Driveway find, NOT what you might think.

wettpaint

Jr. Member
Apr 9, 2009
44
1
North Mississippi
Detector(s) used
Whites MXT
Just to let you know that you don't have to go very far to find the good stuff, at least that is what my wife is saying now.

My son, who will be 3 in July, wanted to go tecting this Sunday, so I thought that we would mess around in the yard for a little while.

There used to be a home place between my house and the road. I say "used to be" because when we built our place we cut the hill down around 5' and scattered the dirt over 3 acres.

Like I said my 2 yr old and I were working our way across the yard, a place we have hunted many times. Nothing notable mostly nails and other odd iron signals. I dig a plug and let him pick through it until he pulls out the find. Boy does he get excited for whatever he comes up with. Well this time we were crossing our gravel drive way and I get a 74 VDI on the MXT. Here I go hacking through the gravel. My drive is what we call “reclaimed concrete” it is mixture of what is dropped or leftover at the concrete plant from a concrete batch before the water is added. It has a lot of gravel, sand and cement. Needless to say it is quite hard. So here I go still hacking with my Fiskar garden knife trying to loosen it up enough for little man to come and dig up some “monies”. I cannot pinpoint it well, but the MXT keeps showing as a penny. Now time for the big guns, I go after the spade or “sharp shooter” whatever you want to call it. I start to ream out a pretty good hole, gravel is flying everywhere. I am going to find that penny before it is over with, there might not be anything left but little man is getting that penny. I get the hole pretty good size now, hit is again with the MXT and get an overload, What the heck??? An over for a penny, maybe a piece of copper pipe from the house during construction.

Getting discourage from the hacking and not finding that stinking penny or piece of pipe I stick the Fiskar in one more time and hit something metallic. I kind of poke it a time or two trying to find the edge so I can pry it out. And up pops this beauty. Boy was I surprised.
I put a small scratch on the back and nicked the edge when I pried it out of the drive but other than that it is in good condition.

It is amazing that I did not destroy in after moving all the dirt with a tractor and box blade and an old Cat D6 dozer, shaping my driveway twice adding gravel and other material both times. I have lived in this house for 5 years and never thought that my CS buckle was literally under my feet each time I walked to the mail box or drove to work.

Happy Hunting
Wettpaint
 

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wettpaint

wettpaint

Jr. Member
Apr 9, 2009
44
1
North Mississippi
Detector(s) used
Whites MXT
mighty_mace said:
So what kind of depth were you getting for that "penny" when you first pinpointed it?
Mighty.. It showed at 2", I know that my driveway is 3"-4" deep so that is why I thought penny especially with the 74 VDI. Once I cleaned out the hole a little more and was able to get more of the coil closer to the target that is when I got the overload.
 

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wettpaint

wettpaint

Jr. Member
Apr 9, 2009
44
1
North Mississippi
Detector(s) used
Whites MXT
Thanks everyone for your support. I usually tend to lurk on the site and rarely post my finds. I have been seriously detecting for a couple of years.

While we tend to be a poor state monetarily, we are rich in history. Getting outside is half the fun. I have learned a lot about our local history and have a lot more to learn. Just getting permission is hard; people are protective of their property.

Again thanks for the comments and Happy Hunting or as we say it in the South "Happy Hunt’n"

Wettpaint
 

Deepdiger60

Silver Member
Jun 18, 2009
2,804
94
Long Island E-end
Detector(s) used
Minelab Sov GT,Sovereign xs2-pro Fisher CZ21 Custom Skullies , Stealth 720-i
Primary Interest:
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That is one great find :icon_thumleft: Congrats Thats Banner for sure Dd60
 

sekypaleo

Sr. Member
Jan 24, 2010
412
137
Cincinnati Ohio
Detector(s) used
Teknetics G2 with 13" Ultimate coil, AKA Sorex Pro, Eurotek Pro, Garrett Pro pointer
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Why is this not yet a banner? Come on peeps, this is one of the more rare CS buckles...easily 4-5,000$ Banner banner banner...great story too!
 

creeper71

Silver Member
Dec 5, 2007
2,936
61
South Central PA
sekypaleo said:
Why is this not yet a banner? Come on peeps, this is one of the more rare CS buckles...easily 4-5,000$ Banner banner banner...great story too!
probly due to the lack of posts... I think you have to have so many post before you can make banner
 

