Scovill General Service button donated to local historical society in a display case

invent4hir · Nov 17, 2020

All, this button rates as one of my best finds of the year. Doing the research to determine that William Perry Hatfield most likely wore it makes it that much more special. The case is open to reduce the glare.

azdave · Nov 17, 2020

Provenance sure adds to a great find... I would say you can count on it being from him.

Wildcat1750 · Nov 17, 2020

Great find, great story and great display! It is now far more than just another relic...

invent4hir · Nov 18, 2020

azdave & Wildcat 1750, thanks for the kudos! I forgot to mention that this button was found in a small area where I found 4 other 1-piece buttons - as if a button spill occurred there. It is the first time in over 20 years I have detected a property where only one person did it before me. Uncovering over 20 artifacts of historical significance was like winning the lottery when most properties I do I'm lucky to find only 2-3. All I had to do is cut away a lot of honeysuckle, grape vines, and move wood piles and stones.

Edit: Click on the pictures to see them in the correct orientation...

devldog · Nov 18, 2020

Congrat's to you on one Great Find and Save of the Eagle General Service button. The story that goes along with this artifact makes it much more valuable. And not in a dollar sense, as much as a Historical Sense. Well Done Sir. Great looking button too.

invent4hir · Nov 18, 2020

devldog, thanks for the kind words. In non-pandemic years, the historical society takes the display cases to elementary schools and senior centers to educate others. Having artifacts to show, helps bring history to life.

devldog · Nov 18, 2020

invent4hir said:
devldog, thanks for the kind words. In non-pandemic years, the historical society takes the display cases to elementary schools and senior centers to educate others. Having artifacts to show, helps bring history to life.

Yes, it truly does. Years ago when I was a younger man I was involved in Living History. We would at times go to schools when invited dressed in our C.W. Uniforms and do a school of the soldier presentation to the students. We would also carry some of our artifact display cases and let the students see first hand artifacts that were used and lost during the war. We would even carry our equipment along with our muskets. That's how long ago that was. Try doing this today. It was fun and the students seemed to enjoy it, and that made it all worthwhile.

invent4hir · Nov 18, 2020

devldog said:
Yes, it truly does. Years ago when I was a younger man I was involved in Living History. We would at times go to schools when invited dressed in our C.W. Uniforms and do a school of the soldier presentation to the students. We would also carry some of our artifact display cases and let the students see first hand artifacts that were used and lost during the war. We would even carry our equipment along with our muskets. That's how long ago that was. Try doing this today. It was fun and the students seemed to enjoy it, and that made it all worthwhile.

devldog, that is a cool way to give back to your community. :occasion14:

I give presentations from time-to-time but I'm hardly an engaging story-teller. After I got out of the Army in 1970s, I attended classes part time at a small college near my farm. A history class was required. The instructor, Bill Nimmo, was able to bring history to life. Years later I discovered he had been on TV and was Johnny Carson’s first MC (before Ed McMahon). In fact, when Bill left Johnny to do his own TV show he recommended Ed as his replacement. Of course, the rest is history!

devldog · Nov 19, 2020

invent4hir, Thanks for your service, and that was a cool story about Johnny Carson's MC. I'll bet he had some stories to tell. Small world.

invent4hir · Nov 19, 2020

devldog said:
invent4hir, Thanks for your service, and that was a cool story about Johnny Carson's MC. I'll bet he had some stories to tell. Small world.

devldog, you're welcome. Yes Bill and I became good friends. He owned a small farm with a pond and I used to trap muskrats to supplement my income. He invited me into his home one day and gave me a tour. Each room was about a different country he had visited. Eventually I moved away and lost touch. Then while visiting my uncle 30 years later, I decided to search for Bill, and he was living in a nursing home. I stopped by and visited. For the first time I discovered he was a WWII vet - and never got a chance to see their memorial in D.C. At that point he was too frail to go on Honor Flight, so I did the next best thing, I brought the memorial to him and other residents in the form of an excellent amateur video. I visited him a few more times over the next 4 months then heard he passed away. I got some photos of him and sent them on an Honor Flight and in return they did a "Flags of Our Heroes" ceremony in his honor. I sent the stuff to his daughter and added his name to the WWII register.

His wikipedia page is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Nimmo
Here is a video of him during the premiere of the TV show "Keep It In The Family" -

devldog · Nov 20, 2020

He lived quite an exciting life. That was a good thing you did for him honoring him a s a WWII vet. I know his daughter and family appreciated your efforts in doing this.

ANTIQUARIAN · Apr 11, 2021

Sorry I missed this post invent. :thumbsup:

It certainly looks like we detect the same type of overgrown sites and you obviously know very well what it takes to make allies in our hobby.

Just thought you might find it interesting to read about the history in a post I made on March 31... http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/today-s-finds/652461-first-two-hunts-2021-a.html
Kudos to you for donating your finds to your local historical society as well. :occasion14:

Dave

invent4hir · Apr 11, 2021

ANTIQUARIAN said:
Sorry I missed this post invent.
It certainly looks like we detect the same type of overgrown sites and you obviously know very well what it takes to make allies in our hobby.

Just thought you might find it interesting to read about the history in a post I made on March 31... http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/today-s-finds/652461-first-two-hunts-2021-a.html
Kudos to you for donating your finds to your local historical society as well.
Dave

Dave, No problem. To be honest, my MD season slowed way down after that post and I wasn't on TNet very much this winter. Spent the last few months researching an ancestor who fought in both the Revolutionary War and War of 1812 - and to this day no one knows precisely where he and his wife are buried. Most people guess in one of 3 cemeteries - but my theory is they are buried on what was once their property. In fact, last month I took a trip to that area and had a look. Even took my metal detector. Talk about being overgrown - YIKES! Most metal finds were after his lifetime. But I did find what I believe may be a man's brass/copper wedding band. More importantly, I found a chimney that a an archeologist friend of mine says dates to 1820 or before (my ancestor died 1818-19). Nearby I found a building with wooden planks about 17 inches wide and 4 inches thick (with some wooden pegs). My assessment is that the planks were cut from logs re-purposed from a cabin. Lately I've been updating on a paper listing all the reasons why I think they lived there and plans to have a monument to honor them.

I agree, it helps to make allies in our hobbies.

Will take a look at your post dated 31 March.

Take care :occasion14: