One of the Most AMAZING Relics I've Ever Found... And it's GOLD!!!

FoxHound0985

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I got together with a couple buddies last night to hunt a Civil War camp that we recently discovered, and I found something completely unexpected! I was using my Garrett AT Pro with the NEL Storm coil attached to try and sniff out some really deep bullets that come out of this site. We had only been there for 20 minutes or so when I got a very deep signal that sounded like iron, but would occasionally jump into the 60s. I dug down about 7 inches and the target was still in the hole, but was now reading in the low 50s. Using the pinpointer, I located it in the hole and switched to my small digger. I popped out a chunk of dirt that contained my target. I broke open the dirt ball and I saw the bright shimmer of GOLD staring back at me!! It turned out to be a BEAUTIFUL handmade gold pin!! Well, I think it's a pin anyway... There are two spots on the back where something was once soldered. The whole thing is very nicely engraved with intricate detail in the leaves of the flowers. It's completely unmarked, but it tests between 14 and 18 karat! There is some kind of deep purple inlay in one of the flowers and the bottom of the vase. There is also a black inlay (maybe onyx?) in the square behind the vase. It amazes me to think that this could have been lost over 150 years ago! Was it given to some soldier by his sweetheart to remember her by while he was at war? Did he buy it for her and planned to give it to her when he returned? Who knows!

The rest of the hunt went well, but I couldn't top this piece. I ended up with a William's Cleaner bullet, a 3-ringer, a .31 caliber Tranter bullet, a cuff button back, and a piece of a suspender buckle. One of my buddies found a 3-ringer and two J-hooks, any the other found a William's Cleaner bullet.

Thanks for looking and HH!

PS: I apologize for the blurry closeup pics, but it's really hard to get detailed pics with a cell phone!
 

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Last edited:
Upvote 62

BuckleBoy

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Good lord what a find. Definitely gold. The naysayers on this thread must never have seen a piece of old gold with braising marks on it before. Fantastic find right there!
 

BuckleBoy

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You could try polishing the black solder areas with a metal polish and a old tooth brush. Lots of silver items buried for a long time turn dark. That will show the naysayers it really is solid gold...

Nah, I would never polish, clean, or do anything to something I'D DUG just for the purpose of satisfying some random naysayer on an online forum. Screw 'em. PinFire has nothing to prove.

GREAT find.

-Buck
 

OldJerseyGirl

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It looks to me like a loop on the top where you could wear it on a ribbon. I sure am no expert. Just beautiful.
 

devldog

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PinFire, Congrat's to you on a super find, one with a personal story attached. I had something happen almost the exact same case scenario some years back. We were hunting an area where CW relics were being found. At the base of a huge Poplar tree and between two large roots I got a nice signal. This too was a jewelry piece I believe that it was a pendant. The piece I found was not as nice as yours or ornate, but I always believe it had the same story attached. The piece I found has a beveled clear glass on the front of the piece. Inside the glass are three inlaid roses and there is still some color visible. This was found about 8' inches down and between the roots. Like yourself, I figured that perhaps the soldier was carrying this piece for his sweetheart back home. This makes you wonder if this piece being lost if the soldier was wounded or worse, or simply just lost it. I have this piece in a small riker box along with some other finds that I made this same day from the same area. I'd like to post a pic., but I have had trouble trying to post pic's here on the forum. The piece you found is beautiful, and coupled with the History of this piece, where this piece was found, and the story attached with this to me makes this piece Priceless. Well Done. This piece will look great displayed. I don't know if you do this or not, but I catalog all my better finds as to when and where they came from and a little personal story of the better pieces to go along. This is something you can reflect on for years to come or pass down to future generations. I thought the similarities of these two finds and the stories that go along with them was too great not to comment. Again, Congrat's on a great find and a piece of our History.:icon_thumleft:
 

fishstick

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HELLUVA PIN!!!!! PIN!!!!! Vote in... CONGRATZ.....
 

CRUSADER

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Very nice piece of workmanship & yes I can see its solid GOLD.

What has not been answered is its function?

Is it complete, I think not, part of a large piece.

When was made, no good assuming its CW period until you have a full ID. Good luck with the research, it's not something I have seen before, so can't help.

CONGRATS
 

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FoxHound0985

FoxHound0985

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Thanks again for all the comments everyone! I'm still in shock for finding this piece. Here's a little secret too... this is the first piece of gold I've ever pulled out of the ground! It only took 21 years of metal detecting :laughing7:. Yes, I know there were several gold rings in that wallet I found last year, but this is the first piece I've ever pulled from the dirt.

