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

[FoxHound0985]

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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[adit]

Beautiful find !
Nice piece of history .

 

[Argentium]

Incredible find ! Looks like some tiny stones are missing from their settings - though it's a longshot I might be inclined to go back to the hole and take away a 5 gallon bucket of dirt to sift or pan for the stones- not because they are valuable , just the idea of restoring as much as possible.

 

[Hawks88]

That’s an amazing piece and it’s gold!!!. Congrats

 

[bonepicker]

Always nice to dig civil war bullets. You sure that is gold? Looks like it might be plated heavily, with a little missing here and there.

 

[FoxHound0985]

Always nice to dig civil war bullets. You sure that is gold? Looks like it might be plated heavily, with a little missing here and there.

Yep, I'm positive. It tests between 14 and 18 karat. The spots that appear to be "missing" is the solder marks on the back and there is some kind of stone set in the flower vase and one of the flowers.

 

[diggerranger]

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[Relicific]

That’s a banner find
Congrats

 

[bonepicker]

Only reason I asked is there are places on the front and back that look like they are missing the plating.

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Fantastic jewelry find!

 

[A2coins]

Nice piece

 

[A2coins]

definitely plated awesome find

 

[FoxHound0985]

definitely plated awesome find

As stated earlier, it has been tested. It does not react with 14k solution, but disappears with 18k solution. What you're seeing on the front is some kind of stone or other material that was set in the flowers, the bottom left and right is a black inlay that is missing from the top left and top right, and the back of piece has solder on the top and bottom where a pin once was.

 

[Whyme]

Wow awesome find!

 

[A2coins]

Sorry I vote Banner that is killer good job

 

[Argentium]

The more I look at this piece , the more impressed I am with the detailed workmanship ! It also appears to be more of a "one off" than a large production piece ( small scale benchworked) Also it clearly shows green , red , and yellow gold alloys - this a good bit of goldsmithing - I too think banner is well deserved here !

 

[Rookster]

Awesome find. Congrats

 

[dirtlooter]

pretty awesome piece, this ought to be Banner material for sure

 

[FoxHound0985]

Sorry I vote Banner that is killer good job

Thank you! If I can find my loupe, I'll take some pics of those spots. The pics from my cell phone just don't do it justice. In person, whatever is in the flower and vase has a very deep purple color to it. I can't figure out what it is for sure. The inlay in the square behind the vase looks to be onyx, or at least a very sleek black enamel.

 

[FoxHound0985]

The more I look at this piece , the more impressed I am with the detailed workmanship ! It also appears to be more of a "one off" than a large production piece ( small scale benchworked) Also it clearly shows green , red , and yellow gold alloys - this a good bit of goldsmithing - I too think banner is well deserved here !

I agree! Whoever made this definitely knew what they were doing. I didn't even notice the detail around the edges until I was taking pictures of it. I love handmade jewelry. Each piece is like a snowflake in the detail and no two are the same!