The Aluminum Monster
Hero Member
- Mar 18, 2015
- 595
- 777
- Detector(s) used
- White's Coinmaster Pro, Tesoro Mojave, Garrett AT Pro, 5x8 DD, 15" NEL Attack, Garrett Pro-pointer, Pro Series 5x9 sand scoop, 30" Royal Compact sluice, 36" Bazooka Gold Trap, Gold Cube.
- Primary Interest:
- All Treasure Hunting
Good morning all. Last week, my brother-in-law found a bayonet on his father's property. I posted a thread about it at this link:
http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/today-s-finds/581006-information-bayonet-found-my-brother-law.html
I went for a long weekend in Maine and we had about 3 hours to hunt the property on this trip. I will be going up a few times in July to do a more thorough search. I will get to the hunt in a bit.
I have the bayonet in my possession right now and there are no signs of marking on the blade portion at all. What I DO think I am seeing is "VJ" on the elbow. It is incredibly faint and I am not sure the pictures can do it justice, if there is any justice to be done. I looked up a VJ marking and all I could seem to find was a link about Korean blades and I don't think that it is that.
I have calipers. Any measurements I should be taking to hopefully narrow this down?
As for the hunt itself... Well, it was frustrating and confusing. I arrive at the home and it is on 6 acres. It certainly was exciting to see this 1842 home waiting for me. This is a home they are selling, not the new home as I had thought, so we have free reign to do what we please. The property sits on SO MUCH CLAY and granite. The thick, gray clay starts at about 1 inch below the topsoil. I guess it has been very dry in Maine, so I should have brought my rock hammer to dig. It was so incredibly difficult to get a shovel in the ground.
The plan was to go slowly and dig EVERYTHING. No discrimination at all. In the following hours of slllllooowwwly hunting, I only hit two tones in the silver range and they both ended up being strips for carpet. STILL no seated.
A lot of iron in the ground which we will be digging all up to hopefully get to the better stuff that is hiding. Just leavirite pieces. Continuing the hunt, I only received three decent tones, all ringing in at 66 on the AT PRO:
The spoon in an 1881 Rogers, so that is no earlier than 1929 and the two belt buckles are more than likely 30s-40s. Not a single coins - not even modern from the family living there for 15 years. The bottle dump my sister-in-law found in the woods? Everything dates to the 1900s. There is absolutely nothing to suggest that this bayonet should have come from the same property.
So this was the first run on the property. It felt great to be out but I certainly had higher hopes. We have A LOT of work to do to get all the iron out, as well as hit the woods. We have a lot of time travelling to do as we dig down and it looks like we are starting in the 30s-40s.
I just got off a 14 hours shift and am heading to bed. Feel free to give me any advice for going forward with this bayonet or if you need better pics, etc. I will log on when I wake up. I really do think I see a VJ.
Thanks for looking and for any advice. I hope you get to go outside and enjoy the day!
-Jay
http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/today-s-finds/581006-information-bayonet-found-my-brother-law.html
I went for a long weekend in Maine and we had about 3 hours to hunt the property on this trip. I will be going up a few times in July to do a more thorough search. I will get to the hunt in a bit.
I have the bayonet in my possession right now and there are no signs of marking on the blade portion at all. What I DO think I am seeing is "VJ" on the elbow. It is incredibly faint and I am not sure the pictures can do it justice, if there is any justice to be done. I looked up a VJ marking and all I could seem to find was a link about Korean blades and I don't think that it is that.
I have calipers. Any measurements I should be taking to hopefully narrow this down?
As for the hunt itself... Well, it was frustrating and confusing. I arrive at the home and it is on 6 acres. It certainly was exciting to see this 1842 home waiting for me. This is a home they are selling, not the new home as I had thought, so we have free reign to do what we please. The property sits on SO MUCH CLAY and granite. The thick, gray clay starts at about 1 inch below the topsoil. I guess it has been very dry in Maine, so I should have brought my rock hammer to dig. It was so incredibly difficult to get a shovel in the ground.
The plan was to go slowly and dig EVERYTHING. No discrimination at all. In the following hours of slllllooowwwly hunting, I only hit two tones in the silver range and they both ended up being strips for carpet. STILL no seated.
A lot of iron in the ground which we will be digging all up to hopefully get to the better stuff that is hiding. Just leavirite pieces. Continuing the hunt, I only received three decent tones, all ringing in at 66 on the AT PRO:
The spoon in an 1881 Rogers, so that is no earlier than 1929 and the two belt buckles are more than likely 30s-40s. Not a single coins - not even modern from the family living there for 15 years. The bottle dump my sister-in-law found in the woods? Everything dates to the 1900s. There is absolutely nothing to suggest that this bayonet should have come from the same property.
So this was the first run on the property. It felt great to be out but I certainly had higher hopes. We have A LOT of work to do to get all the iron out, as well as hit the woods. We have a lot of time travelling to do as we dig down and it looks like we are starting in the 30s-40s.
I just got off a 14 hours shift and am heading to bed. Feel free to give me any advice for going forward with this bayonet or if you need better pics, etc. I will log on when I wake up. I really do think I see a VJ.
Thanks for looking and for any advice. I hope you get to go outside and enjoy the day!
-Jay
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