Old Copper Culture Spear Point

MICHIGANJAY

Sr. Member
Dec 28, 2006
297
14
MI
Detector(s) used
V3i, MXT, Equinox, Excal. 10, Ultra 1000
Primary Interest:
Other
Hello everybody. I just got back from my annual cross-country “Michigan Adventure” and I have spent the last 32 days on the open road exploring whatever my heart desired and wherever my Jeep could take me. I took along both land and water detectors, scoops, bike, and inflatable seaeagle kayak to complete my adventures. On my travels, I found plenty of treasure, jewelry, and long forgotten relics, however, I was not prepared for the ancient artifact I discovered when I finally reached Michigan. My most exciting find was this Old Copper Culture socketed spear-point. It was found on a friends wooded lot, about 10 feet from the edge of the forest and was soundly detected by the MXT at 9 inches underground. It was wedged in-between two tree roots and when it was unearthed it measured 4 1/8 inches and has a speck of silver on the center of one side (not sure of the weight just yet.) .

When I got back to the Jeep after finding it (sorry-no shots from the field), I was covered in dirt up to my elbow and across part of my face….It didn’t mater I’m sure glad I decided to be persistent and dig that copper signal that turned out to be a North American artifact that rivals the age of ancient Egypt. Research shows that this spear point could potentially be 7000 years old. Wow- I carefully cleaned it with H2o and saved some of the organic material to see if I can someday get carbon dated. ::) It looks like there might be some more wood in the socket. This archaic spear-point is definitely a piece of equipment any pre-bronze age hunter living in Northern Michigan would want to have in their assortment of survival gear. I'm glad its in my collection.

After finding such a great piece, everything else was just fun to find. I found 26 Wheaties (oldest 1927), scored a dime trifecta (1905 Barber, 4 Mercs, 2 Rosies), two silver necklaces, silver heart chain bracelet, five silver rings, a gold(?) pandora charm, a 1933 Ford token "30 years of Progress", and a 1963 CESKOSLOVENSKA 1 KORUNA coin with a woman planting on one side and a lion crest on the other (Joepher-you know where I got that one), Insurence co. charm, and a alpha chi omega accessory. Since I was getting out almost every chance I could, I also managed to find $79.88 is clad and also a Watch Fob with a Native American chief drawing back a bow- I gave this special piece away to family member who is getting interested in the hobby/lifestyle. I had an absolute blast on my trip and one things for sure.... I plan on keepin' the adventures rollin'! Happy Hunting--J.

P.S. Special Thanks to Joepher for the V.I.P trip to MI's 6th Great Lake - you practically stumble over treasure Joe. Also, Dan L.-Thanks for the lake--Get a quality scoop & Good Luck with the New Detector (let me know how summer treats you.) Thanks to U.P. Bill for the good hunt and great regional advice. Tommy with the Excal, I hope ya see this....and Carl and the guys I met today in CO. good to see ya in the field, maybe we'll met again -thanks for the motivation to post- I also managed to go on a few hunts with my dad and we found a couple keepers too...Of course he already found his "big one" see....
youtube.com/watch?v=Erlb9xpdJIs to watch him rub it in on me on Bonny Hunt Show.
j.
 

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Upvote 2
OP
OP
MICHIGANJAY

MICHIGANJAY

Sr. Member
Dec 28, 2006
297
14
MI
Detector(s) used
V3i, MXT, Equinox, Excal. 10, Ultra 1000
Primary Interest:
Other
Thanks Joe -- I'm glad everyone is as excited as I am!!! At first I equivaleted this find to a Roman or Greek Spear Point, but this is quit possibly much older then those civilizations. Older then the Aztec, Inca, or Maya. It is could quit possibly be older then any empire, most religions, or cultures that we study today. There are definately alot of things to reflect on when holding a relic like this. J.

To top it off... Whites contacted me & said they are going to run my story in print too...sounds good!
 

Bigcypresshunter

Gold Member
Dec 15, 2004
27,000
3,338
South Florida
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70's Whites TM Amphibian, HH Pulse, Ace 250
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Beach & Shallow Water Hunting
MichiganJay said:
Thanks Joe -- I'm glad everyone is as excited as I am!!! At first I equivaleted this find to a Roman or Greek Spear Point, but this is quit possibly much older then those civilizations. Older then the Aztec, Inca, or Maya. It is could quit possibly be older then any empire, most religions, or cultures that we study today. There are definately alot of things to reflect on when holding a relic like this. J.

To top it off... Whites contacted me & said they are going to run my story in print too...sounds good!
Congratulations!!
 

Jon Stewart

Bronze Member
Jan 11, 2011
1,029
931
Great find!!


Last winter I attended the gold show in El paso. there were several detector sales reps there. I was looking hard at the gold rush and had a good talk with the sales rep. He was from wisconson and said that he has found over 100 copper artifacts by detecting along the Wisconson/Michigan border. His only hint to me was, don't over look creek beds and swamp land around flowing water.
 

