RANDOM FINDS THREAD - Finds you found...any kind...anytime...from anywhere to share.

[eyemustdigtreasure]

here is a Chinese coin which I dug on a ranch that had a couple of Chinese ranch hands,
of whom the property owners have old photograph of one of those guys....!
Neat to hold an item that perhaps this person held in high esteem - it was a reminder of their homeland.
This one is my oldest coin - dated from 1821-1850, the Ching Dynasty.

 

[T.C.]

here is the unfired 45-70 centerfire cartridge I dug.
You can see the length of the projectile, by its "shadow" on the (copper) shell
Used in 1873 Springfield trapdoor, breech-loading rifle
.45-70-405 and .45-70-500 government cartridges generally used groove diameter
grease groove bullets of .458 inches (11.6 mm) diameter.[8]
W.R.A. Co. 45-70 is a copper cartridge, w/
- a brass primer
-stepped head
-with small headstamp lettering
-round nose bullet (likely 405 grain lead, which, apparently had a BAD habit of corroding, if stored awhile) .
View attachment 1288513
View attachment 1288519

I was told by a fellar at a gun show that my cartridge has a Benet primer....here's a good link on the cartridge....
THE CARTRIDGE COLLECTOR

 

[eyemustdigtreasure]

Hey, T.C. thanks for the info!
I'm learning all-the-time, with help from folks like you..!
thanks again,
Cheers!
GL + HH

 

[cactusman]

One of my more unusual finds, just off a hiking trail under a tree -- a nice crystal encased in a copper tube. A great find for a rock hound, and proof that you never know what you're going to find when you get out and start detecting!



Yes, I refilled the hole after the second photo.

 

[ARC]

Now why is a crystal inside of a copper tube I wonder....?

 

[dirtwizard]

maybe it was stolen and buried in the tube for protection so it could be recovered. or perhaps a geocache sort of thing. Guess we'll never know.

coolest thing I found lately was literally dropped in my lap. We get rolled coin from the bank to use at work. Co-worker says "hey you like old coins, you want these dimes?" As he hands me 26 silver dimes, one of which is a mercury dime. I asked where he got them. Apparently he was given a whole roll but didn't realize what they were until many had been given to customers in change. Went and checked with the manager, and he happens to have another roll of dimes wrapped differently than the rest from the bank. I bought it for face value thinking I may get a few more silvers. Opened my hand to have a better look at the wrapper and noticed the letter "S" written on one end. The entire roll was silver. 2 or 3 more mercs in the mix too! I checked with the co-worker who gave me some originally. Looked through his drawer and pulled out even more! Ended up with 80 some silver dimes, for face value. Will have to take a pic to show them off.

 

[T.C.]

Wow!! Great find!! Grandma and Grandpa's coin collection.....cashed in for drugs!! I guess it happens all the time according to a clerk I know.

 

[Kevin in IN]

I took my grandson to an auction last summer. It was an estate sale with over a thousand boxes of junk they cleaned out of the house and out buildings. So we ended up with a truck load of boxes for 35 dollars. Also paid 2 dollars for the contents of a summer kitchen. We found 2 case knives and a handfull of other pocket knives in the summer kitchen. When we got home, the grandkids crawled in the truck and started looking for goodies in all these boxes while I was stacking them in the garage. They started yelling at me, saying paw paw, there's money in here. One of them had opened a tin and was waving a pile of cash. We ended up with $ 480 in cash, plus the case knives and all that junk for about $37 dollars. I had to explain to the kids, in over 40 years of auctions that's the first time that has happened. Treasure is found in many places. Kevin

 

[Msbeepbeep]

My son handed me the rejects from coinstar....do I see silver!! Oh Ya!

 

[Old Dude]

I found this a couple years ago and had no idea about this company since I did not grow up here. It was a company that got Hitler's attention though because of it producing tanks that helped settle his demise. Documents found in captured bunkers showed this company was on his target list to be destroyed if possible. It is a lost tool tag from the production line.

http://wnep.com/2016/03/23/stuie-wwii-tank-returns-home-to-berwick/

 

[relic nut]

I found this here rock, and it's cool.
When I got back to the shop, I found this and it even cooler.

