🥇 BANNER Solid Gold Watch With Family Connection!

staninbji

Jr. Member
Nov 26, 2016
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402
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I was detecting in a small park in Bangor, Maine the other day and got a very deep quarter signal. So imagine my surprise when this pops out! IMG_20190726_101020679_HDR.jpg IMG_20190726_101146715_HDR~2.jpg

A ladies' gold watch with the initials "RWT". After getting it home, cleaning it up and managing to pry the back off of it, the owner's name was revealed: "Ruth W. Thomas" IMG_20190727_141116095_HDR.jpg Then under the back cap, the serial number indicates that this watch was made in 1896. Using this data and a genealogy site, I found her! She was born near here in 1873 and was living in Bangor when she got married in 1899. Just as a curiosity, I decided to see if there was any connection between us.

Keep in mind that I'm from Minnesota, but my mother's side of the family was from Maine and colonial Massachusetts. It turns out that she was a distant cousin of my great-grandfather! She never had any children so I'm inclined to think that it's mine to keep. I didn't know it at the time, but I made an awesome discovery and a relic return at the same time! Thanks for looking and HH!!!
 

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xcopperstax

Silver Member
Sep 3, 2018
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Massachusetts
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Thank you! Face and glass broken from 100+ years of freezing and thawing. Insides corroded and locked up. Probably not worth restoring, but beautiful to me just the same. :)

I have no idea what the insides look like but there's this rust remover chemical that The Hoover Boys, Aquachigger and few others have demonstrated on youtube. You soak the item in it for a few days and it can work some wonders. If it runs no risk of damaging the gold I'd try it.
 

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staninbji

Jr. Member
Nov 26, 2016
92
402
All over!
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Minelab CTX 3030, Garrett AT Pro
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I have no idea what the insides look like but there's this rust remover chemical that The Hoover Boys, Aquachigger and few others have demonstrated on youtube. You soak the item in it for a few days and it can work some wonders. If it runs no risk of damaging the gold I'd try it.

I just may give that a try. Thanks for the suggestion! Here's the inside from the back.
IMG_20190727_141722523_HDR.jpg
 

Royn2751

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Jan 14, 2017
138
654
NW NJ
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Wonderful find and story. There are no coincidences.
 

smallfoot

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May 29, 2019
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Flawda
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Absolutely stunning the shape it's in...congrats!
 

Oct 5, 2014
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Killer find, story and restoration! :occasion14:
 

Cape Hunter

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May 17, 2019
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Amazing! I would have never believe finding something like that!
 

trdking

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Feb 28, 2015
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Fullerton CA
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I just may give that a try. Thanks for the suggestion! Here's the inside from the back.
View attachment 1739119
OH YEAH thats toast. If you are going to use any rust remover take the movement out of the case first! You will probably be able to clean up the bridge plates enough to get a makers mark off of it. Then you can purchase fairly easily available a vintage movement,face and hands. Cheap in a ladies size. The case does look gold to me but if you could please post pics of the marks inside the back case? Seeing 2 stories of it ringing up as a quarter? Hard to say but most of the movement is made of nickel and brass so maybe that is it? This watch has a brass train (Gears) some high end movements have gold trains but not this one :) Great find and story
 

Gene Mean

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Dec 22, 2016
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Central NJ
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Fantastic! Congrats, that must feel good finding some family relics.
 

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