Castle Hunt Yields 1900 V Nickel, Sterling Ring, and lots of goodies!

[granthansen]

Went back to the castle house for the 4th time with low expectations, but decided to go real slow. Now armed with the CTX3030 I was hearing good sounds amongst all the garbage (lots of garbage). I dug every signal except iron (and still found lots of iron). Got a 1900 V Nickel on my very first dig (cleaning to come), a sterling silver women's ring in a plug I had previously dug!!! SHAME ON ME! A few whatzits, some nice decorative metal, and a small bucket full of stuff to still go through. Three hours out and I barely got my grid started as I was digging a lot. Below are some pics and a video of the V Nickel dig (forgive shakiness, was just getting started and still getting used to the POV camera glasses).













ANY IDEA WHAT THESE THINGS ARE?

 

[ohiowhiteguy]

cool finds grant..i had to take some Dramamine after watching your video.lol~~~~~
v nickle is on my list...
owg.

 

[granthansen]

cool finds grant..i had to take some Dramamine after watching your video.lol~~~~~
v nickle is on my list...
owg.

Lol. I've given up on the tripod. It's shaky or nothing!

 

[Jason in Enid]

I like the little handmade silver decoration. Never saw metal leaves before, maybe they were decorations for metal-work on the house?

 

[vpnavy]

Great finds granthansen!

 

[CoinandRelicMan]

Nice digs! I have found bits and pieces like those before,leaves flowers etc. Believe they are for a fancy hat decoration.

Get Digging!
CARM

 

[Argentium]

That rectangular "silver" piece with the engraved bordering , may well be the find of the day - I think it may be a very early (18th/early 19th century)
trade piece of some kind - for barter with native Americans . Can you show a pic of the edge and the reverse side ?

 

[granthansen]

That rectangular "silver" piece with the engraved bordering , may well be the find of the day - I think it may be a very early (18th/early 19th century)
trade piece of some kind - for barter with native Americans . Can you show a pic of the edge and the reverse side ?

Really? This is the reverse. Ill take a pic of edges later. Thx!

 

[granthansen]

Oh. And our town once was inhabited by native Americans. I think Lenelenape. I know I misspelled that :-/

 

[Nutriasub]

Nice hunt, looks like still lots to come!

 

[granthansen]

Here are pics of the edges, all sides.

 

[ATpro5]

That definitely looks like some kind of trade silver. Nice find!

 

[mangum]

Nice finds, if it turns out to be trade silver that would be awesome!

 

[granthansen]

After an extensive search through my digital antiquities library (Google Image Search) I haven't seen any Indian Trade Silver that looks similar to this. Anyone got any links/pics they can share? Seems as though because the back is blank that those in the know don't think it is ITS. However, I'm going to have the metal tested anyway.

 

[granthansen]

Nice digs! I have found bits and pieces like those before,leaves flowers etc. Believe they are for a fancy hat decoration.

Get Digging!
CARM

I'd love to see the actual hat they came off off! I find bits and pieces of these leaves/flowers every time I hunt this property.

 

[Jyverb64]

You certainly have an interesting place to hunt.

 

[Erik in NJ]

Yes, I can't possibly imagine that hat!

I also think your find of the day is the beautifully hand engraved silver item--definitely a very interesting history to that item. I hope you get it IDed. Did it show as silver on the 3030?

 

[granthansen]

Yes, I can't possibly imagine that hat!

I also think your find of the day is the beautifully hand engraved silver item--definitely a very interesting history to that item. I hope you get it IDed. Did it show as silver on the 3030?

It did. 12/45 on the ctx. I'm going to bring it to a jeweler and have it tested.

 

[Argentium]

The more I look at this piece , it just gets more mysterious ... The fact that it has the "engraved pattern " on all sides with no shear or break
of the form - suggests that it is complete as we see it there , it looks like a panel that ought to have a name or initials engraved on it - I
could see this as a nameplate inlaid on a fine wooden boxtop - but we would expect to see either holes or some posts on the back to
affix it . The two curved ends also make me think of holding it between two fingers - as a tobacco or snuff related tool (to sweep it ?)
I do believe someone on this site , will find a reasonable solution - I am intrigued ,primarily because early silver in America is rare ,
and the engraving style is early/primitive , and the unsolved mystery is compelling - keep us posted on your testing results !

 

[Erik in NJ]

Notice the dot leadering along the left edge (which is obvious)...it appears (and maybe Grant will post a higher resolution image) that there is traces of dot leadering along all four edges of the item and that this was used as a guide of where the item was cut. Grant, can you confirm this? Also it appears in the edge pics that the two shorter edges are much thicker than the two longer edges or is that because they have been filed and not dressed yet? It's definitely an enigmatic piece and smacks of 18th century work or possibly early 19th century.

If it was intended to be used as a cartouche for something like a box, perhaps it was meant as an inlay to be held in place with glue.

Try posting it on the "What Is It?" forum too.