Lost Picnic Grove & 100 Year Old Merc

[Wildcat1750]

Winter has been good so far and the ground is still soft. The site is a wooded lot in upstate NY where once a picnic grove existed in the early 1900s. Although the day was wet and damp I was not disappointed.

Early on I found the wedding band. At first it looked great to me but later inspection revealed that it was plated. Still a ring is a ring! There is a weld mark so I suspect that it may have been re-sized. I also found a creepy monkey ring that was made in Hong Kong.

I found a half dozen Wheat Cents scattered about and then the 2 Mercs. The 1916 still had close to uncirculated details when it was dropped but the soil treated it very poorly. It’s unusual to see such pitting/corrosion with silver. Both dimes were at the base of tree trunks.

The Phoenix Pilsner Beer cap was pretty exciting too. That’s evidence you would expect to find at a local picnic ground.

Lastly the huge key looks to be from big clock perhaps, or some other mechanical device?

Thanks for Looking!
Nick

 

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[trapperart]

Nice assortment of finds congrats on the silver and other finds

 

[DannyB.]

Fantastic assortment.. I would say that is definitely a clock key; is the inside square?

Keep looking; I bet there is a lot more there. No pulltabs!?

I've yet to find a site that old..

 

[Wildcat1750]

Nice assortment of finds congrats on the silver and other finds

Thanks, trappercart!

Fantastic assortment.. I would say that is definitely a clock key; is the inside square?

Keep looking; I bet there is a lot more there. No pulltabs!?

I've yet to find a site that old..

Thanks, DannyB.. Yes the inside is a 3/16"x3/16" square and there is some embellishment ringing the midway point. Not many pulltabs but a lot of other junk. I think the site was abandoned in the late 40s and became a wooded lot after nearby housing was built. I found a 1907 Barber Dime here on an earlier visit.

 

[Cal_Cobra]

What mint mark is that 1916 Merc? If it's a Denver mint mark, you hit a home run!

HH,
Cal

 

[Wildcat1750]

What mint mark is that 1916 Merc? If it's a Denver mint mark, you hit a home run!

HH,
Cal

That was the first thing I checked for, Cal_Cobra! I was hoping for that 1916-D. Unfortunately what you see is just a smudge.

 

[K1DDO1979]

Hilarious. I found the same creepy monkey ring before. I posted it on here somewhere and someone found some info on them! Haha
Nice finds! [emoji2][emoji106]

 

[Professor of Engineering]

You had a great day out, congratulations!

 

[BigWaveDave]

IMO, the monkey ring is ridiculously awesome.

 

[tomhighland]

Congratulations on a great hunt and very good finds.

 

[Wildcat1750]

Hilarious. I found the same creepy monkey ring before. I posted it on here somewhere and someone found some info on them! Haha
Nice finds! [emoji2][emoji106]

That is too funny, K1DDO1979! BTW, the creepy monkey ring was under an old jacket that was buried beneath the surface, and yes I checked all the pockets just in case.

You had a great day out, congratulations!

Thanks, Professor! It was hard to quit and go home.

IMO, the monkey ring is ridiculously awesome.

Thanks, BigWaveDave! It certainly does grow on you.

Congratulations on a great hunt and very good finds.

Thanks, tomhighland!

 

[highnam]

I'm with bigwavedave...kinda diggin that monkey ring.

 

[Wildcat1750]

I'm with bigwavedave...kinda diggin that monkey ring.

I agree, highnam - The monkey has been elevated to the status of Supreme Avatar.

 

[BigWaveDave]

All hail the hideous monkey!

 

[K1DDO1979]

I agree, highnam - The monkey has been elevated to the status of Supreme Avatar.

Your monkey is supreme to the one I found. I only had part of it! Haha