halfdime
Silver Member
Last week, I got permission to search the grounds around an old house in the area and was also allowed to search inside. The house is going to be burned by the fire department in the near future and I wanted to retrieve any treasures that might be hidden inside. Sadly, I discovered quickly that someone beat me to the outside 
. Hey, it was an obvious target and I have to give credit to whoever recognized it as such. Inside, I had better luck. Last week, I found almost two dozen marbles under the hearth. Figuring that only kids would pull such a stunt, I concluded that there were probably other round (and flat) treasures to be had. I had lifted off the rectangular stone from in front of the fireplace and taken off the mantle and woodwork. Under the stone was a bit of plaster for leveling and sand for insulation and also support. I brought a screen and plastic trash barrel and started scooping, then sifting. Early on, a Jefferson nickel confirmed that there would indeed be other treasure. Shortly after that, this 1897 Barber dime appeared; unfortunately, it has no mintmark 
. An O or S would have dramatically increased this little fella's value! I managed this Ford car key and a few more marbles before the pile was sifted. Where did I put the sifted sand, you ask? Why in the bathtub, of course! Later on, I moved around the house, checking floorboards and whatnot. I found one that looked like it had been removed before so I did the logical thing: I pried it off. Believe it or not, it spanned three joists and there was something of interest in all three spaces. One, a Jefferson nickel. Two, a scrambled deck of playing cards. In the third, the hairy back of a sleeping raccoon! I wish I had my camera for that one! I almost forgot to mention the coin from Israel and a 1919 wheat that is warped as if it had been heated in the fire.
When I got home, there was a message on the answering machine: a woman wants to do a story on my hobby for a local magazine! Hopefully, that will open up some more search areas
. Hey, it was an obvious target and I have to give credit to whoever recognized it as such. Inside, I had better luck. Last week, I found almost two dozen marbles under the hearth. Figuring that only kids would pull such a stunt, I concluded that there were probably other round (and flat) treasures to be had. I had lifted off the rectangular stone from in front of the fireplace and taken off the mantle and woodwork. Under the stone was a bit of plaster for leveling and sand for insulation and also support. I brought a screen and plastic trash barrel and started scooping, then sifting. Early on, a Jefferson nickel confirmed that there would indeed be other treasure. Shortly after that, this 1897 Barber dime appeared; unfortunately, it has no mintmark . An O or S would have dramatically increased this little fella's value! I managed this Ford car key and a few more marbles before the pile was sifted. Where did I put the sifted sand, you ask? Why in the bathtub, of course! Later on, I moved around the house, checking floorboards and whatnot. I found one that looked like it had been removed before so I did the logical thing: I pried it off. Believe it or not, it spanned three joists and there was something of interest in all three spaces. One, a Jefferson nickel. Two, a scrambled deck of playing cards. In the third, the hairy back of a sleeping raccoon! I wish I had my camera for that one! I almost forgot to mention the coin from Israel and a 1919 wheat that is warped as if it had been heated in the fire.When I got home, there was a message on the answering machine: a woman wants to do a story on my hobby for a local magazine! Hopefully, that will open up some more search areas
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