Western & Eastern Treasures Magazine

A single "urban canyon" search yielded hundreds of coins, as well as tokens, jewelry, keys, and other collectibles.

The silty water swirled around the concrete crevice, dissipating slowly as we watched intently. Nothing appeared. Again the attempt was made to rake out the contents of the stone opening. The large modified screwdriver, with its angled tooth, went in and out of the crevice, moving more and more debris away from the mysterious contents at the bottom. Each dig created new clouds of silt.

Six inches down, staring up from the bottom of the crack, through now-clear water, was what looked like a 6" knot of heavy cable. It must be refuse from the telephone poles nearby, but shouldn't a piece of wrapped steel cable be rusted, corroded, or somewhat dingy? A little rubbing caused a bit of light luster to come through, and suddenly we saw the words "Sterling Tiffany & Co." stamped into the metal! In our hands we had over a full pound of sterling silver! Apparently someone had lost an ornamental silver cable square knot made as a paperweight.

This closeup shows the "Tiffany & Co. - Sterling - Mexico" hallmark on the silver cable knot.

This find was just one of many resulting from an idea that my father came up with years ago.

My brother David and I have been treasure hunting for a number of years now, our children have grown up with the hobby, and all of us have been continually thrilled with the fascinating things we've recovered over the years. The kids have become experts in the types of hunting we've done at homesites, schoolyards, parks, camps, and dumps. They have also become adept at searching creeks, lakes, ponds, some river areas, and the many good swimming locales nearby.

One day as we were talking about new places to metal detect, places where no one had ever gone, the conversation shifted to the city itself and how various sites have changed over the years-except for one. It might have been repaired, altered minutely, or added to, but essentially it had not changed much at all. The treasure chat continued until we recalled something our father had told us about.

Gary, David, Connie, and Alan explore a 1920s tunnel behind an old train station.

When the state fair came to town back in the late '40s, as it still does today, the debris dropped by patrons would be washed toward the curbs, along them, and into the storm drains by the winter and spring rains that followed. Dad would pick up many of the coins, trinkets, and even jewelry items that he saw on the ground; but many would elude him, he felt, when they got to those rain runoff receptacles. Eureka! We had the concept that could send us in a new treasure hunting direction.

The next weekend we planned to hit the nearest storm drains and concrete drainage ditches. Unfortunately, when it arrived, David and his son Alan couldn't go. So, two of my sons and I decided to scout it alone, returning later with results that might show us how worthwhile this type of hunting might be for all of us.

Half a foot long and weighing over a pound, the massive sterling silver cable knot remains Gary's favorite find.

We went to a now-concreted ditch dated 1954, that was a creek when I was a boy. The metal detector that we brought soon proved useless as vast masses of rebar and reinforcement mesh overloaded the electronics. So, as the boys, Robert and Timmy, looked on, I began scraping out the first expansion joint with my digging knife. Mixed with the sand and gravel piling up outside of the crevice were some of the typical cast-off items such as broken glass, nails, screws, bolts, bullets, razor blades, and a vast assortment of habitation trash. However, once the water cleared, we could also see small stacks of coins wedged in the rock spaces!

As we raked those out, we found a great many more beneath! The next few expansion joints would prove to be a repeat of the first, often showing coins near the surface even before we began scratching with tools. The boys were excited, and I was flabbergasted! I wished David and Alan could be here to see this.

Drains, ditches, and tunnels might not seem too glamorous, but how about diamonds, emeralds, amethysts, and gold? That's where Gary found them!

We worked with the current, allowing the silt clouds to flow down and away from us, making it easier to retrieve the "crevice caches." Each joint, crack, crevice, and broken space we explored that day yielded more and more treasures.

In less than three hours, we had recovered 381 coins, many tokens, and a few pieces of jewelry. We reported our better than two-coins-a-minute rate to David and Alan that evening, showing them all we'd found in less than three hours. Needless to say, they accompanied us the next day, making many jewelry and coin recoveries of their own, and were enthralled with this new form of treasure hunting. My daughter Connie even joined in after she was old enough, and it became a real family affair!

