Rare gun part found on campus

[tnt-hunter]

Family obligations finally allowed me some time to swing the CZ 21. Back to campus for a frosty morning that warmed up as I went along and allowed my fingers to thaw. Luckily the ground was only crusty on top at first and after about an hour of warming weather and bright sun the ice was gone.

I spent 5 and a half hours digging and end up with a nice day that actually got better when I got home and cleaned up my finds. 169 coins with a value of $11.93, a cheapy Madonna, a 2005 aluminum pendant by Jostens (probably from a graduation tassel), a thin aluminum plate with Arabic style writing, 2 keys, a mangled Disabled American Veterans key tag and an odd piece of twisted brass.

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When I dug the twisted brass I thought it was worth another look so I kept it separate from the junk so I could clean it up and have a better look. When I got home and started to wash it I noticed writing on it. After some effort I could read THE HAMILTON RIFLE CO, PLYMOUTH MICH., PAT. PENDG. After a closer examination I could make out No 7 and 22 Cal.

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It turns out that this is the butt of a skeleton type 22 rifle manufactured by the Hamilton Co between 1898 and 1901. It was the first rifle they made and they are quite rare. It’s a shame this part is all twisted and that this is the only part I found, but it was still exciting to discover the history of this find. Isn’t this hobby great!



Thanks for looking and may your coil lead you to good things.

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Congratualtions on the nice finds!

 

[bologna321]

Cool, that's a keeper

 

[Ogre1190]

Nice work!!! 🙌 I had a Hamilton that I traded to another C&R Dealer for a Stevens Visible Loader and a Rem 12C.

 

[dirtlooter]

yes, super cool find. an awesome one really

 

[Tedyoh]

Damn man...169 coins in 5.5 hours is 1 coin recovered every 2 minutes.....what digging tool do you use?

 

[Digger Pop]

Surprised your finding all clad. The campus probably dates back well before that time period. Whats your theory on this? The gun part is 1900. Have you found coins dated that far back as well?

 

[Digger RJ]

Nice!!! Congrats!!!

 

[A2coins]

Damn man...169 coins in 5.5 hours is 1 coin recovered every 2 minutes.....what digging tool do you use?

A shop vac. lol That's a cool find wow that's a lot of coins

 

[washingtonian]

Wow, neat find. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Whyme]

Wow that is a very cool find! Go find the rest of the gun! Congrats!

 

[treblehunter]

Interesting find, always a bonus when you can get an ID like that

 

[Hawks88]

Thanks for sharing your finds. The rifle part is a beautiful save. Congrats

 

[Oldhead]

I don't think my knees would hold up to getting down that many times for all those coins.

 

[tnt-hunter]

I use a mini shovel to dig with. Once the plug is out I pinpoint and use a trowel to recover from the plug.

 

[tnt-hunter]

Digger Pop the campus opened in 1961. Before that it was part of two different old farms. A lot of local sporting events take place here so a lot of change from confessions gets lost. I did find an old crotal bell, some flat buttons, a lead die and an 1854 large cent, but all that and the gun part form the old farms. They had all been manhandled by the dozers and heavy equipment used to excavate for the buildings and make the sports fields. The modern trash and coins are close to the top and quite plentiful. Since September 30 I have found over 3,600 coins here in 110 hours of swingin with the CZ 21.

 

[Rookster]

Nice finds.Congrats

 

[MrBlueSkyNM]

Oh wow, that's cool!

 

[goldhungry]

cool stuff finding the old rifle part

 

[Digger Pop]

Thanks for the response. Thats awesome the number of coins you find. Along with the occasion jewelry and artifact. I always enjoy your posts. I'm only a river and a couple counties south of you.