Scarborough Park Hunt - Silver Coins x 2 Update Padlock Restored

ANTIQUARIAN · Nov 25, 2011

Hope everyone is having an enjoyable Thanksgiving this weekend! :hello2:

Unfortunately, we Canadians already had our Thanksgiving back in October, so today is just another work day for us! :'(

Unless you're me of course, self-employed for a US based company, so they closed our office in Maine for two days! :wink:

Today I seized the opportunity with our mild November weather to hit a 1940's era park in the east end of Toronto. I hunted this park for close to six hours and managed a couple of interesting finds! :thumbsup:

Let me start by reiterating how much I hate digging pennies . . . I dug 67 of them today! :BangHead:

But as we all know, when we dig pennies we sometimes find silver!

One of my best finds today was finding 2 silver dimes, 1940 & 1962 and a 1961 nickel in the same hole! I also found a heavily encrusted padlock and a brass 'jingle bell'. It's probably time that I learned how to do electrolysis! :laughing7:

I found lots of early pennies at this site, 1938, '50, '57', 60', '61, '62, '63 & '64, and early nickels, 1950 &'61. I'll definitely be heading back here if the weather holds out for next week! :thumbsup:

Total change found today $4.51.

Thanks for looking and have a great long weekend!
Dave

treasurepirate1 · Nov 27, 2011

Cool, when we were moving we lived in Scarborough for about a year than moved. Last weekend i hit an 1838 house, and found a padlock as well but mine is solid brass, i took a magnet to it and it didn't stick so the if i found the proper key it would probably still work. i'm still in the making of the video so i will post it sometime soon

Bart@Big Boys Hobbies · Nov 27, 2011

Wow! nice park. Better finds!

rob.s · Nov 27, 2011

ANTIQUARIAN said:
rob.s said:

ANTIQUARIAN said:

I just finished restoring the padlock I found on Friday. I restored this piece the same way I restore all of my 'preserveable' early iron finds!

Just thought you all might like to see it, all comments are welcome . . . positive or negative!

Click to expand...

Nice finds and the lock looks great cleaned up

How do you restore your lock,that's if you don't mind me asking?

Click to expand...

Thanks for asking Rob.

I'm not brave enough to attempt electrolysis yet, so I use a small handheld pick hammer. First I wash the piece in dish soap and water, then let it thoroughly dry. The next day I start to gently tap the piece with the hammer and the rust usually flakes off easily. Following that, I buff it with a small brass wire brush. Then I wipe it off with a damp cloth, dry it with a towel, then seal it with a rust inhibiting spray. For larger items like horseshoes I soak them in a bucket of vinegar for 3 or 4 days to stop the rust process, then follow the same procedure I mentioned above. I admit this is crude, but it works for me!

Here's a picture of other items that I've found this year and stabilized.

Best of luck to you Rob,
Dave

Thanks Dave!!I just found a old pulling horse shoe 2 weeks ago and will definitely try your method for clean up :icon_thumright:

johnnyblaze · Nov 28, 2011

Nice silver score :icon_thumleft:

Lock restored wonderfully :thumbsup:

Blaze

JW15 · Nov 30, 2011

Well done Dave! :headbang:

I've regrettably missed some of your posts but I'm always curious to see what goodies you're pulling up north. If I were you and if it's possible, I'd try to hit the areas where some of the battles,routes,and camps of the war of 1812 were. Bet you'd hit the jackpot! :thumbsup:

ANTIQUARIAN · Dec 1, 2011

johnnyblaze said:
Nice silver score

Lock restored wonderfully

Blaze

Thanks Johnny!

You've been doing pretty good yourself lately! :thumbsup:

Dave

JW15 said:
Well done Dave! I've regrettably missed some of your posts but I'm always curious to see what goodies you're pulling up north. If I were you and if it's possible, I'd try to hit the areas where some of the battles,routes,and camps of the war of 1812 were. Bet you'd hit the jackpot!

Hi JW!

Thanks for your kind words. I intend on spending this winter going over old maps at the library. Unfortunately, here in Canada old map websites are not as available as yours are in the States. Most War of 1812 Battle sites and routes are now covered in asphalt or are in our National Parks and are off limits to detecting. Though, I do live just north of the main highway (Kingston Road) between York (now Toronto) and Kingston, ON which was one of the main supply ports for the British Military.

Best of luck to you my friend! :thumbsup:

Dave

ANTIQUARIAN · Dec 1, 2011

ModernMiner said:
Great job on the rusty relics Dave. They will display well now.
PM me your email and I'll send you directions to an electrolysis setup I've used for years.
-Doug-

Thanks again for the link Doug, I'll practice this over the winter! :icon_thumright:

Dave

TreasurDiggrNY said:
Nice haul Dave, congrats on the silvers. Love the padlock you did a great job on the cleanup of it and the other iron pieces you've found

Thanks TreasurDiggrNY!

Thanks very much for your kind words with regards to my 'attempts' at iron restoration! :laughing7:

Heading back to the park today to detect in the snow! :thumbsup:

HH, Dave

metal mania said:
nice finds theres a Scarborough here wonder if they are twinned

Cheers mate! :thumbsup:

I don't think they are twinned? :dontknow:

Scarborough is a suburb of Toronto and is located north of Lake Ontario. Along the northside of the lake extending for 14kms are what is now called the Scarborough Bluffs. These are a geological formation left over from the last Ice Age in North America.

Best of luck to you my friend,
Dave

treasurepirate1 said:
Cool, when we were moving we lived in Scarborough for about a year than moved. Last weekend i hit an 1838 house, and found a padlock as well but mine is solid brass, i took a magnet to it and it didn't stick so the if i found the proper key it would probably still work. i'm still in the making of the video so i will post it sometime soon

Hey buddy, how are things up north . . . got a bit of snow yesterday eh! :laughing7:

I wish my lock were solid brass, yours is obviously much better quality then mine is! :icon_thumright:

I used to collect old brass padlocks, if you can get a working key for it, that will almost double it's value!

I look forward to seeing your video when it's posted!

Dave

Bart@ Big Boys Hobbies said:
Wow! nice park. Better finds!

Thanks Bart! :thumbsup:

Valley Ranger · Dec 1, 2011

Dave:

You noted that you: "then seal it with a rust inhibiting spray." Your pieces look nice and I'm no expert, but I've been told by a number of experienced relic hunters that unless one removes ALL the rust, it will return and continue to corrode the piece no matter what you seal it with.

Don't be afraid to try electrolysis. I've only been detecting seriously for a year and I've used the process several times now. It's really not that complicated or difficult. See one of my projects here:
http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,432036.msg3084036.html#msg3084036

Give it a try on your next find. Thanks for sharing your finds - nice saves!