newbie question

[funkman]

hello all,

I've always wanted a metal detector and a co-worker bought one for his son to use on vactaion. Well a few years later it sits in his basement and he finally dragged it out to let me try. 10 seconds after I turned it and scanning the ground on the side of my house I heard that wonderful beeping sound. My daughter was with me and now she is hooked. We pinpointed roughly where the object was and after digging a hole and sifting through the dirt with our hands we came up with a square nail. It had a little rust on it but you could make out that it was a square nail. Searching a little more produced a peice of tin or aluminum and a roofing nail that was also rusted. That was last night. This morning we wnet in the backyard where we had a pool that commited poolicide (split) and had this flat open area where it was. Out we are with th MD and produced a few more nails and also a very rusted wrench. No coins yet but still looking.

Anyway, onto the question.......considering the amount of rust that is one the objects, could that be an indication of how old the object is or anything that is able to rust will rust within a short amount of time?

Can't wait to try the MD by a stream by the house where an old stone gate post of some sort is. It is a pretty tall post, about 5 feet tall and 2 foot square wide (rough guess).

Will keep you posted on more important finds, but wanted to know about the rust.

Thanks in advance.

The Funkman (NY)

 

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[wmas1960]

I am no expert on the subject but I would think there are a lot of factors that could work toward the rust on the nail. What it was made of, how much moisture the area gets and so on. Items that will rust, will probably rust pretty quick. Not looking at the nail(s) I don't know but being that they are square, could tell you something of their age also. How old is the house or any other buildings around. Could the nails be something that worked their way out of something old.

Have fun with the detector but be careful. It can get addicting. If you want some fun and a chance to find coins and such, take a close look at the area and try to imagine what went on there over the years. Especially, search the areas where people would have mingled around or been active. Note places where kids might have played or where clothes might have been hung to dry. Certain areas might turn up certain types of things. Back in days before our modern banks or during and right after the depression, people used to put money or valuables in containers and bury them for a rainy day. They may not have trusted banks or whatever. Unfortunately someone dies or moves away and gets old and forgets where they burried items or never told anyone of their stash. Look for areas that might be in view of the house so they could have kept an eye on things and where there might be some established land mark for the items to be relocated. A large tree in the middle of the yard maybe. Perhaps the fence post by the stream. Inside the stones on a wall, near a well etc. Maybe under a big rock placed in a garden. Maybe in the garden. I have heard of many places and it is fun reading all the stories of old. Like burying coffee cans full of cash in the pens with farm animals or near where you would chain your large dog. Idea being that if anyone tries to retrieve the items, the animals will make a racket. Some people used to drop containers with valuables in the out house thinking who would go so far as to take things from there.

I don't know how old your place is but just some fun things to think about. I hope it is that old that you can have some good fun with your daughter.

 

[funkman]

thanks for the quick reply. The house was built in the 1920's. There is a wide filed next door that has an old baseball cage (cage behind the batter) will definately check there.

funkman

 

[wmas1960]

Again, I am not that experienced with the history of nails or anything but the fact that you mentioned square nails seems old to me. Maybe older than 1920. Sounds similar to where I live. Our house wasn't built till the 1950s but other houses on our street were built around 1920. Construction of our sub division was interrupted by the depression and WWII After the war, construction picked up again and a lot of the then vacant lots were built up.

Prior to the subdivision of the land in around 1920, it was farmland that was cultivated by German Imigrant farmers. The area was part of a town that no longer exists. The area was very dry, (NO ALCOHOL) except for this town that allowed taverns along their main street. The liquor businesses were a big part of their economy. During prohibition, a lot of their tax base died off as the taverns had to close and all. Eventually, it is said that the town couldn't pay some of their bills and disbanded and was annexed to a couple of other area towns. It was then, that developers from Chicago came up and started developing the land around me.

I would go to your local library, or historical society. Go to your city/village hall and see if you can find old maps that pre date your neighborhood. Find out what was there before your house. Could be that some stuff that you are finding was part of something that was there previously. Also, by getting an idea of where other things were, say an old barn or original farm house... was, you might then know of some specific areas around the property to search. Sometimes your historical society might even have pictures of your property that pre-date your house. That could really be fun. How old is your daughter? This could be the perfect educational project to go and teach her the value and techniques of good research. Might be something that will help her later in her education as well as helping you with your search.

 

[funkman]

Funny you should mention research! I was just looking at the library of Congress website http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/gmdhtml/citymapgeogindex1.html
and they have a couple of maps for my area. They had some from 1880's but my section of town was not in the city borders yet. They had a 1922 one that does have my section in it and my house is not there yet (it is only a drawing but does not show a house on my end of the block). The really strange thing is that if I compare that map to goole map of today, I find that there is a street that ran right next to my property that no longer is there today. If I speculate further, the stone post that I mentioned that is down by a stream, it would have been right where that road would have been. Pretty neat!!. Will definately have to search that area.

Funkman

p.s. my son and daughter are both 11, but she seems more interested.....boys do get bored easily.