Monty

Gold Member
Jan 26, 2005
10,746
166
Sand Springs, OK
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ACE 250, Garrett
Primary Interest:
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Do you realize that the vast majority of us will never find one of those in our entire lifetime? Amazing! In fact it's EXCELLENT (wringing hands)! Monty
 

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wettpaint

wettpaint

Jr. Member
Apr 9, 2009
44
1
North Mississippi
Detector(s) used
Whites MXT
sekypaleo said:
Why is this not yet a banner? Come on peeps, this is one of the more rare CS buckles...easily 4-5,000$ Banner banner banner...great story too!

sekypaleo. Apparently I do NOT know what I have laying on my desk.
What am I missing that makes this a 4-5K find. I know some CW relics are valuable but what is special about this one?

I am going to do some research on my land and trace the ownership on it. I might find an owner who served in the Civil War. This would be pure speculation and would depend on how many people lived on and owned this place before me.
 

creeper71

Silver Member
Dec 5, 2007
2,936
61
South Central PA
wettpaint said:
sekypaleo said:
Why is this not yet a banner? Come on peeps, this is one of the more rare CS buckles...easily 4-5,000$ Banner banner banner...great story too!

sekypaleo. Apparently I do NOT know what I have laying on my desk.
What am I missing that makes this a 4-5K find. I know some CW relics are valuable but what is special about this one?

I am going to do some research on my land and trace the ownership on it. I might find an owner who served in the Civil War. This would be pure speculation and would depend on how many people lived on and owned this place before me.
looks to me to be a Confederate plate... you probably have to take pic of back for the more knowledgeable to tell you exactly what it is.. DID a quick research an found one similar to yours sold for 2,500.00 link is here http://www.jsmosby.com/cgi-bin/Display_Items.asp?Cat=6&Sub=16 very last photo on page
 

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wettpaint

wettpaint

Jr. Member
Apr 9, 2009
44
1
North Mississippi
Detector(s) used
Whites MXT
Creeper... I just looked and it appears to be a
"Solid-cast “regulation” style. Dimensions: 53x84mm. Similar to Mullinax plate 126"

It is hollow and does not have the hooks on the back, but you can see where they were attached.

I did a quick search and cannot find one listed for sale or at least one that has a price. My wife asked me how much it was worth when I dug it, told her maybe a $100 or so. I had NO idea.
 

RyanOShea

Full Member
Apr 27, 2010
155
5
Oregon
Detector(s) used
Minelab E-Trac. Ex2. X-Terra. Garret pro pointer. Fisher Headphones, Whites headphones.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
WOW!!! That is awesome! Great story too! I bet that was such a cool feeling to see that pop up. awesome awesome awesome!
 

creeper71

Silver Member
Dec 5, 2007
2,936
61
South Central PA
Read your post..so I did another real quick search found this "price guide'.. list the belt buckle you described at 8.500.00 there is the link I hope it work so you can see it.. http://issuu.com/dreamedia/docs/catalog151_civil_war
Note: I just went back an read the whole description..the price is for a non dug buckle... but I would think it's still in the thousands being dug... you might want to send front an back pics to a collector... or maybe a back photo here an I'm sure someone will know a fair value for it...

one more thing this catalog was published april 23rd 2010 so the price is current
 

armchairQB30

Sr. Member
Jun 21, 2007
283
7
Wetpaint,

What city in MS do you live in? You might be on an assembly area for a civil war battle or maybe a hospital site or some other campsite. I will post some research for you if you tell me what city you live in.
 

detectahead

Silver Member
Dec 1, 2007
2,563
872
Western, N.C.
🥇 Banner finds
1
Detector(s) used
Equinox 600, Bandido UMax II, Fisher F5, Tiger Shark, Ace 250
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
That is totally unreal, talk about sweet!! That hit you on the blind side! Congrats :hello2:
 

armchairQB30

Sr. Member
Jun 21, 2007
283
7
I do about three months worth of research on an area before I ever pick up my metal detector. Northern MS was traveled heavily by troops moving east......many TEXAS units were in MS. I learned long ago about the value of searching a 25 mile radius around a major civil war battle. My years in the ARMY as an F.O. helped with map reading. There is a reason you found that CS buckle in your driveway, you might be right on top of something.

I located a Second Seminole War fort from 1837 in a guys back yard two years ago. You just never know WHERE history is. I will post some research for you.
 

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