Pocket Watch Key, Wedding Ring, Crotal Bell

ANTIQUARIAN · May 10, 2021

Last Friday consisted of three hunts over 7hrs. :thumbsup:

The first site I hit was the old stone farmhouse. I found the pocket watch key a crotal bell and the old clothes iron here. My second site was the ‘horse farm’ that I detected last weekend. Here I found a brass wedding band, a smooth British Half Penny and an interesting piece of brass with some writing on it. When this first came up, I thought these were simply old scratches in the metal. It wasn’t until I showed it to the landowner that he mentioned, “this looks like writing, not scratches.”

My last hunt of the day was at a tree nursery in search of a friend’s lost cell phone. He told me, “the phone was lost in the Spring of 2020 and was likely buried in one of three rows of trees while being planted with a machine.” Unfortunately, I didn’t find the phone after searching for 90mins in 3 - 1km long rows of trees, but I did eyeball an old cow tag for my troubles. :laughing7:

Thanks very much for looking,
Dave

islamoradamark · May 10, 2021

you got some interesting finds there thanks for the great pictures

erfranks · May 10, 2021

Great Saves!!

Elvis · May 10, 2021

Awesome saves!!!!

Silvermonkey · May 10, 2021

Thant's a lot of hunting...good for you! Congrats on your finds. I would love to find a crotal bell one day. Love the pics of your furry detecting partner!

Tpmetal · May 10, 2021

Love the crotal! also love the pic of the terrier power sniffing in the window! Every type of terrier I've ever known loved driving with the head out the window smelling stuff at high speeds.

Baja181 · May 10, 2021

What a haul! Awesome!

Digger RJ · May 10, 2021

Nice!!!!! Congrats!!!!!

Radon · May 10, 2021

The piece of brass with "mith" on it looks like it was maybe something re-used as a heel plate to repair a shoe?

Nice finds!

CRUSADER · May 10, 2021

Is the writing RUTH?

Hunk-a-lead · May 10, 2021

beautiful finds that cleaned up so nicely! What did the pooch ring up? iffy I'll bet

Aureus · May 11, 2021

Very interesting finds. I'm wondering what that brass item is. Maybe an old trunk plate cut and reused as something else...

Trezurehunter · May 11, 2021

Very nice finds. I like that Crotal Bell.

ANTIQUARIAN · May 11, 2021

islamoradamark said:
you got some interesting finds there thanks for the great pictures

Thanks for your post and for the compliment Mark. :thumbsup:

Dave

erfranks said:
Great Saves!!

Thank you!

Elvis said:
Awesome saves!!!!

Thank you Elvis! :icon_thumright:

Silvermonkey said:
Thant's a lot of hunting...good for you! Congrats on your finds. I would love to find a crotal bell one day. Love the pics of your furry detecting partner!

Thanks for your post my friend.
I'm probably just trying to make up for time lost this past winter. :laughing7:

Bet you'll find a crotal bell this year.
Dave

Tpmetal said:
Love the crotal! also love the pic of the terrier power sniffing in the window! Every type of terrier I've ever known loved driving with the head out the window smelling stuff at high speeds.

Thanks for your post TP. :occasion14:

She was born on a farm, that's probably why she likes being outdoors all the time.
Hope you're having a great year so far.
Dave

Baja181 said:
What a haul! Awesome!

Thanks Baja. :wave:

Hope you're doing well in SoCal.
Love your avatar, do you actually own this early map?
Dave

Digger RJ said:
Nice!!!!! Congrats!!!!!

Thanks Randy

Radon said:
The piece of brass with "mith" on it looks like it was maybe something re-used as a heel plate to repair a shoe?

Nice finds!

I'm not exactly sure what the first letter is, mainly because it's covered in rust and I don't want to over clean it. Based on the location of the rust points in the brass, a heel plate from a boot makes the most sense.
Stretching it I know, but there's a biblical reference connecting 'Ruth' and shoes ... (Ruth 4:7) "Take this shoe wherewith I used to go and tread upon my land".
Isn't there a company that produces "Ruth" brand shoes?
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this piece Radon. :thumbsup:

Dave

CRUSADER said:
Is the writing RUTH?

I'm thinking so Cru. :icon_scratch:

This piece definitely looks like it's been re-purposed for something else to be used as a heel wearplate.
Hope you and your Dad are doing well,
Dave

Hunk-a-lead said:
beautiful finds that cleaned up so nicely! What did the pooch ring up? iffy I'll bet

Thank you for your post Sir. :icon_salut:

I tell you she's got a nose like a Bloodhound, the moment I start cooking chicken, she's stuck to my leg like Crazy Glue. :laughing7:

Aureus said:
Very interesting finds. I'm wondering what that brass item is. Maybe an old trunk plate cut and reused as something else...

Thanks for your post Anton.
The thickness of the brass plate is pretty substantial, it's also slightly concave.
When it first popped up, I thought it was half of a War of 1812 British Military Breast Plate. :icon_scratch:

Dave

Trezurehunter said:
Very nice finds. I like that Crotal Bell.

Thank you TH, I never get tired of digging these old bells. :thumbsup:

Hope you're having a good year in OK/IL so far.
Dave

DigToChina · May 11, 2021

Great finds Dave!

I love the look of those old houses. For all their flaws because of old time construction, they just don’t make them with character like that anymore.

billb · May 11, 2021

Congratulations on your very nice accomplishments..your determination to do multiple hunts definitely rewarded you..
Stay safe out there

Sheperdess · May 11, 2021

I also think it says Ruth.

ANTIQUARIAN · May 12, 2021

DigToChina said:
Great finds Dave!

I love the look of those old houses. For all their flaws because of old time construction, they just don’t make them with character like that anymore.

Thanks for your post and for sharing your thoughts DTC. :thumbsup:

You'd be amazed at just how many old homes have been left to sit empty in this town, only to be prayed on by vandals, it's a real tragedy.
Dave

billb said:
Congratulations on your very nice accomplishments..your determination to do multiple hunts definitely rewarded you..
Stay safe out there

Thanks very much Bill, I think I'm just trying to make up for lost time due to not being able to detect since the middle of December. :laughing7:

Hope you're doing well this year,
Dave

Sheperdess said:
I also think it says Ruth.

It's a mystery as to what the original use of this piece was, I'd really like to know what it started out as. :dontknow:

The 'script' or 'writing' looks mid-19thc to me, but it could be old too.
Also, the word has a period at the end of it, to me this indicates that this is an abbreviation of the original word.
Thanks for your post,
Dave

lenmac65 · May 13, 2021

What a beautiful spot to detect. Nice finds, especially that bell. I am not a dog owner, but that last picture really made me smile. Congrats!

ANTIQUARIAN · May 14, 2021

lenmac65 said:
What a beautiful spot to detect. Nice finds, especially that bell. I am not a dog owner, but that last picture really made me smile. Congrats!

Thanks for your post Steve. :thumbsup:

My daughter took that pic last week, I take her and the dog for drives in the evening every few day to get her out of the house.
We've been living with a 'Stay at Home' order here in Ontario since mid-April, yesterday it was extended until June 2.

Here she is before her haircut and after her day at 'The Doggy Spa'. :laughing7:

Best of luck to you Steve,
Dave