Its not gold.....BUT.................

[tcornel]

It's not gold.....BUT.................

I have been working a 1850's house and found a few v nickels, a dozen or so wheats, a buffalo nickel, couple war nickels and assorted trash. I was kind of expecting more from this 1.5 acre site. Front yard, back yard, side yards were all covered. Ditto for the driveway.

It was in the 90's today and I worked around a tree perhaps a hundred feet from the house back door. I got a big silver hit and was excited. Maybe a SLQ or Barber quarter or could I be lucky enough for a half? What came out was quite a shock. A sterling silver pocket watch! Wow....no wonder it hit 12-48 so hard. I need to figure out how to open it without breaking it as there could be an old photo inside??


About an hour later I was heading back to the truck and got a solid 12-09 hit and out popped a sterling silver 4.8g ring.

I called it a day and headed for a cold one. Be back tomorrow though.

Thanks for looking.

Tom

 

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[qaela4]

Nice ring and watch, a pocket watch is at the top of my bucket list!

 

[Argentium]

Great finds friend ! A solid silver pocket watch is a major find ! The ring is nice too .

 

[Erik in NJ]

That's a really nice watch! Congrats!

 

[sutphin]

CORNEL WENT OUT DIGGING AROUND , PULLED OUT A SILVER POCKET WATCH AND RING OUT OF THE GROUND . SAID BOTH HITS RANG HARD ON HIS MACHINE NOW HE IS POSTING PICS OF HIS BLING................ NICE WATCH . AND THE RING IS REALLY COOL LOOKING IS THERE ANY DIAMONDS HIDING IN THE INSERTS OF THE RING? LIKE I SAY IT DONT MEAN A THING UNLESS YOU FIND YOU SOME BLING.

 

[tcornel]

The stones in the inserts are gone. Oh well, I am one happy camper today!

 

[basque-man]

That's is a beautiful looking watch! Congratulations!

 

[JackalopeZL1]

Awesome finds
12/09 would not be a silver ring though.. All silver rings even tiny ones come in much much higher on the CO. Do a acid test.

 

[CASPER-2]

 

[g-olden years]

Congrats on two super finds! Your watch case design is beautiful! Andi

 

[tcornel]

Awesome finds
12/09 would not be a silver ring though.. All silver rings even tiny ones come in much much higher on the CO. Do a acid test.

Thanks for the catch. I hit it again and it is 12-46 which is in the silver range. I was using the 17" coil so maybe there is another target that I missed?
I will check today. Honestly I was on cloud 9 with the watch and it is conceivable that I was not paying close enough attention. The ground coin setting will
blend signals somewhat so there might be foil nearby to draw down the silver readings. It would really be something if there was another ring a few inches away. Delusions of grandeur, of course.

 

[Ogre1190]

Ticking roundness in the hole!

 

[Msbeepbeep]

Nice silver scores! Congrats!

 

[46Wheat]

nice watch and bling

 

[OutdoorAdv]

Awesome find and should be an easy one to open. Looks like a half hunter case type. On the back, you'll notice the hinge (bottom left of 3rd picture), on the opposite side from the hinge you'll notice a small lip (top right of 3rd picture) with an area you can pry. This can be opened with a blunt knife without causing damage to the case. I typically use a razor blade since they're thin. Since it was dug, it might be a little stuck... maybe try some WD40 to oil the seem up on the back and warm it up in your pocket... then put something in the slot opposite the hinge and try to work it open. On the inside of the back panel you'll see the case marked with the metal type. In addition, if its an american watch brand, you should be able to get a serial # off the movement and nail down a manufacture date.

Really cool find!

Edit: if you get it open, I'd be awesome to see pictures of the inside! I found a Waltham Gold Filled watch that was a screw off bezel type and after working on it for days I concluded it was not coming open. The hinged back should be a LOT easier...

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Congratulations on the pocket watch recovery.

 

[tcornel]

I think I discovered why these were kind of out in the open away from the main house 80 to 90 feet. Today I looked around and realized that area was the top of a gentle sloped run of maybe 30 paces. One part was real gradual and another kind of steep. Since this is NE Ohio I think I discovered the sled riding area. The watch and ring were near the top where the parents would be at! I am finding wheat pennies up and down the slope along with some inexpensive jewelry. I am sure these were dropped by the kids in their travels.

 

[tcornel]

Awesome find and should be an easy one to open. Looks like a half hunter case type. On the back, you'll notice the hinge (bottom left of 3rd picture), on the opposite side from the hinge you'll notice a small lip (top right of 3rd picture) with an area you can pry. This can be opened with a blunt knife without causing damage to the case. I typically use a razor blade since they're thin. Since it was dug, it might be a little stuck... maybe try some WD40 to oil the seem up on the back and warm it up in your pocket... then put something in the slot opposite the hinge and try to work it open. On the inside of the back panel you'll see the case marked with the metal type. In addition, if its an american watch brand, you should be able to get a serial # off the movement and nail down a manufacture date.

Really cool find!

Edit: if you get it open, I'd be awesome to see pictures of the inside! I found a Waltham Gold Filled watch that was a screw off bezel type and after working on it for days I concluded it was not coming open. The hinged back should be a LOT easier...

I am soaking it in wd40 now and will get back to everyone when I have it open!

 

[RustyGold]

Awesome finds Tom! Congratulations! Great talking with you today!