Cape Cod Finds Span Colonial to Modern Times

[Erik in NJ]

Spent a week with my family up in Cape Cod last week and despite the brutal heat we endured for most of the week I did manage to get out for some detecting when I could. I was graciously given permission to a couple properties that dated back to the 1700s (one early 1700s and the second one the late 1700s). The third property I don't have a date on, but it only yielded some modern clad.

The first property was dated ca 1730. After 15 minutes of gridding the side yard I was rewarded with a nice plain " * Treble Gilt *" flat button with a broken shank. This was shortly followed by a lovely plain Colonial shoe or knee buckle without the chape. I got a signal on the other side of the yard which at first glance appeared to be a knockout from a metal box. On closer inspection it turned out to be a well worn Type I SQL (1916-17)! In the front yard I found a few wheats and a very deep silver Rosie from 1947. One suprise find was the pocketwatch part which is stamped 17884. It appears to be gold plated or gilted and has been milled on a lathe. I suspect that this property has many good finds due to its age, but I fear that many are now too deep due to the very sand soil in the area. I will try to re-grid this yard again sometime with my CTX and the 18" coil.

The other property down the street contains a house that was built in the late 1700s. One of my first finds (and it was relatively shallow) was the pocketknife with raised scollwork and lettering. On one side it says "Safety First Pays" on the other side it says "Safety Award" followed by the engraved name H.R. Turner (presumably the recipient of the award).

I found the following text on the Internet regarding a similar pocketknife:

You are bidding on beautiful three inch "Safety First Pays" award knife manufactured by Robeson ShurEdge. This knife is in excellent condition, with patina on the solid bronze scales but no corrosion. It is stamped with Robeson Cutlery USA on the small blade, indicating a manufacture date of pre-1942. Online research indicates the "Safety First Pays" campaign to have been at its peak following WW I till the early 1920s, when companies were trying to reduce the injury and death rate of their employees while on the job. The blades of this knife are unsharpened and unused. The scales are beautifully worked with raised scrollwork and are marked with raised letters "Safety First Pays" on one side and "Safety Award" on the other. It is also engraved with the name J. A. Purser, who we can assume was the award recipient.

I also found what I believe is a lead cloth seal which stems from Colonial times. I finished the day with a second dateless SQL (S mintmark) and a 1954 Washington quarter (D mintmark). On a return trip to this property I hit a clad pocket spill. After filling in the hole, I rescanned and got a target that was much deeper than any of the coins in the spill! In fact, it was a broken signal on my SE Pro and at the outer depth range of my machine. I re-dug the hole and was rewarded with a lovely 1866 2-Cent piece. I've been lucky enough to dig about eight or nine of these coins so far, but I believe this is my first 1866.

One final find I believed to be the thumbwheel of a lantern. I has a scalloped edge and reads "Goetz o Patent 2,008,415" on one side and "Goetz * 9-AZ" on the other. The center is punched out with a "+". Turns out that it's a telephone token from the early 20th century--and a beautiful one at that! I have found similar ones on the Internet, but no exact match yet.

Anyway, I had a wonderful time in Cape Cod with my wife and kids. I had some great seafood and clam chowder and made some new friends. The icing on the cake was getting out detecting a few times in the area!

 

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[granthansen]

Erik, seems like you had a week filled with the best of both worlds... nice vacation with your family and some good ol' fashioned relic hunting. Those are some great finds. The 2 center cleaned up very nicely! Now I want to go back to all the broken signals I perhaps had abandoned. Love the token!

 

[Erik in NJ]

Thanks Grant--it was a fun week. I wish it hadn't have been so hot as it really limited my detecting time ... a couple days it was so brutally hot in the sun that I didn't even venture out with the detector. I have some new friends up there now and some properties that I have my eye on. Will also have to bring up my CTX next time with that monster coil!

Erik, seems like you had a week filled with the best of both worlds... nice vacation with your family and some good ol' fashioned relic hunting. Those are some great finds. The 2 center cleaned up very nicely! Now I want to go back to all the broken signals I perhaps had abandoned. Love the token!

 

[Erik in NJ]

I just realized that the first SQL, though it has no date, is the Type I quarter making it 1917-P (or the relatively unlikely 1916-P)

 

[pjduff]

Great finds Erik!! I just happened to find my first ever Goetz telephone token on Saturday :http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/t...-worlds-fair-pocketknife-other-odds-ends.html . I thought it was part of a lock of some sort at first since it says Yale on it. I like the looks of yours better though!! Especially love that 2 cent too!!

 

[CASPER-2]

 

[strateloss]

Very Nice assortment of finds bud, I Love the 2 Cent piece!!

You're not kidding about the heat, its been brutal lately!! I hit the beach to take a break from the heat and it paid off!

