Finds In The Ductwork

[Natman]

If you live in an older home, have you ever checked the heat register for finds?

I removed my kitchen register and stuck my hand in to see if anything was in there..after pulling out stuff like bobby pins and nails, I found this 1966 baseball coin.

The other side of the coin is below, along with a silver Rosie (found in the lateral duct pipe for my living room) and an old 14 kt gold watch (found in the master bedroom heat register).

What I couldn't reach with my hand I got by going to the basement and tapping hard on the lateral ducts (that lead to the main duct). I heard something flipping around in the one that leads to the living room, so I took it apart and there was my silver dime!

My house was built in '58 and I'm sure other homes have treasure in the ductwork as well!

Nat

 

[Night Stalker]

Good story and Great finds! That's a unique way to find some treasure

 

[shanko]

Hey natman,
After reading you post I went downstairs and checked my vents. I discoverd an 83 penny, and the fact that my vents were filthy. I'll add that one to the chore list!

 

[Chester Copper Pot]

I have a 90 year old home. I will be checking the vents now for sure. Gr8 finds Natman.

 

[romeo-1]

Nothing yet...except for a "The Bodyguard" cd soundtrack!

 

[Bavaria Mike]

Nice finds! Now you will have everyone tearing apart their heating vents, LOL! HH, Mike

 

[Minnie]

I took the cover off one of the vents a while ago to clean it. It was Spider web city in there. Not once did I come close to thinking about reaching in there. Till now I guess.
I did however find what at the time I thought was a nice huge heart shaped diamond crammed between the carpet the vent cover itself of where I live right now.I took it to a jewler the guy said it was a real nice cubic zerconium. It wasnt mine, musta been there for years.

 

[Natman]

Interesting stories everyone..and Minnie, I'm honored you chose my post as your first Welcome to TNet!

Nat

 

[Gribnitz]

We used to live in a home built in the 1920's in Florissant MO. I remember dropping coins down the cold air return in that old house. Our return was a HUGE grate in the center of the hallway. Too bad I was only 4 or 5, I would have thought to look down there had I been older. Surely some other kid back in the 20's would have had the same cool idea to hide coins.

 

[lonewolfe]

nice finds,

hh

 

[Minnie]

Thank you Natman for the nice welcome.
I think I am addicted to this site now.

 

[DJ_Quinn]

Nice find! I bought a house in the States when I lived there, in Michigan, and when I was doing some work in the basement I found a huge bag of pot in the ceiling tiles. I think the previous owners left it there as a housewarming gift.

 

[RED THUNDER]

Now thats cool! I have cleaned my air ducts and others
from time to time, but no finds like that. WTG! Motor on!

Red Thunder

 

[shadowwalker]

The first thing I did when I got moved in to a new place was to check the ducts, door locks (if skeleton type) inside of closets, top of trim railing, around sidewalks,porches, ect. I have found some very good things. The best was 6 $100.00 dollar bills folded and slid in the back of the closet shelf in a kitchen. Between the wall and the board with just the top 1/4 inch sticking up. They had been there awhile. The had dates out of the 1960's. This was in a duplex, in Utah.
It paid for the rent for almost three months!

 

[kieser sousa/rip]

Nice find! I bought a house in the States when I lived there, in Michigan, and when I was doing some work in the basement I found a huge bag of pot in the ceiling tiles. I think the previous owners left it there as a housewarming gift.

I was installing an air conditioning system for an F.B.I. agent once,and as i was running the lineset through the ceiling i kept finding beer bottles.The agent was watching me and i reached up again and pulled out a homemade bong.He says holy cow ! do you know what that is ? Of course i played dumb.

 

[detector de metales]

Nice find! I bought a house in the States when I lived there, in Michigan, and when I was doing some work in the basement I found a huge bag of pot in the ceiling tiles. I think the previous owners left it there as a housewarming gift.

I was installing an air conditioning system for an F.B.I. agent once,and as i was running the lineset through the ceiling i kept finding beer bottles.The agent was watching me and i reached up again and pulled out a homemade bong.He says holy cow ! do you know what that is ? Of course i played dumb.

You should have said "Yeah.. isn't this your bong??"

 

[kieser sousa/rip]

Nice find! I bought a house in the States when I lived there, in Michigan, and when I was doing some work in the basement I found a huge bag of pot in the ceiling tiles. I think the previous owners left it there as a housewarming gift.

I was installing an air conditioning system for an F.B.I. agent once,and as i was running the lineset through the ceiling i kept finding beer bottles.The agent was watching me and i reached up again and pulled out a homemade bong.He says holy cow ! do you know what that is ? Of course i played dumb.

You should have said "Yeah.. isn't this your bong??"

Yeah i should have asked him how it got there ! Your avatar looks just like my cat TC ! He's very old and i thought i was going to lose him last week but he made an amazing recovery and must be on his 9th life Now everyone get down there and rip open that ductwork ! I want to see some treasure !

 

[gldhntr]

about 20 years ago a fellow found 4 - 1 gallon jars full of silver coins in the return duct of a house he bought....also read a news article about a plumber in greenville sc that while diagnosing a slow drain problem in an apartment complex he found a gallon baggie of $100.00 bills and several pounds of pot in the plumbing vent pipe......a friend while remodeling a house was chipping up several layers of lineolium and found a small removable wood cover over a hole 8 inches square...looking into the hole he spotted an oily rag that he pulled out... inside the rag was a near perfect mint condition colt black powder revolver...he took it to be appraised and it was in such good condition that the appraiser at first thought it was a remake/copy.........gldhntr

 

[Nashoba]

I grew up in the house we now own, built in 1870. We took apart an old cast wood/coal furnace, my husband comes up with all these marbles, 40-50 of them. I told my Dad about the find...........he starts laughing, he says "there yours! You used to like to here the noise when you tossed them down the grates!" How many people can say they lost their marbles, and then found them (ok found most of them )

Nice place to hunt when it's cold outside!

I will be VERY nice here!
~Nash~

 

[Shortstack]

The first thing I did when I got moved in to a new place was to check the ducts, door locks (if skeleton type) inside of closets, top of trim railing, around sidewalks,porches, ect. I have found some very good things. The best was 6 $100.00 dollar bills folded and slid in the back of the closet shelf in a kitchen. Between the wall and the board with just the top 1/4 inch sticking up. They had been there awhile. The had dates out of the 1960's. This was in a duplex, in Utah.
It paid for the rent for almost three months!

When you're checking the old houses, be sure to look at the top of the door itself. There have been coin caches made by drilling holes, a little larger than the coins into the top of a door so that stacks of them can be dropped in.