HH!
 

Silver Tree Chaser

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Thanks again for all the comments everyone! I'm still in shock for finding this piece. Here's a little secret too... this is the first piece of gold I've ever pulled out of the ground! It only took 21 years of metal detecting :laughing7:. Yes, I know there were several gold rings in that wallet I found last year, but this is the first piece I've ever pulled from the dirt.

HH!

I believe it was worth the wait. Great find! :icon_thumright:
 

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FoxHound0985

FoxHound0985

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Nah, I would never polish, clean, or do anything to something I'D DUG just for the purpose of satisfying some random naysayer on an online forum. Screw 'em. PinFire has nothing to prove.

GREAT find.

-Buck

Thank you Buck!! I would definitely not do anything to clean or polish this piece. I'd never forgive myself if I damaged it! I'm actually hoping that one of my friends, who makes gold and silver jewelry, will be able to replace the missing stones and possibly the enamel. She does amazing work, but I'm still debating on whether or not I should do it.
 

materdigger1

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Very nice indeed
 

Cobradude22

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When you find something like this you can’t help but to ponder its story. Amazing find
 

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FoxHound0985

FoxHound0985

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Thanks guys!! I went back out to the spot so I could try and gather some dirt from the hole to sift through for the missing stones. I wasn't able to find it, so I guess the stones are going to remain a mystery!
 

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FoxHound0985

FoxHound0985

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I finally got my gold testing kit so I could test it on video. It actually tests higher than we had originally thought! Here's the video...



HH!
 

Reanm8er

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This is gorgeous! Probably European and my bet is an amulet missing the bale. Retrieve several five gallon buckets and pan for the accent stones. I cast gold and silver jewelry and I think it's assembled from several different castings, See the rivet. They often avoided soldering because it could burn the metal and effectively ruin the piece. Despite the talents of artisans of the time some of the detail is too perfect to have been individually wrought. As you know, officers commissions were purchased at that time especially in the Confederacy. I don't know about the soldier but the sweetheart was somebody. The average farm girl dreamed her whole life long in vain to own something like this. I can't explain the several discolored and corroded spots unless they are old repairs that weren't properly done. Back then and well into the twentieth century soldering of gold and silver jewelry was done with an alcohol lamp with a blow tube on it. You lit the lamp and blew through the tube to produce a flame of significant heat to make the solder flow without burning or melting the base metal. It's very time sensitive process to fuse the components without burning the metal. Burn the metal and the heat affected area will corrode.

But great find and a great insight into the faith these folks must have had.

On a side note have any of you folks ever seen a piece of "Mourning Ware" very nice gold pin back frames with a lock of the deceased's hair captured under glass. After folks saw that if the remains were returned they were so decomposed that the hair was either gone or too macabre to save, so they clipped their son's/husbands hair and kept it in the family bible. Should the loved one fall the hair would be incorporated into a pin or amulet for the mother or widow to wear during her period of mourning. GA Custer operated extensively in my area doing a scorched earth program designed by Philip Sheridan. Armies couldn't move without horses, horses couldn't move without grain so Sheridan ordered Custer to burn the mills along the Shenandoah and it's tributaries. Not stated in Custer's orders was the execution of the millers and their employees. Nearby to where I found my first mourning pin was a mill owned by the Traister family. One of the young children was shot on site. The other three were hanged just outside of Front Royal, Virginia. My family also operated a mill 40ty miles up the south fork. We had intermarried with the Traister family. My takeaway is Hurray For Sitting Bull, Hurray For Crazy Horse, Hurray for Rain Cloud! Karma is a *****!
 

Reanm8er

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You know, in looking at this thing abain I believe it might be vermeil. Rolled gold over silver. I think those two dark spots are where the gold has flaked off and has revealed the silver underneath. Still a great find!
 

Rubka888

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What an amazing find! How did this not make banner? I will throw my vote in. I can't believe some people don't think this is solid gold? Especially with that video. Don't let them bother you. This is a banner find for sure
 

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FoxHound0985

FoxHound0985

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What an amazing find! How did this not make banner? I will throw my vote in. I can't believe some people don't think this is solid gold? Especially with that video. Don't let them bother you. This is a banner find for sure

Thanks Rubka! There's no doubt in my mind, especially after testing it three times, that it's gold! I actually made another video addressing the areas that look plated, but I have misplaced the file. As soon as I find it, I'll post it on here. Thanks for the banner vote as well! It's easily my best find of the year! So far... :wink:

HH!
 

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