Oldest Dog Tag Yet...1918 Baltimore County, MD.....

[Garrett424]

I went back to my pounded site where the targets are getting more and more scarce but where a few little gems still pop up now and again.

I spent most of my time digging trash in search of any leftover gold. There are still tons of pull tabs and bottle caps in one area but I'm working really hard to change that. It can be aggravating but there is a method to my madness (there's more gold there I just know it @#$%&*!!).

So I got a really faint, bouncy signal and dug it. I reached down about maybe 6-7 inches and pulled out another dog tag. I wasn't overly impressed until I put on my glasses and saw the date of 1918:




It's from Baltimore County for a female dog (I didn't even know they made different tags for males/females), serial # 1498 and the oldest one I've found yet. I've since learned that this was the first year they were issued in Baltimore County so that's pretty cool.

I have a few other recent finds but wanted to get this one up. I spoke with another member (OddCoins) who knows pretty much everything about these old tags and told him I would post it.

Now I'll throw it in the oil for a few weeks and see what happens.

That's about it for the moment, a few more to follow.....
Thanks for looking and HH

 

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[cambria09]

Hello Garrett424. That is a nice find, old dog tags are always welcome digs. Way to stay with that signal...I have learned that you never know until you dig it up. Thanks for the post and Good Luck. C9

 

[Garrett424]

Hello Garrett424. That is a nice find, old dog tags are always welcome digs. Way to stay with that signal...I have learned that you never know until you dig it up. Thanks for the post and Good Luck. C9

Thanks.

I go by the motto that "the only TRUE discrimination is the eyes". I dig trash all the time and so far it's paid off very well. It can be a pain but it's just part of the hobby. You gotta' take the good with the bad and stay in for the long haul.

When I get the really bouncy signals that go from iron to silver I always dig them. It's usually trash but I've found several deep gold rings that way that I could have easily walked away from. One was a huge 10K class ring that was just really deep. You never really know the composition of 10K and it can give some really crazy signals. I've gotten really bouncy hits on small, deep 14K as well.

A recent white gold 10K ring hit at a solid, unwavering 58 but it was no more than three inches down. It was also pretty muddy and that always helps. It's like the targets are jumping out of the ground when it's good and wet.

The way I see it, it's always better to dig when in doubt. Ultimately, anything above iron is a potential good target.
Plus I really hate second guessing myself later on and wondering if I did walk away from a great find. I'm certain that I have in the past but at this point I'm no longer taking that chance.

 

[trapperart]

Nice find

 

[oddcoins]

Oh yeah ~ GREAT FIND!!!! Dog tags are my favorite treasures to dig!

I have the newest edition of Dr. William Bone's book US DOG LICENSE TAGS . . . . it is a great book! The city issued tag date back farther ~ the oldest known Baltimore city issued tag is dated 1880.

The oldest known tag from MD is dated 1875 from Frederick.

Neil

 

[Garrett424]

Oh yeah ~ GREAT FIND!!!! Dog tags are my favorite treasures to dig!

I have the newest edition of Dr. William Bone's book US DOG LICENSE TAGS . . . . it is a great book! The city issued tag date back farther ~ the oldest known Baltimore city issued tag is dated 1880.

The oldest known tag from MD is dated 1875 from Frederick.

Neil

So is this an uncommon tag??

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Nice job on the dog tag recovery! Congratualtions!

I have a philosophy when using the AT Pro (pro mode) or Gold (all metal) dig everything 38 (lower if looking for iron relics) and up! I have found many cool coins, jewelry and relics using this method. Of course, I do dig a lot of junk!

 

[Evolution]

Nice find. I like the old dog tags. My oldest is 1927. Congrats.

 

[Loco-Digger]

You sure dug an old one. I have nothing earlier than the 1960's