- Joined
- Jan 11, 2006
- Messages
- 3,716
- Reaction score
- 1,504
- Golden Thread
- 0
- Location
- Houston, TX
- Detector(s) used
- Deus II/HF2, Manticore, E-Trac, Excalibur II, V3i, Pro-Find 40, Vibra-Probe 585, TRX
- Primary Interest:
- Metal Detecting
Although most have seen this find already I thought a dedicated post was in order - a story of the events surrounding the find, before and after, from a personal perspective.
I arrived at Digstock XII the day prior to Registration Day. I got to my room and then left to buy some things I needed. Being unfamiliar with the layout I went the wrong way down the hallway, realized my mistake, turned around and saw something on the floor. It was a 14K necklace with a solo diamond pendant set in gold. We were all wondering if it was an omen.
Registration day sounds boring but the air was filled with anticipation and BigWaveDave and I made friends in the line and told one another about ourselves and shared stories and thoughts about the upcoming hunt. We listened to Matt's (main Digstock guy) opening speech about the rules and so on. He was wearing a pistol which I thought was badass. Afterward people visited the main and vendor tents to enter the raffles and contests and to buy or look at the equipment. Nokta always had the longest line - they had a roulette wheel thing going on. I chatted up a number of participants talking about equipment and the hobby in general.
Friday was the first day of the hunt and BigWaveDave and I got there early like everyone else to position ourselves for the 7 AM opening bell. You could not be on the fields prior to 7:00 AM or after 5:30 PM. We had chosen a homesite location with a big tree next to one of the two indian artifact fields. It was one of the sites closest to the river and the mill in the SE corner of the property. There were probably twenty or so people that thought like we did that showed up over an hour or so, but at 7 AM there was about half that. We hunted around the tree and the general raised area of the homesite. This is where we found that slaw and iron were going to make things a bit more difficult even though that's kind of par for the course for sites like this.
We didn't have much luck so we broadened our search into the field the homesite was in. BigWaveDave and I tied at four wheats each in the field. We mosied back to the homesite and found lots of holes dug and apparently no notable finds. The homesite has a dirt track cut diagonally across the corner of the field with a single telephone pole and anchor cables on one side. I came into the track from the opposite direction most people hit it from and near the telephone pole I got a somewhat jumpy 78-80 on the Manticore. I used my Lowes shovel bought the previous day, pushed it into the dirt giving the target plenty of room and pushed down to pop the plug - the ground was bare, no vegetation. I immediately saw the CS and green patina. It was only a few inches deep. I really didn't know how to feel. I knew it was extraordinary, but didn't know how rare it was. When I think of belt plates I picture the rectangular versions. I am not a CW artifact expert. I held it up and said "check this out". The lady detecting ten feet away runs over and wanted a picture. Her reaction, words and demeanor were the first inkling I had that it was something special. Then BigWaveDave who was twenty feet away comes over, examines the find and says "you son of a bitch" with appropriate emphasis and then I knew it was probably one of the best finds I'll ever experience.
There were a couple of things that were strange. Before leaving for NC, thinking about the hunt, I thought that all I wanted was something with "CS" or "CSA" on it. Add to that the fact that multiple people swung over that spot with one guy hitting it for about twenty minutes (I truly hope he doesn't over-ponder that). The closest hole was about four feet away. It was also in the first hour of a thirty one and a half hour hunt, and it was my first CW artifact. Why it sung for me is a mystery. I will say this - that find fully drained my bucket o' luck for the remainder of the hunt.
So we took pictures and hunted for the wreath for awhile (never found to my knowledge) and I headed back to HQ which was basically deserted. Matt was there so I went up and showed him the find. You would have thought he got electrocuted - his arms went up and he jumped back and yelled something akin to "Holy Sh*t!!!" He was completely amazed beyond belief. He told me he has hunted for thirty years and has only found one - while scuba diving. There was only one other person there that had found one - an older guy that hunts and works for Digstock who has basically found everything dreams are made of over the years. Matt wanted it in the display and it was the very first item in the case. Digstock posted it right away so now everyone knew about it. They have a marketing angle to contend with and this fit the bill to get the ball rolling in a big way.
The next few days were glorious in a humorous way. People I didn't even know were coming up to me and saying congratulations in various ways, like "you're famous now". The guys at the hotel were bowing to me and saying Hail this or that and we all laughed our asses off. The guys we met in the registration line came up while we were walking in the same direction and said "so you come up from Houston think you can just pull shit like that" in a joking manner. When talking to other hunters about finds and I mention the CS buckle they're response was usually "That was you!!??". BigWaveDave provided gentle ribbing if I got frustrated. The post was the top post for awhile until other great finds started trickling in. I would say it was within the top three finds of the hunt, some say the top find. I have a hard time taking credit for putting my coil over the right spot. Good finds are usually due to a combination of knowledge, skill and persistence - this really didn't involve much of that - fate and luck seemed to be the driving factors, but that happens too. I kind of mentally coasted the rest of the hunt without pressure, but that didn't mean I didn't try, I maybe even tried harder. Didn't find anything else, but people didn't want to hear that from me ... I had nothing to whine about.
BigWaveDave scored a keeper on the second day which was awesome - got on the board. We did a lot of forest hunting that day and some field work at the end of the day. Sunday we stayed in the fields. I left a bit early because I was completely drained, almost fell asleep at the wheel driving back to the hotel. Monday I flew back to Houston. It was a great experience with or without the buckle, but it was definitely the icing on the cake.
...this was before it got to where no space was left...
