I very rarely get in depth about "My best finds" when a stranger approaches me, after all what they want to hear is the most expensive jewelry or rare coins I've found on the beach or fields. But the best find ever was an iron like one of yours above.
My grandmother was born in 1904 in a small hotel that was a fishing/hunting camp as far as I can tell late 1800's-1970's, but in many different stages.
I didn't know she had a brother until the 1980's when my dad mentioned it and Grandma told me a story that in 1912 he went missing as a toddler, soon to be found drowned in the creek where he had been playing between two rowboats and quietly fell between them. That spot is still there where it happened although none of the buildings still stand, and I have only ever seen pictures of what it looked like then, pieces of the foundation still remain to this day.
five years ago I decided to try detecting the small area and found many pieces of old copper, brass and bronze boat and dock fittings, all clearly from the hotel days. I had been detecting for ten years by this time and only found clad coins, scissors, flip tops and one or two pieces of gold , some silver from beaches that I only went to in perfect weather, in the summer. My best find up to then was anything that wasn't iron (Fe), flip tops or buried beer cans.
Walking back to my car through black clay gravel and mud I realized I was within feet of where those two rowboats were tied up 90+ years earlier, and I could easily see the foundation of the hotel where my grandmother was born more than one hundred years earlier. All by myself I couldn't help but think of the family , now mostly gone , and no one left that would remember the hotel. My old Fisher suddenly burped out a loud saturation signal that tells me of a giant piece of iron that woke me up like an alarm. I knew it was Fe and normally I would keep going, but it seemed like it was very shallow and I might be able to kick it out of the clay without bending over, so why not. As I half heartedly pinpointed the signal between the rocks I noticed a strange shape clearly visible on the surface, giving it a kick, it came out immediately. The hair on my neck and arms stood up as I looked down at an old stove top type iron. Not in good shape, dirty and rusty it was certainly an iron that was owned and used by my great grandparents and grandmother.
Now I detect 12 months a year in any wheather , from the ocean to the mountains. I've found thousands of dollars worth of gold and silver... but my very best find to this day is that iron.
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