Gold fob(?) and silver medal

[Fast_Dave]

Last weekend my friend jim took me to a spot where the local boat club had a clubhouse right after the turn of the century. Now there's nothing to show a structure was ever there and it's about a mile walk to reach the site. Earlier this year, he had turned up a Walking half and a silver Roosevelt there. As the hunt started, my first coin turned out to be a 1918 Wheat, which I took as a good sign. About 30 feet away, I got a hit at 9 inches that read "23" on my Minelab. That's too low for a Wheat, but a little high for an Indianhead. Still, the depth was good so I decided to dig it anyway. Finally I scooped up a handful of dirt that read "26" on the meter, which is about right for a wheat. Imagine my suprise when I saw a scalloped gold edge sticking out of the dirt!

The front read "MICHIGAN COLLEGE OF MINES HOUGHTON" and the back read "GOLD"(as if there was ever any doubt).
The hunt continued with the only targets being the brass bases of paper shotgun shells dropped many years ago by duck hunters. Finally, I got a reading of "31" near the base of a small tree at 8+ inches, which is a silver reading in anyone's book. I was expecting a silver quarter, but instead found a silver medal! This was significant because it related directly to the site and it's prior use. The front has D B C on a flag for Duluth Boat Club, with images of a seagull and sailboats. The back is engraved
LAPSTREAK
1911
FOUR
P.M. COWAN
No. 2.



The hunt concluded with a 3 Indianheads and another Wheat.

I found on-line that the Michigan College of Mines was started in 1885 as the Michigan School of Mines. The name was changed to Michigan College of Mines in 1897 and again to the Michigan College of Mining and Technology in 1927. The school has been known as the Michigan Technological University since 1964. That pretty much places my fob(?) between 1897 and 1927. I'm assuming it's a fob because I can't imagine them issuing necklaces to men back in that era for graduating from a mining school. Pocketwatches, on the other hand, were used by everyone and issuing fobs for a particular achievement was not uncommon. My friend Jim is in touch with someone from the Duluth Boat Club who knows about P.M. Cowan, so I should be able to get a little history about the person who won and subsequently lost the medal.

 

[romeo-1]

Sweet finds!

 

[Jack(IN)]

Sweet find and what a great find!! Congrats on the gold, silver and older coins!

 

[N.J.THer]

Congrats on the finds...I love the stuff you can track the history on. Good luck with finding out more on the medal.

NJ

 

[Evolution]

Awesome hunt. All you needed to find was a bronze medal and it would be like you swept an event at the olympics all by yourself!

 

[Blackjack77]

Dave- -excellant finds!! Always hoped that site would produce.
Too bad, I missed this particular hunt
Nice pictures and good research!
Congrats & HH

 

[Mainedigger]

Dave...sweet finds!!! That gold "fob" may in fact be a necklace medallion....I assume some women may have went there or it may have been a gift for someones girlfriend. Very nice regardless of what it is...WTG!!!!

 

[mastereagle22]

Very nice finds. I think the Medalion is particularly interesting.

 

[Gypsy Heart]

Nice Finds!

 

[DaChief]

Your Gold Piece was most likely designed as a graduation medal or award medal to hang beneath a ribbon. I have included a photo of a modern version of a sports award of a similar setup.

This design was very common during the time period of the school mentioned for awards for male students.

 

[Ant]

Very nice digs, and Gold to boot.


Thanks for sharing.