I'll cherish it forever.
*American Digger is an awesome relic hunting magazine. If you haven't subscribed, you need to. It has metal detecting, arrowhead hunting, bottle digging, coins, informative articles and how to's, etc. I wrote an article for the magazine featuring the button, and better detail about the history of the location.
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