An example of the full buckle: https://www.virginiarelics.com/brands/virginia-relics/product/confederate-richmond-style-tongue-and-wreath-belt-buckle/#:~:text=SOLD&text=Construction: Sand cast brass with,breaks, bends, or repairs.&text=Approximate size: 48 X 83,plate or general relic collection
I arrived at Digstock XII the day prior to Registration Day. I got to my room and then left to buy some things I needed. Being unfamiliar with the layout I went the wrong way down the hallway, realized my mistake, turned around and saw something on the floor. It was a 14K necklace with a solo diamond pendant set in gold. We were all wondering if it was an omen.
Registration day sounds boring but the air was filled with anticipation and BigWaveDave and I made friends in the line and told one another about ourselves and shared stories and thoughts about the upcoming hunt. We listened to Matt's (main Digstock guy) opening speech about the rules and so on. He was wearing a pistol which I thought was badass. Afterward people visited the main and vendor tents to enter the raffles and contests and to buy or look at the equipment. Nokta always had the longest line - they had a roulette wheel thing going on. I chatted up a number of participants talking about equipment and the hobby in general.
Friday was the first day of the hunt and BigWaveDave and I got there early like everyone else to position ourselves for the 7 AM opening bell. You could not be on the fields prior to 7:00 AM or after 5:30 PM. We had chosen a homesite location with a big tree next to one of the two indian artifact fields. It was one of the sites closest to the river and the mill in the SE corner of the property. There were probably twenty or so people that thought like we did that showed up over an hour or so, but at 7 AM there was about half that. We hunted around the tree and the general raised area of the homesite. This is where we found that slaw and iron were going to make things a bit more difficult even though that's kind of par for the course for sites like this.
We didn't have much luck so we broadened our search into the field the homesite was in. BigWaveDave and I tied at four wheats each in the field. We mosied back to the homesite and found lots of holes dug and apparently no notable finds. The homesite has a dirt track cut diagonally across the corner of the field with a single telephone pole and anchor cables on one side. I came into the track from the opposite direction most people hit it from and near the telephone pole I got a somewhat jumpy 78-80 on the Manticore. I used my Lowes shovel bought the previous day, pushed it into the dirt giving the target plenty of room and pushed down to pop the plug - the ground was bare, no vegetation. I immediately saw the CS and green patina. It was only a few inches deep. I really didn't know how to feel. I knew it was extraordinary, but didn't know how rare it was. When I think of belt plates I picture the rectangular versions. I am not a CW artifact expert. I held it up and said "check this out". The lady detecting ten feet away runs over and wanted a picture. Her reaction, words and demeanor were the first inkling I had that it was something special. Then BigWaveDave who was twenty feet away comes over, examines the find and says "you son of a bitch" with appropriate emphasis and then I knew it was probably one of the best finds I'll ever experience.
There were a couple of things that were strange. Before leaving for NC, thinking about the hunt, I thought that all I wanted was something with "CS" or "CSA" on it. Add to that the fact that multiple people swung over that spot with one guy hitting it for about twenty minutes (I truly hope he doesn't over-ponder that). The closest hole was about four feet away. It was also in the first hour of a thirty one and a half hour hunt, and it was my first CW artifact. Why it sung for me is a mystery. I will say this - that find fully drained my bucket o' luck for the remainder of the hunt.
So we took pictures and hunted for the wreath for awhile (never found to my knowledge) and I headed back to HQ which was basically deserted. Matt was there so I went up and showed him the find. You would have thought he got electrocuted - his arms went up and he jumped back and yelled something akin to "Holy Sh*t!!!" He was completely amazed beyond belief. He told me he has hunted for thirty years and has only found one - while scuba diving. There was only one other person there that had found one - an older guy that hunts and works for Digstock who has basically found everything dreams are made of over the years. Matt wanted it in the display and it was the very first item in the case. Digstock posted it right away so now everyone knew about it. They have a marketing angle to contend with and this fit the bill to get the ball rolling in a big way.
The next few days were glorious in a humorous way. People I didn't even know were coming up to me and saying congratulations in various ways, like "you're famous now". The guys at the hotel were bowing to me and saying Hail this or that and we all laughed our asses off. The guys we met in the registration line came up while we were walking in the same direction and said "so you come up from Houston think you can just pull shit like that" in a joking manner. When talking to other hunters about finds and I mention the CS buckle they're response was usually "That was you!!??". BigWaveDave provided gentle ribbing if I got frustrated. The post was the top post for awhile until other great finds started trickling in. I would say it was within the top three finds of the hunt, some say the top find. I have a hard time taking credit for putting my coil over the right spot. Good finds are usually due to a combination of knowledge, skill and persistence - this really didn't involve much of that - fate and luck seemed to be the driving factors, but that happens too. I kind of mentally coasted the rest of the hunt without pressure, but that didn't mean I didn't try, I maybe even tried harder. Didn't find anything else, but people didn't want to hear that from me ... I had nothing to whine about.
BigWaveDave scored a keeper on the second day which was awesome - got on the board. We did a lot of forest hunting that day and some field work at the end of the day. Sunday we stayed in the fields. I left a bit early because I was completely drained, almost fell asleep at the wheel driving back to the hotel. Monday I flew back to Houston. It was a great experience with or without the buckle, but it was definitely the icing on the cake.
...this was before it got to where no space was left...
An example of the full buckle: https://www.virginiarelics.com/brands/virginia-relics/product/confederate-richmond-style-tongue-and-wreath-belt-buckle/#:~:text=SOLD&text=Construction: Sand cast brass with,breaks, bends, or repairs.&text=Approximate size: 48 X 83,plate or general relic collection
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