Bandito Treasure & Some Date Nails

Old Pueblo

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Found these date nails today and some other interesting stuff at the same place, right alongside a rural ranch road in southern Pima County, AZ. Anyway, there is a barbed wire fence running alongside the road, and in this wash they were using some old railroad ties for strong, sturdy fence posts. So I stopped to try my luck and I found a few, the 1923, 1924 and 1942, probably from Southern Pacific, since they were the big RR company in this part of the country.

As I was checking the fence posts, I noticed alongside the road, tucked behind some catclaw and mesquite, a bunch of stuff from the illegal aliens, which frequently pass through this area. You see little illegal alien camps like this all over in Southern AZ. You can tell the difference between stuff left behind by your average illegal immigrant and stuff left behind by human smugglers/drug smugglers/Mexican border bandits (who rob the cartel smugglers) etc... by the type of gear they leave behind. Most of the illegals they catch coming across dont where camouflage and most of the clothing and backpacks and stuff they leave behind isnt camo either. All of this stuff, including at least 5 backpacks, shirts, pants, jackets, gloves and hats, and even bags and pouches, were all camouflage or solid green, mostly hunting type camo but also some military style camo as well. And it was interesting since all of the camo packpacks except 1 were identical, and all of the camo hats the same too. And Ive seen these same backpacks elsewhere in the Arizona desert, and even have one I kept for posterity, since it was in good enough shape (It was packed full of food and sterno when I found it, most of which was unused).

There were also black plastic bags, presumably for the drugs, or just to keep things dry, and several ace type bandages, which they use for wrapping up their shoes to help cover their tracks. Down in the pockets of two of backpacks were these Mexicans coins, the most recent being from 2012 and the oldest from 1997. I also found a cheap, throw away cell phone that was chucked over the fence when the illegals met up with their ride out of there. You see, to the South of this road is by and large desert wilderness all the way south to the border, and its the perfect place for illegal aliens to trek across the border and then safely meet up with their contact here in AZ for pickup, bypassing all of the Border Patrol checkpoints completely, since they are all located further to the south on the main roads. I also found the two rosaries you see hanging on a fence post at this smugglers' pick up point, and the date nails you see in the last photo there. The 1926 I found in another fence line along the way home. I also found a 1938 or 36 or something, but its all bent up and difficult to read.
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Old Pueblo

Old Pueblo

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This stuff has been out there for a year or two, judging by the fading you see on some of the packpacks and the one hat there.
 

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Old Pueblo

Old Pueblo

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The backpacks and stuff you see in the one photo was most of it, but there were more packs and clothing and stuff scattered throughout the area.
 

against the wind

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Thanks for sharing the first hand story of what is going on near our southern border.
Congrats on the Date Nails.
 

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Old Pueblo

Old Pueblo

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The black bottle with the black strap is a water bottle. Looks like some sort of coolant bottle. You see lots of old bleach and chemical bottles with straps around them, repurposed for drinking water. Dont ask me how safe that is.
 

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Old Pueblo

Old Pueblo

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If you want to hear a story, heres a good one about my uncle, who lives out in this area. Last Christmas eve it was a cold and rainy night. Not snowy, since this is the Sonoran desert, a land of vast valleys surrounded by distant mountains, and very rugged. Theres cactus and mesquite and catlaw, which is the worst, everywhere. Anyway, that night two illegal alien men in their 20s knocked on my Uncle's door and told him they were freezing to death and needed help. My uncle obliged, since it was Christmas Eve and hes that kind of guy. Offering coffee and blankets, my Uncle sat with the illegals for on the front porch of his house, in front of a small fan heater, and waited several hours into the night for the illegals' pickup. One of the illegals had a cell phone and he made a call for his ride, letting my uncle know why they were sticking around. Anyway, as they were sitting on the porch, my Uncle's neighbor pulls up and stops at his house, which is right next door. He saw the illegals and immediately called Border Patrol. Hearing the sirens, the illegals fled back into the surrounding desert as the Border Patrol continued their search. Finding no one, BP eventually left and my Uncle went back inside, thinking the excitement was over. But the illegals came back, knocking on the door and asking for help again. So my uncle came back out with the coffee and blankets and a short time later the illegals' ride arrived, and before they left they offered my uncle $20 for the assistance he had provided. My uncle, being the man he is, refused to take it and went about his Christmas Eve, telling me about it the next day when we were all together. And for the record, my uncle is a white man, a veteran, and not at all religious, and his neighbor is of the Hispanic persuasion, which is kind of ironic. But its a funny tale all around.
 