It wasn't long before our metal detectors began to take a back seat to this form of treasure hunting, although we still used them on occasion. Many of the tunnels, ditches, and drain pipes under the city resembled urban caves of sorts. Our recoveries dated back to the 1850s, as the city was founded in 1836. The bricking or cobbling on the bottoms of early ditches allowed coins to be trapped in crevices which, when later concreted over, preserved some of the coins in their original state!

Gary's sons Timmy (left) and Robert (right) joined him on the first hunt. Together, the three of them found 381 coins in just two hours and 45 minutes!

It didn't take long for all of this to sink in, and we began to perfect effective safety and hunting techniques which over the years proved to be very successful. Every stone or concrete fissure yielded coins, tokens, jewelry, trinkets, and a wide variety of collectibles. Among the coins were an 1887-O Morgan dollar, 1907 Barber dime, 1853 large cent, Walking Liberty and Franklin halves, and numerous Mercury and Roosevelt dimes. Many of the best jewelry recoveries were rings of 10K and 14K gold with diamonds, emeralds, and amethyst stones. Several classic sterling rings were discovered by our group over the years as well.

My daughter Connie has a favorite 14K gold heart charm and a gold dragon-head hat pin charm with garnet eyes that she recovered. One of David and Alan's prized items is a beautiful Victorian diamond and sapphire 14K gold ring. Of course, even though the gold or silver coins and jewelry are all neat, my favorite is still "the big silver knot."

David White (left) and son Alan display finds during a recent hunt in northwest Louisiana.

Having searched these many storm drains, concrete ditches, and drain tunnels, we've counted literally thousands upon thousands of clad, silver, and collectable coins! Not mentioning most of the other tokens, rings, and relics recovered, we've lived a dream for ten years now! It's not a difficult form of TH'ing, but it did require experimentation, caution, practice, and patience, as does much of this hobby.

This assortment of items found by David and Alan includes a rare Shreveport transportation token (top center) and early Louisiana chauffeur's badge (center).

We wanted to share this form of hunting with others as the joy of it has brought much family togetherness to us. In the brotherhood of treasure hunting, it is a benefit to have strong families and strength in numbers as well. We wanted to pass along some good "rules and tools," as well as safety tips so that you too, might enjoy this aspect of the hobby. They are listed below, and we wish you all the same success that we have had these many years.

Finds like large cents, silver dollars, gold rings, and even false teeth turn up in the tunnels and drains underlying most communities.

SAFETY

1. Never go alone! You are below ground level and in some cases, completely out of sight of others.
2. Never go when skies threaten rain! Water rises quickly and travels swiftly; it doesn't have to be deep to be fatal.
3. Algae presents slippage hazards, and falling can be a constant danger. Take your time as you walk, being sure of your footing.
4. Be careful reaching into holes and crevices. Reinforcement wire and other sharp metal trash objects, as well as broken glass, can puncture skin, leaving potential for bacterial infection. A tetanus vaccination is a very good precaution. Keep it current.

TOOLS

1. Goodie bag &/or apron designated for trash and good finds.
2. Medium to heavy rubber gloves.
3. Kneepads if intent on bending to kneeling position.
4. Rubber boots.
5. Long-tipped probing/scraping type instrument, 1/4-1/2" wide, with 6-8" shaft bearing a handle. Modified screwdrivers or hand garden toolsseem best.
6. Small sifter made from PVC frame and 1/4" hardware cloth or screen for sifting out larger pockets of sand and silt. Plastic sifter scoops do a good job as well on screening.
7. Long tweezer-type tools such as needle-nose pliers or surgical instruments for tough to reach or deep spots.
8. A plastic five-gallon bucket with seal lid can make a nice equipment/lunch carrier and doubles as a stool for easier work or resting. (Before having lunch, sterilize hands with alcohol or anti-bacterial soap and water which you can pack; a small hand towel is useful as well.).
9. A head light and spare pocket flashlight with extra batteries and bulbs are a must if drain pipe exploration is to be done. 10. The final tool is your brain. Don't take unnecessary risks, and exercise full cautiousness.

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