Nice Crotal Bell, still rings & more cool farm junk

[pa-dirt_nc-sand]

First signal tonight was a silver dollar too good to dig too shallow for anything good signal, but when pinpointing it was small and distinct so became diggable plus anything with a 2 way beep at this very old site is worthy of a look. I knew it was my first crotal bell the moment the plug flipped. It is really heavy and sturdy and after running under water getting all of the caked dirt and vegetation out flakes of iron started coming out but enough of the ringer is still there that it sounds like Rudolph is on his way when given a gentle shake. Cool feeling to hear it make sound again after so many years. Also found another suspender buckle and possibly the top of an old lantern at this old site. If anyone can ID the crotal bell or give it a date range it would be appreciated.

The site where these were found has produced a number of 1700's and 1800's items so far, but the productive area is only about 20'x20'. I have wandered now in multiple directions and only found old shotgun shell ends, except for an area about 100' away adjacent to the farm field. This area appears to be more modern, early to mid 1900's. Here is what is coming out of this area. A Hickok buckle, mother of pearl inlaid pocket knife, 2 rim fire casings and plated silverware. I will spend more time at this adjacent site to see if i can find a better concentration of good targets in the woods

Good luck out there!

 

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[btjbtj]

What an awesome haul! Love the detail on the suspender buckle and the flatware. Congrats. -Lisa & John

 

[trapperart]

Nice finds congrats

 

[RichieRich]

The Crotal Bell is awesome. I found one in Meridian Id and it is at the top of my displays. I don't know much about their history

 

[Silvermonkey]

I would LOVE to find a crotal bell like that! Congrats on a nice grouping of finds.

 

[against the wind]

You're working a very nice site. Lots of potential.
Congrats on all your finds, especially the Crotal Bell.

 

[pa-dirt_nc-sand]

You're working a very nice site. Lots of potential.
Congrats on all your finds, especially the Crotal Bell.

Thanks! Finding a crotal bell was on my bucket list and this site has already provided a handful of bucket listers. I've probably checked out 25 sites this year and only 4 of them have been productive and this one is definitely the oldest.

 

[Trezurehunter]

Congrats on your finds, and your first Crotal Bell. It seems to be in great shape.

 

[CMDiamonddawg]

Farm relics are Good stuff . I would spend hours rambling through fields but now I can spot habitation of early settlers clues that save time with better results , and may I add ... eliminates sore feet .
Keep enjoying , The Thrill of the hunt .

CMD

 

[CoilyGirl]

Some great finds there.

 

[dfallis1]

Congrats on your first crotal bell. Its pretty cool when you clean them up and can hear the bell tone. I have dug two complete crotals but only one still has the dinger. Great job!

 

[pa-dirt_nc-sand]

Farm relics are Good stuff . I would spend hours rambling through fields but now I can spot habitation of early settlers clues that save time with better results , and may I add ... eliminates sore feet .
Keep enjoying , The Thrill of the hunt .

CMD

I would be very interested in some of your pointers. From my limited experience locating 1900's sites (bricks, tulips, myrtle, huge trees, pine trees, pottery shards, historical aerial photos) is not too difficult. The site I found with the 1700's/1800's stuff has none of this, just triangulated the spot from an early 1800's survey map. This park has hundreds of acres, some still fields (overgrown) mostly forest, streams, old farm paths. Figuring out where to invest time to hike to then hunt is a challenge. Any strategies that have worked for you are appreciated.

 

[pa-dirt_nc-sand]

Congrats on your first crotal bell. Its pretty cool when you clean them up and can hear the bell tone. I have dug two complete crotals but only one still has the dinger. Great job!

Thx! It's one of my favorite relics. Has a nice green patina and sunburst pattern and I think it is pretty old, at least that is what I am telling people... Oh, and most importantly my 8 yr old daughter asked if it came off of Santa's sleigh!

 

[Kurios1]

That's a very nice crotal bell. Excellent condition and with a dinger!

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Congratualtions on the very productive relic hunt!

 

[pa-dirt_nc-sand]

That's a very nice crotal bell. Excellent condition and with a dinger!

Thanks man! Missing the hoop and does not have a makers mark I can see, but fun researching something new. From what I have read it looks like it should date to early 1800's. About right for this site.

 

[Noah_D]

I think I might but a little late to the party BUT... I found a crotal bell with similar (if not exactly the same) designs but I can't get a good look at the loop from the picture. According to other people here on treasurenet it should be early to late-mid 1800s, one person said 1830s-1870s but all of the responses were roughly similar.

Here is a link to mine, it wasn't cleaned yet in the post but you if you want to look at some of the responses you can. http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/t...ler-2-hour-hunt-found-1831-british-penny.html

Nice find, that site looks like a good one!

 

[Wildcat1750]

Very nice crotal bell and other great finds! It's always fun to get those bells ringing again!