Old Yard produces interesting finds

Gen. Breckinridge

Jr. Member
Feb 26, 2007
94
1
Southwest Virginia
Detector(s) used
White's MXT SunRay DX-1 Garrett ACE 250, Fisher VLF-555D Pro, Fisher VLF-552D
A friend of mine had a house for sale that was built back in the 1920s. He gladly granted us permission to hunt the yard and so Dean and I set out for a day of detecting. Although we found no silver we did find some interesting items and a few wheats. The round tags are a puzzle and i will probably list them in the What is it section if no one knows that sees this post. The steel "Knucks" were an interesting find and Dean found a 1930 Worlds Fair coin/token about the size of a silver dollar. Sorry I don't have pictures of his stuff.
 

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mountainplayer

Hero Member
Oct 10, 2006
611
22
Way Northern California
Detector(s) used
Ace 250 & Minelab EX2
Nice finds, General. Others on this forum are much more knowledgeable than me, so you'll probably get an id on the round tags.

To me, though, they look like the tags that miners use to either mark tools or to show that they are/are not, in the mine. With the same number on all of them, I think its a safe bet that the guy who lived in that house was miner 1081.

MP
 

birdman

Gold Member
Jan 28, 2005
7,458
2,393
Choctaw Beach Florida
🥇 Banner finds
1
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
Equinox 800 and ORX, tesoro Cibola with garret,whites and minelab pinpointers
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting

Wardster

Jr. Member
Dec 21, 2006
53
19
Kingston, Ohio
Detector(s) used
White's DFX
I found a few of those in Kentucky at the house where my dad grew up. I was told they were tags for livestock (cows/pigs).

-Wardster
 

foxtonames

Jr. Member
May 21, 2007
20
1
Northwest Oregon
Detector(s) used
Minelab Explorer XS
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Way cool stuff. Especially the "knucks"! Don't get caught with them though in Oregon; they're illegal. Probably in many other states as well. ;)
Foxtonames
 

Ridley

Bronze Member
Jan 6, 2004
1,972
11
North Carolina
Detector(s) used
White's Classic SLII and the E series DFX and the Minelab ExplorerII
Whatever those tags are, now you have an entire collection!

They look pretty old. If you find out what the original owner of the house did for a living it might give you a clue. See if there's any old timers in town who knew the guy.

Good stuff!



Ridley
 

dkw

Sr. Member
Jul 8, 2006
340
0
SW MO
Detector(s) used
Fisher F75, Tesoro Deleon, Ace 250
Do my eyes deceive me or are there a couple of 43's among those wheats?

I still use tags like the ones you found. Anytime I need a set of keys, tool or piece of equipment I have to trade a "chit" for it.
 

OP
OP
Gen. Breckinridge

Gen. Breckinridge

Jr. Member
Feb 26, 2007
94
1
Southwest Virginia
Detector(s) used
White's MXT SunRay DX-1 Garrett ACE 250, Fisher VLF-555D Pro, Fisher VLF-552D
Thanks for all of you how have commented. I forgot to mention that I found eleven of the tags in the same hole, a cache of sorts I guess! The other one, not marked 1081, was found in another place.

Yes there was a 43 penny in the bunch in exceptional condition. I cleaned the steel coin a bit before the pictures were taken. Two girl scout pins were in the bunch as well as a really bent up ring. I'll try and get a picture of Dean's Worlds Fair token and post it. I though it was exceptional... by the way that is Dean in the last picture.

Looks like you guys saying miners tags are winning the race and TeddyB1967s link closed the case on it. We live about 100 miles from the coal mines of Virginia and West Virginia but years ago many from here worked in the mines and stayed there for the week and came home on the weekends. I was thinking cattle tags myself but I ask a cousin who has been in the cattle business for years and they didn't ring any bells for him.
 

piggman1

Silver Member
Apr 7, 2007
3,120
5
Austin, TX
Detector(s) used
Whites Eagle Spectrum, Compass X-100, Whites Beach Hunter ID, 2 Whites Spectrum XLT's
Some great miners tags and other cool stuff. I like those knuckles.
 

nebstater

Hero Member
Jul 24, 2007
912
8
Star City
Detector(s) used
White's - DFX,Prizm V, Spectra V3
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Some interesting finds. I am going to disagree with the identification of the round tags as being miner's tags. I have found several of those tags here in Nebraska, and they are always around trees. I think that they are attached to the young trees and are set into the ground when they are planted. As the tree growns, the gunny sack containing the dirt around the roots, rots and disappears. The tags are attached to the gunny sacks, and they naturally stay in the ground. I believe the number that is stamped on the tag has something to do with the type of tree that is being planted, or a number that is given to a group of trees before they are planted. I know that we don't have mines here in Nebraska, and I find those tags is different parks all over Lincoln. This is just my 2 cents worth, and you can do with it what you will.
 

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