1892 Worlds Fair Spoon,Almost as Cool as an old Coin

[Ohio Jerry]

Tonight I learned a lot about the guy who once lived at the homesite where I recently found an 1865 Two Cent piece and an 1865 Indian Head.
First, he obviously liked to play the harmonica,the miner's tag gives me a pretty good clue about his occupation and the souvenir spoon from the 1893 World's fair in Chicago tells me he wasn't afraid to travel even though it would have meant over 400 miles on a stagecoach to get there.
Most of these items came from a ravine around 20 yards from the actual cellarhole so I figure this must have been his "trash" site. It sure kept me busy tonight. The lady of the house must have had good taste because I've found some very decorative pieces of broken china.The wick turner knobs are both Venus Pat. dates of 1867.
There are a couple of "whatizits" in the mix if anybody has any ideas. The shotgun cap looking thing is the very size of a 12 gauge but has no primer hole and has raised lettering on it. The corn cob shaped item is some sort of pot metal. It is lightweight and the cross section shows it is porous metal of some sort??
Thanks for having a look,old coins are cool but I love digging these old relics,they really "talk" to me...
Jerry

 

[tymcmurray]

That spoon IS way cooler than an old coin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[litefire56]

Your shotshell brass is whats called a pinfire. A very early self-contained metallic ammunition design, the pinfire cartridge was invented by Casimir Lefaucheux of France around 1828 and first patented in 1835. Guns for metallic cartridges are much easier to load and reload in a hurry then the muzzle loaders before them. Pinfires were fired by a short metal pin protruding at nearly a right angle from the case to strike a priming charge inside the cartridge.

Yours was made by Eley Brothers of London...and a link to the headstamp.

http://images.google.com/imgres?img...+shotshells&start=40&gbv=2&ndsp=20&hl=en&sa=N

 

[hogge]

Spoon may have some value. Congrats. HOGGE

 

[Wicked Wanda]

That spoon is awesome! Has a lot of character to it great find. Thank you for all of the info. ~HH~

 

[Natman]

Very cool finds Jerry

Nat

 

[Marc(NB)]

that spoon is awesome! Better than a coin find I think

 

[kimsdad]

Great post!

Those plates must have been pretty, judging by the fragments.

If he was a miner, he was probably a practical guy. I wonder if he ever got in trouble with the Mrs. for eating with the "show spoons"...

 

[Derek752]

Cool finds Ohio Jer. I'm impressed you make the finds and piece together family life in the olden days

A 1893 Chicago worlds fair souvineer spoon is a FANTASTIC find ....Imagine what that fair would have been like , maybe Thomas Edisons new fangled phonograph on display , or the internal combustion engine

Awesome find !!

Derek 8)

 

[Ohio Jerry]

That spoon IS way cooler than an old coin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Better'n a wheatie but I love my IH's and LC's hmmm,this is definately the coolest spoon i've dug

Your shotshell brass is whats called a pinfire. A very early self-contained metallic ammunition design, the pinfire cartridge was invented by Casimir Lefaucheux of France around 1828 and first patented in 1835. Guns for metallic cartridges are much easier to load and reload in a hurry then the muzzle loaders before them. Pinfires were fired by a short metal pin protruding at nearly a right angle from the case to strike a priming charge inside the cartridge.

Yours was made by Eley Brothers of London...and a link to the headstamp.

http://images.google.com/imgres?img...+shotshells&start=40&gbv=2&ndsp=20&hl=en&sa=N

Litefire,that was an outstanding ID on that shell cap,the middle "n" doesn't show but i can just see the "L" and the first "o" ...Thanks!!! Jerry

 

[BuckleBoy]

Excellent work, Jerry!

You're talking like a relic hunter now--and let me tell ya, you have to be a relic hunter in your mindset to get the maximum enjoyment from these types of sites. They're really dream spots--and each one speaks volumes about the person who lived there. Such places there might be one or two coins, but digging everything that beeps is where all the fun is.

And that's what matters most.


Regards,


Buckles


P.S.--has that GPS unit come in yet? 8)

 

[Burdie]

Congrats on your finds. I am glad some one else feels the connection with the artifacts.


Burdie

 

[Ohio Jerry]

Excellent work, Jerry!

You're talking like a relic hunter now--and let me tell ya, you have to be a relic hunter in your mindset to get the maximum enjoyment from these types of sites. They're really dream spots--and each one speaks volumes about the person who lived there. Such places there might be one or two coins, but digging everything that beeps is where all the fun is.

And that's what matters most.


Regards,


Buckles


P.S.--has that GPS unit come in yet? 8)

The GPS just arrived,haven't taken it out of the box yet,i'm gonna savor the anticipation for a little while longer,plus i have company and i know i'll be messing with it the rest of the evening as soon as i open it relics rule

Cool finds Ohio Jer. I'm impressed you make the finds and piece together family life in the olden days

A 1893 Chicago worlds fair souvineer spoon is a FANTASTIC find ....Imagine what that fair would have been like , maybe Thomas Edisons new fangled phonograph on display , or the internal combustion engine

Awesome find !!

Derek 8)

Just a but of trivia on the worlds fair that year. The opening ceremonies were held in oct 92 celebrating 400 years since Columbus discovered the new world. The fair wasn't actually opened to the public until may of 93 and ran through oct with over 27 million visitors during it's run(equivilant to half the population of the U.S.!!) Lot's of firsts that year.. Cracker Jacks and Aunt Jemima pancake mix are a couple

 

[Ed-NH]

Excellent finds, that spoon is a great relic of the past. It's a keeper and better than a coin. Too bad the crotal bell was not complete it would have been a nice one. I enjoy seeing your finds.

 

[Monty]

Great finds! I had a perfect condition Worlds Fair spoon like that that my grandmother gave me. She lived to be 103 yoa. My wife accidentally dropped it into the garbage disposal one time and it was rolled up like a marble and ruined. I nearly cried! Monty

 

[treasurefiend]

Great find, I collect those spoons. Here are the ones that I have so far...