House site finds

[Rusted_Iron]

I got permission to hunt an old house foundation. The place dates back to at least the early 1800's, maybe earlier. I took my Tejon and found a bunch of iron relics, some cartridge casings, and a 1920 Mercury dime. I was pretty excited about this because it's only my 2nd merc.

The stubby cartridge casing is actually a .56-56 Spencer rimfire, a Civil War caliber. It was about 4" deep in the front yard area of the foundation. I'm guessing the person who lived here brought a rifle home from the war and used it for hunting or target practice. Either that or maybe he got one and test fired it before going off to the war. The home site is at least 150 miles from Gettysburg, no Civil War battles nearby here. You don't normally find this caliber outside a Civil War setting. I was pretty happy to find this, though. Never found one of these before.

The 1947 wheat penny was quite deep, around 8", at the base of a huge tree that looks easily 150+ years old.

More pics forthcoming. I plan to hunt the place some more, hopefully this weekend.

 

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[Rusted_Iron]

Here's a closeup showing the Merc and the 56-56 Spencer casing:


The 30-06 casing has an unusual datestamp that appears to indicate 1918 manufacture. I have to look it up though.

 

[SHERMANVILLE ILLINOIS]

U,

very nice artifacts.

Congrat on your second dime, silver is always
nice.

have a good un..........

 

[Rusted_Iron]

Thanks Sherm,
By the way, the Spencer casing appears black because it is still wet with olive oil. I started soaking it to see how much crud will float away. Since I think I actually prefer the dug appearance, I might just degrease the case and put it in my "finds" box as-is.

The coins are:
1947 Wheatie
1958-D Wheatie
1980's clad dime

The blue glass marble was in the same hole with the Merc and one of the square nails.

Notice the brass kerosene lamp burner. I thought that was a pretty cool find. It looks like an older one, c. 1860's-70's.

The spur-looking thing appears to be a gear from an old clock or something. I think it's made of brass.

The two circular objects in the upper left corner are the infamous Zinc Canning Jar Lids found at old house sites everywhere.

 

[trk5capt]

Very nice haul, on the Relics. Congrats. trk5capt...

 

[Rusted_Iron]

Here's a closeup of the copper bracelet, another of my favorite finds from this haul:

 

[Southcacalaky]

Nice relics, Art...

 

[Bavaria Mike]

Nice finds and congrats on the silver! HH, Mike

 

[thompy]

U238 does that spencer casing look like a 45 cal? i found one last summer that looked like a 45 cal but was a rimfire cartrige. dont know jack about old munitions

 

[groundfisher]

Great relic digs. The Mercury dime looks nice. Neat find on that old copper bracelet.
Good luck to you on your return trip over the weekend. HH!

 

[Rusted_Iron]

U238 does that spencer casing look like a 45 cal? i found one last summer that looked like a 45 cal but was a rimfire cartrige. dont know jack about old munitions

You could quite possibly have found a 44 Henry or maybe one of the 46 rimfires. Do you know the case length? I can look it up. I'm assuming it's a straight sided case?

 

[coolcash2004]

Nice finds!!!


-CC

 

[dgaughan]

good luck and keep us posted on your finds hh

 

[ClonedSIM]

Nice digs. That bracelet is sweet!