 

[doninbrewster]

Nice finds Eric! The first thing I noticed was the lack of stars on the reverse below the eagle showing it's a Type I SLQ. No way to tell without the date if it's the elusive 1916. Nice finds regardless. The 2 cent piece came out in great shape. Looks like the "Large Motto".

 

[Erik in NJ]

Thanks PJ! I saw your post before I posted my stuff--ironic that you found one too and an old pocketknife too. I have never seen these Goetz tokens before so I don't think many get posted. I saw some on the Internet with Yale on them too and I'm not sure what the history is with Yale.

Here's a pic of a similar token to mine with YALE on it too!

Great finds Erik!! I just happened to find my first ever Goetz telephone token on Saturday :http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/t...-worlds-fair-pocketknife-other-odds-ends.html . I thought it was part of a lock of some sort at first since it says Yale on it. I like the looks of yours better though!! Especially love that 2 cent too!!

 

[doc-d]

Very nice!

 

[Erik in NJ]

Hi Strate!

Thanks for your post...yes, Grant told me that you did well at the shore! Yeah, the heat last week was pretty rough when I was out there with the SE Pro in my hand and all those tools strapped to my waist The 2-center was a nice surprise--especially since it was masked by the clad pocket spill!

 

[Erik in NJ]

Hi Don! Yes, I was kind of a cornucopia of finds I didn't pick up on the Type I SQL right away--I guess I don't see that many SQLs, but this is probably the first Type I I have found. I have a couple other dateless ones that I'll dig out and take a look at. Was nice to be able to dig two SQLs last week. Thanks for the compliment on the 2-cent piece.

Regards, Erik

Nice finds Eric! The first thing I noticed was the lack of stars on the reverse below the eagle showing it's a Type I SLQ. No way to tell without the date if it's the elusive 1916. Nice finds regardless. The 2 cent piece came out in great shape. Looks like the "Large Motto".

 

[CMDiamonddawg]

Hi Erik Your trip up to Cape Cod sounds like a blast , good time and some mighty fine finds , gotta like those apples

dawg

 

[Erik in NJ]

Hi Dawg! Yes, we always have a great time at the Capes (Cape Cod and Cape May). Thanks for the kind words on my finds there--it's always a treat to get out and do some detecting there. I met some very kind folks there and appreciate their letting me detect on their properties. Plus you gotta love the chowda!

Hi Erik Your trip up to Cape Cod sounds like a blast , good time and some mighty fine finds , gotta like those apples

dawg

 

[gunsil]

Hi Erik, I wouldn't worry about things sinking more than normal due to the sandy soil. Friends and myself have found a bunch of colonial stuff in the cape area and much of it was actually only four inches deep. I don't agree with those who think things sink faster in the sandy soil of that area. These things were found with quality detectors and some of what we have found was down to eight inches, but most was fairly shallow. This was not lawn hunting or beach hunting, a lawn may make things a little deeper due to added top soil. Looks like you had access to some nice sites and did quite well!! I'm not a chowda fan, but I do love lobsta rolls!!

 

[Erik in NJ]

Hi g-sil,

Yeah the jury is still out on the properties I hunted. I did another down the street a couple years ago that had many Colonial items that were shallower. These two properties were older and not hunted as far as I know, but the Colonial items were much deeper and there were less of them. It;s all a bit of a mystery, maybe drainage has something to do with it--I don't know....let's talk about the Cape some time--I luv the chowda and those lobsta rolls too! The cold ones and the seafood sure went down easy after a few hot hours of detecting up there!

Best, Erik

Hi Erik, I wouldn't worry about things sinking more than normal due to the sandy soil. Friends and myself have found a bunch of colonial stuff in the cape area and much of it was actually only four inches deep. I don't agree with those who think things sink faster in the sandy soil of that area. These things were found with quality detectors and some of what we have found was down to eight inches, but most was fairly shallow. This was not lawn hunting or beach hunting, a lawn may make things a little deeper due to added top soil. Looks like you had access to some nice sites and did quite well!! I'm not a chowda fan, but I do love lobsta rolls!!

 

[NJLargeCent]

Very nicely done, E in NJ! Family, food, and finds. All connote great things in my book. The 2-center is in great shape!

 

[Erik in NJ]

Very nicely done, E in NJ! Family, food, and finds. All connote great things in my book. The 2-center is in great shape!

As usual, thanks for the kind words NJLC! It was a lot of fun, but the week definitely went too fast! Hoping me, you, and Grant can get up there sometime this summer/fall for some additional hunting!

 

[Sooper Dave]

Awesome Finds Erik! Nice Silver & Relics. That 2 Center is in Amazing shape! Way to go and keep it up!

 

[Sovereignelite]

Nice type I SLQ and 2 cent piece looks incredible!