Chocadog

Sr. Member
Feb 3, 2010
279
6
Roanoke, Virginia
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Cibola, Minelab Safari, Garrett GTI2000, Garrett250
This has got be one of the neatest finds I have seen in the US. I hope that you have a reputable museum give you an exact description of this piece, it has so many possibilities, Congrats, great find :icon_thumright:
 

hikeinmts

Bronze Member
Dec 13, 2008
1,268
30
South Korea
Detector(s) used
Cobra II/Minelab Sovereign
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Due to the "Mongolian Spot" that all North and South American Indians have, we know that the first inhabitants
of the U.S. came from the ancient Mongolian civilization in Asia.....the same civilization that filled Korea and Japan with
their people. This civilization must have been some tough customers, as they were travelors/explorers on the equal
with any.
Have you run this point against "Ancient Mongolian artifacts," via Google.com or any of the other search engines?
Could pin down some history of the point.
Now, I AM JEALOUS!!!! How in the world did you manage 30 days off? I'm lucky to get a couple of days in a row.
(I must be doing something wrong.....:( )......keep it up, I really am happy for you, and just wish I had the time. :thumbsup:
 

Michiganne

Silver Member
Mar 27, 2007
4,402
550
SW Michigan
Detector(s) used
Explorer SE
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Congrats MJ on the find of a lifetime! :hello2: :hello2: :hello2: That is one beautiful piece of history. Sounds like you had a great trip and found lots of neat relics. Congrats on making the Banner, too. :thumbsup:

HH
 

Valley Ranger

Silver Member
Mar 24, 2011
2,515
1,368
Shenandoah Valley
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
Minelab Equinox 800, Garrett AT Pro (2), Makro Racer 2, Garrett AT Pinpointer (2)
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
Great adventure and terrific find - the MXT scores again!! Thanks for sharing with us.
 

JW15

Bronze Member
Apr 12, 2011
1,179
8
Detector(s) used
Minelab Xterra 705 w/DD coil Backup- 505,305.
Wow!!! :o Better late then never...Banner! :headbang: :notworthy: Definitely one for the display case there!
 

ZINCLID

Full Member
Apr 2, 2010
169
4
ALABAMA
Detector(s) used
Mostly Tesoro units-I've owned five of them--but I've used Whites,Fishers,Garretts,Nautilus, Minelab, and Detex.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
That's a really good find---may be worth big bucks!
 

GioTheGreek

Bronze Member
Sep 12, 2009
1,281
859
Hades
Detector(s) used
XP DÉUS, Minelab E-TRAC, Pro-Pointer, Hawk-like Vision, Receding Hairline
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Impressive, sir! That's the first time I've seen anything like it.

I vote banner as well.
 

steelheadwill

Gold Member
Jan 2, 2010
6,689
715
New Castle NH.
🥇 Banner finds
1
Detector(s) used
Brain eyes ears and nose
Primary Interest:
Other
Can't say enough about the importance of that Copper Find :o
Great story! congrats on your banner pre historic Find :D
 

Bum Luck

Silver Member
May 24, 2008
3,482
1,282
Wisconsin
Detector(s) used
Teknetics T2SE, GARRETT GTI 2500, Garrett Infinium
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Great find!

The Archies are jealous now!
 

CMDiamonddawg

Silver Member
Oct 14, 2009
4,498
974
Jersey Cape
Detector(s) used
Fisher 1265X & CZ-7
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
allen said:
I knew that would be on the banner really fast, congrats !!!
Allen , you voted and the spear made banner . Faster than any find up there . I guess a historically significant copper culture relic only needs one or 2 votes . :wink: Very rare find indeed :o Congrats from CMD
 

DIGDIG

Full Member
Nov 23, 2009
189
41
Space Coast/Florida
Detector(s) used
WHITES SURF P.I.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Awsome find! I would have a historian or curator look at that spear tip.

The bracelet looks much like a Tiffany, see if it says T & Co. on it anywhere. if it is you should see a 925 stamp on it also.
A women I work with wears the same one but I'm sure the are spin-offs like with everything.
 

OP
OP
MICHIGANJAY

MICHIGANJAY

Sr. Member
Dec 28, 2006
297
14
MI
Detector(s) used
V3i, MXT, Equinox, Excal. 10, Ultra 1000
Primary Interest:
Other
- Thanks for all the great replies about this ancient Spear Point. If everyday could be just as good! (Yesterday I only found 27 cents & also broke my gear up in the mtns) That's the name of the game. JonStewart- you are right in your response, don't overlook these marshy areas. The brush/thicket in Northern Michigan is hard to meander through, but often times once you get into undergrowth, it seems to open up. The area I was in was the edge of a somewhat marshy area on one side, and the forest on the other (within stones throw from the river). In June, the weeds were to my knee-and when I went back in July... the weeds were over my head. Hikeinmns- I will continue to do research on this artifact and I will keep you updated on my discoveries. I'm in the process of getting the artifact authenticated, dated, ect. Thanks Again Everyone for the great responses and encouragement, this has been the find of a lifetime....so far and I really enjoy your comments. Feel free to contact me about this find or any other great adventures !!!

Keep it Up! MJ
 

chkn

Hero Member
Apr 12, 2010
713
145
Oh man, I would have thought that old spearpoint was some type of garden trawl. I have one of those old V8 tokens! My dad found it years ago doing the gardening at our house. :thumbsup: :coffee2:
 

worldtalker

Gold Member
May 11, 2011
21,058
29,159
Western Mass.
Detector(s) used
XP Deus
Primary Interest:
Other
MichiganJay,Here's a pic of the same GOLD I found water M/Din,man that copper is a MAGNIFICENT piece and find!I'm not a bettin man,but,i'll bet you'll not find another one of those!
 

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