Steelheadwill Inspired flats hunt nets me a couple firsts ! Maine Militia and

[MaineRelic]

T-net member steelheadwill's " aka Herbie's " streak of good finds off the flats inspired me to get my butt off the couch today and hit the low tide . I already had a site picked out on a local coastal stream. I had found this site on an earlier scouting trip , A fairly good sized flat where they used to make and fire bricks along the bank from the mid 19th century itto the early 20th century . A lot of bricks and clay firing tubes along with a fair amount of pottery and glass are visible along the bank of the stream right down into the flat, "aka" ( the dump ) . I would see if I could gleen a few non ferrous Items out of it . It started out slow with little to show after an hour of scouring the flat . Then I made an eye find of two of the bone ( I guess they are bone ) buttons Laying right on top of the muck . I ended up eye finding 4 of these total. Near these I find the spoon and then my favorite find of the day the heart heel plate. My first . I have been wanting one of these for my relic displays and this one seems to be in fine shape regardless of the harsh conditions of the flat. Next I find a Great seal overcoat button that looked pretty good till I picked it up and it dissolved in my hand . you can see the remains of it in the pics. The big copper or brass ornate hinge bracket was a pleasant surprise and was my deepest target of the day 8 to 10 inches down in the muck . It has a strange sparkly patina to it . Some other finds / big copper rivit / some bracket thingy / lead fishing weight / ect and then I get a pretty good signal and I look down to see a militia style brass button sitting right on top af the muck . It looked civil war period and I was quite pleased it stayed in one piece when I picked it up. . When I got home and gave it a little lemon bath and I was shocked to see it was a state of Maine civil war militia Buttton . It is in rough shape but way up here away from the action I'll take it ! I ended the day with the early fuel engine delivery part marked Pat Jany 15 89 and I found the leather gasket and the largest oyster shell I have ever seen ! I had a fun afternoon ! Thanks Herbie ! MaineRelic.

 

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[umrgolf]

great hunt for this time of year sweet heel plate and Maine button

 

[VOL1266-X]

Nice Finds MR. Felt good to get out didn't it? WTG and nice button, Quindy.

 

[CMDiamonddawg]

Nice hunt MR and you finally dug your Maine militia button 8) Ironic ! I found the twin brother of your ornate brass hinge a few weeks ago . Nice "steelheadwill inspired" mud flat hunt . Very cool heal plate 8) dawg

 

[MaineRelic]

great hunt for this time of year sweet heel plate and Maine button

Thank you ! It was my only option at this point of the winter ! When I first started detecting 3 years ago , This is the start of my fourth year . I never thought It would be a year round hobbie Yet I will have hunted every month of the year last year and it looks like this year will be no different ! M.R.

 

[MaineRelic]

Nice hunt MR and you finally dug your Maine militia button 8) Ironic ! I found the twin brother of your ornate brass hinge a few weeks ago . Nice "steelheadwill inspired" mud flat hunt . Very cool heal plate 8) dawg

Thanks Dawg ! It felt good to get out ! And yes that Maine CW Militia button and the heart heel plate made my January ! I was in full swing by the end of febuary last year . I Hope this year as well ! I wish you many small and faint 2 way signals this season and beyond ! MaineRelic

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Love the spoon and the brass hinge plate!
Very nice finds! Kudos to Herbie!

Dave

 

[HCW]

That's one hell of a oyster shell!

 

[Deepdiger60]

Great early finds that copper lady of the evening heel plate i love i have 2 of those with the heart , man that is a stewing oyster for sure 4 more you gotta meal Good hunt Jim

 

[ModernMiner]

Great variety Maine.
I'm loving that heel plate.
Congrats,
MM

 

[MKnTenn]

Re: Steelheadwill Inspired flats hunt nets me a couple firsts ! Maine Militia

Nice finds! I really like those heal plates with designs. HH

 

[steelheadwill]

Great Stuff MaineRelic !
Super Muffin button
Still looking for one of those
Glad to see that heelplate, First I've seen
As you see, conditions of different items from the mud can vary.
Occasionally you pull a well preserved piece.
I know that sparkly finish, when you first expose them they shine like crystals,
then fade somewhat after exposure to the air.
like they were exposed to an acid bath.
I learned a lot from your post, always thought those buttons were plastic
Congrats on your Finds
more Great Digs to You! herbie

 

[Woodland Detectors]

The flat masters! Nice finds

 

[dumpdigger68]

Nice finds! You were lucky to get out. I've been thinking about hitting flats around here but the Penobscot and tributaries are froze up tight. The only sign of low tide being the jumbled up piles of ice. I'm almost desperate anough to throw a handfull of pennies out back just to hear a "beep" but hate the snow too much to do any extra shoveling! Happy hunting and hope you get out again soon!

 

[Damon64]

Neat relics!

 

[HEAVYMETALNUT]

nice hunt! have ya dug a clover heel plate yet? cool lookin hinge half