RVRoamer73

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Cool !!! Like'n your Avatar pic....
 

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A great read - Thx for sharing - HH.

Love the RR spikes! Stay Safe down there.
 

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Old Pueblo

Old Pueblo

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And if anybody is wondering why my uncle didn't call BP, he just didnt want to deal with it, since the illegals said they would be out his way as soon as their ride could get there. My uncle is also the type of guy that uses any excuse he can to get away from his wife for as long as he can, so he probably enjoyed himself. He certainly had fun telling me the story.
 

AlienLifeForm

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Nice date nails, ive got a few jars full of them myself.
 

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Old Pueblo

Old Pueblo

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Nice, If you have pictures Id love to see them. Do you have a 1933 or 1934 date nail? Those two seem to be tough ones to find.
 

AlienLifeForm

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Nice, If you have pictures Id love to see them. Do you have a 1933 or 1934 date nail? Those two seem to be tough ones to find.

I know ive got some of the big headed IC International Creosote marked bridge timber date nails in 33 for sure, will have to dig them out and see if I have any of the regular smaller head 33s or 34s. Ill try and get photos this weekend.
 

AlienLifeForm

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Mine look like these, below with the "IC" logo. They were probably used in ties as well, but the ones I pulled were from wooden bridge pilings under an abandoned metal trestle bridge. They were originally deep in the ground, but over the years the river cut into the bank and exposed them.

ic35a.gif
 

jewelerguy

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back in the 60's and 70's, my Dad used to work with a railroad research and development company. He collected date nails when possible. I have them now. I haven't browsed through them in years, but I've got a large container full that date back maybe as far as the 1890's up to the 1950's. Probably over 90% of them have never been used. Always wondered if they were worth anything
 

AlienLifeForm

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back in the 60's and 70's, my Dad used to work with a railroad research and development company. He collected date nails when possible. I have them now. I haven't browsed through them in years, but I've got a large container full that date back maybe as far as the 1890's up to the 1950's. Probably over 90% of them have never been used. Always wondered if they were worth anything

Yes, they can be worth some dough. Unused is pretty much unheard of - id say you have some rare birds there.
 

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Old Pueblo

Old Pueblo

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There are probably not that many date nail collectors in the world, but if you have a bunch of unused ones in good condition, they can be worth a pretty penny to the right person. The earlier dates the better. Let us know. I would really like to see them.
 

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Old Pueblo

Old Pueblo

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Ive never found any IC ones before, just a bunch of regular ones in different sizes. I have found a couple of the diamond head ones, one from 1916 in a telegraph or telephone pole or something and a 1920 on the ground, but its all rusty. I heard that Southern Pacific did not use the diamond head nails, but other RRs did. Was that trestle bridge from an old railroad? If so, what railroad?
 

jewelerguy

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Yes, they can be worth some dough. Unused is pretty much unheard of - id say you have some rare birds there.

There are probably not that many date nail collectors in the world, but if you have a bunch of unused ones in good condition, they can be worth a pretty penny to the right person. The earlier dates the better. Let us know. I would really like to see them.

sweet. like most of my old collectable stuff, I need to turn it all into cash before I keel over so my wife can enjoy it with her boyfriend :laughing7:
 

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