Silver VMI ring and a few other interesting finds

[Batholith]

The old Valley Turnpike crosses our family farm in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. It has been a working farm since at least the early 18th century and there were at least 2 civil war actions fought on or near the property. In between fixing the barn roof and hosting the whole family over Christmas I was able to get three good days of metal detecting in.

I've had my AT Pro for a couple months and hunting the farm with it was frustrating with the stock coil because there is iron trash all over the property. This was my first hunt with the 5x8 coil and it paid off.

First pic shows an assortment of finds including minie balls and casings, a block "A" confederate artillery button. All of these were dug except for the straight razor and fireman's medal- found those in a coffee can in the barn.



A nice merc:



An old Ford hubcap:



A wild iron axe (this thing was DEEP and I have no idea what to make of it. War axe for indian trade?):



And finally, this amazing ring:




It is sterling with no date or inscription. From a bit of research online I think it is pre-1940 and possibly a bit older.

I'd love to hear thoughts on any of these items if you know more about them. Thanks for looking!

 

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[thommo59]

Love the rings

 

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[Valley Ranger]

Thanks for the kind words everyone. There is actually so much iron detritus in the ground at this site that I will often grid off an area and do my best to clear the nails and plowpoints and such before hunting more aggressively for the nicer targets. I clear a lot of trash just by running the propointer along the ground surface. Someday I'll get around to taking pics of the mountain of scrap I've accumulated

By the way, are there any classic car people out there with an idea about the age of that hubcap? Anyone seen anything like that axe before in VA?

Thanks again for the great responses.

On the hubcap - if anyone can help you, this guy can:

Elder Antique Auto - Staunton VA 24401 | 540-885-0500 | Antique Autos

He's in Staunton.