HH, Relic Nut

 

[Chas.alpha]

My first treasure post that seems to fit quite nicely here...

Last summer, my siblings and I had the unfortunate task of moving my Mom from the five bedroom house that we grew up in into an assisted living facility. Since my brother flew up from Texas and me from Tampa, time was very short. We basically boxed everything up and moved it all to a storage unit. After she passed a few weeks back, we all met to deal with her belongings. Boxes full of papers, books and sundries, all of which had to be thoroughly sorted as to not throw away the title to her car, etc. One large box was filled with 80+ years of Christmas cards that she had received (and kept!). Literally 100 lbs. + of these, most of which were from relatives and family friends that the four of us fondly remembered. Almost all of these were destined for the recycle bin, as none of us have the ability to store and keep them. I found an envelope near the bottom of one of the boxes. It was a Christmas card from her aunt Sadie, dated 1932 when Mom was a wee lass of six years old. I opened it up and found a linen handkerchief the Sadie had embroidered with Mom's initials. As I unfolded it to show my brother and sisters, something fell out of it into my lap. (See photos)

Someone posted on this thread awhile back that every item has a story. I come from Iowa farm stock. Aunt Sadie probably had to save for months to afford this gift and I am certain that Grandma told my Mom to save it for a rainy day, or the next great depression!

I asked my sibs what we should do with it and they used our favorite TN mantra. Finders Keepers! I think I am going to frame it. It shouldn't get lost in the bottom of another box when I check out. ;-)

 

[Msbeepbeep]

Found this from my son's coinstar rejects

 

[dirtscratcher]

Found in a wheat feild that was a town until 1900. The plow nicked her a few times but she's my favorite. It's also the last coin I've found there. The Last 2 years I've missed getting to detect the field because of work or crops. This was my 4th coin and I detect around 25 to 30 hours between coins find a lot of other stuff but coins are tough. The owner said 10 years ago a guy detect the feild and found a gold coin from Denmark. I don't even want to admit how long I've detected since last coin find, but they have all been good ones.

 

[ScubaDetector]

here is the unfired 45-70 centerfire cartridge I dug.
You can see the length of the projectile, by its "shadow" on the (copper) shell
Used in 1873 Springfield trapdoor, breech-loading rifle
.45-70-405 and .45-70-500 government cartridges generally used groove diameter
grease groove bullets of .458 inches (11.6 mm) diameter.[8]
W.R.A. Co. 45-70 is a copper cartridge, w/
- a brass primer
-stepped head
-with small headstamp lettering
-round nose bullet (likely 405 grain lead, which, apparently had a BAD habit of corroding, if stored awhile) .
View attachment 1288513
View attachment 1288519

Actually that bullet is a lot longer than the discoloration showed. I have found 3 live ones in the water and lots of shot ones.







My live ones are dated 1886. I believe yours is newer. Still a very nice black powder round.

 

[eyemustdigtreasure]

This is my FIRST Buffalo/Indian Nickel - 1917
I wasn't able to keep it, as this was found on a USFS/ Passport In Time project on the Yreka Trail, northern Calif.
So, no problem, I found one more, a year or so after, in a city park - and I kept it...!

 

[eyemustdigtreasure]

Here is an 1872 French 10 Centimes coin I found, by the base of the largest Fir tree in the neighborhood.
Clearly over 200 years old. I'm thinking this find confirms history books mentioning fur trappers in this area.
They didn't get them all, as the beaver still are here...!

- the coin find

- what it supposed to look liike

 

[ScubaDetector]

Got this out of a lake near Lapeer Michigan. No idea how or why it ended up in the bottom of the lake, or how it ended up in Michigan for that matter

 

[eyemustdigtreasure]

My First Mercury Dime Was FLAT!
Attached photo of the second silver coin find ever,
and it was flattened by the train on the tracks!
You can see the shadow of the winged Liberty,
compare to the other photo, as an example....
now, do you see her chin, then nose, the whole profile...??
My silver disk still has its reeded edge, too!

 

[indigo401]

I found all this stuff in my yard today before joining this site
the newspaper came from the basement rafter,