What kind of Relic makes you the happiest to find?

I know a gentleman that builds all Copper Moonshine Stills and sells them to companies that legally produce Moonshine to sell. He also makes Moonshine as a hobby to give to friends and relatives but he himself does not drink whatsoever. Making Moonshine is a part of his family's history back as far as the late 1800s or early 1900s. I drank quite a bit of Moonshine when I was younger and don't particularly care for the taste of the Moonshine he makes (don't tell him that) as I believe he filters it through charcoal but I don't think he filters again to remove the charcoal residue which really has a nasty bite.

That is awesome! I wouldn't like the charcoal taste either...Apple Pie is my favorite.

I tried Moonshine the first time in the hills of WV...Typical of what anyone thinks about when thinking of 'shine makers. I had no idea where I was and they didn't let me know then either! Friends of friend kind of thing. My father had told me how to test it before ever drinking it. Ha! I lit it up and it was fine but I still had them drink it first! lol!

Both sides of my family made it still after immigrating here...and wine and beer so it wasn't really foreign to me and probably fueled my interest in prohibition era hunting. It was a way of life for many and still is for some.

I love finding old still and distribution sites. In the country, I've found still parts and jars, Indian artifacts and CW relics on the same land, very close together...For me it doesn't get any better than that. My 3 favorite finds!

Kace
 

Buttons!

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I enjoyed digging a 180+ year old crotal bell from beneath a 10" deep tree root, rinsing the clay out of it, and being the first person to ring it in almost two centuries.

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I'd upload the 4-second clip of me ringing the bell for the first time, if there were a way to upload movies. It sounds sweet though, trust me.

Crotal bells are my absolute favorite thing to find. Theres just something about cleaning up a relic and having it still work and make sound.
 

Dirtlooter, this was a good post. I enjoy like the others here finding anything from the War of Northern Aggression. A Minnie ball although not a stellar find, is a part of our History and that war. I'll never complain on any relic found. One of the top of my Bucket List finds would be an Eagle Breast Plate in that I have always thought them to look cool, as I love eagles. Another would be a Confetrit' Georgia state seal button or a Block I Infantry button. I enjoy finding anything Confetrit', as they are so much more scarce to find. One of my favorite things to find though is what has been mentioned and that is personal finds such as buttons or carved bullets where an encampment would have been. When you find personal things, you wonder all sort of things, like doing a report concerning the relic found: Who, What, When, Where, and Why.
 

There are literally thousands of targets in the soil on my' property but a bad back from an injury in the U.S. Army and bad knees have prevented me from really spending much time in pursuit of what has been lost on my' property.

Hey now, some rickety knees and a bad back aren't enough to knock ya out of the fight, you just need a shovel that you can sit on!

Git 'er DUG!!!:laughing7:

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And what about pinpointing? Well, the 'ole "Carrot on a stick" isn't just for vegetables! :laughing7:

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You guys have let me down.

No one has said "my wife".

You guys are smarter than me or have one mean wife.
 

Golden horseshoes... But GA Boy dug 3 out from under me. Still one to go.
 

Military buttons....political buttons too.DSCN0626.jpg
 

Haven't found any (yet) so purchasing has been my only option, but the Native American "Old Copper Complex" (Copper Culture) artifacts made from pure native copper are just about my absolute favorite potential detecting finds. It's different in "the old world" where copper and early bronze items are found frequently enough, but in North America the possibility of detecting metal artifacts as old or older than the Pyramids is pretty awesome.

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In my short time as a detectorist I'd say my favorite thing to find is old coins 1700's, but I really appreciate relics that can be identified and researched and tell a story.
 

Favorite relic find was a nearly 200 y/o engraved silver bracelet with an open clasp, looking like it had just been dropped, with an engraved name on it. Easy research showed she was born there in early 1800's.
 

My Car KEYS LOL
 

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