Tuesday early morning hunt (update) Mystery solved added to proper location

[CASPER-2]

took oxbowbarefoot to one of my old hunt spots - which was an old Spanish American war & WW I trailing camp area
last time Id been there they had clear cut about an acre of it and another friend and I hit there and I got a 1900-O barber
half and some WW I cuff buttons along with some period shell casings and some period early wheats
as soon as I turned my machine on - I got a surface hit - looked down and found brand new band button - I think it came off of band member that probably parked there during Veterans day or Memorial day cause there is a small memorial to vets about 5o yrds away
I told Jason that there was a giant pine tree downed that they had not removed and brush was high my last time there
and I felt there could be some more goodies left
I tried concentrating on area where I thought tree had been - it wasn't long before I got a nice signal and dug down like 6 ins. and was surprised with
a WW I infantry collar disc ...about 4 feet away I got a similar signal and 7 ins down pop a MASS disc - I was surprised
worked around and was quite for awhile - headed near the tree line and got another real good signal - dug down about 5 ins and was surprised by silver case
the deer head on it looked gold too. walked over to Jason and he thought it was cool - we both agreed it looked like silver and I told
him the deer looked gold - he thought I might be right - he thought it was an older match safe for small stick matches and I thought he might be right
back to the hunt - not much else...I got an eagle cuff -WW I style
at the end of the day Jason wanted to see it again - most of the dirt had jiggled out of it he started to see if he could open - the hinge was broken
he got it open a little and we found it had some sort of paper inside and he also saw the word HELLO in silver inside - we don't know what that means
but paper was brittle and he closed and handed back to me - I had to work last night and wondered if the piece was in fact a match safe
and I wondered if it was period ...I thought it might be from the 40s or 50s
well when I got home I opened it a little bit more and at least one question was answered - don't know if I want to mess with more right now - they are tryin to build
a small museum here and I was going to loan most of the items I have found there to it if they are interested - so will wait for now on it
any other ideas on it are welcome

 

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[jeff of pa]

Nice ! even if not a Gold one.
That's a Nice find

 

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[oxbowbarefoot]

Very cool! I wonder if they date from the same period or if they have been made for an extended period.

 

[trapperart]

Glad you got the ID

 

[against the wind]

That is so cool.
Good work Casper

 

[basque-man]

Way awesome!!!!! Still cool with the paper inside!!!

 

[DocBeav]

Hey Casper, that is cool! Good job getting an ID on it!

 

[CASPER-2]

US entered war in April 1917 - so it may have been dropped by a soldier that had enlisted and was training there
there was nothing else really in the area back then before the camp
pic of camp back then - all woods and a few residences and small businesses now

 

[treblehunter]

Now that is a camp! there should be tons of stuff there. That is so cool the membership card was still in there. Congrats!

 

[Carolina Tom]

Very nice find and ID. Congrats!

 

[ScubaDetector]

Very interesting find for sure. Unbelievable paper was still in it after all these years. It really must have been protected by something like a tree. Very unique find. Nice story also

 

[CASPER-2]

Now that is a camp! there should be tons of stuff there. That is so cool the membership card was still in there. Congrats!

whats left of it been pounded for yrs (I first hit there as a kid in the late 70s)- theres only like a football field size area that can be hit left - all thick woods now
if they clear the rest of it - there may be some goodies still - I'll go back eventually

 

[Steve in PA]

Nice card case. Too bad that case didn't have Honus Wagner baseball card in it

 

[OutdoorAdv]

US entered war in April 1917 - so it may have been dropped by a soldier that had enlisted and was training there
there was nothing else really in the area back then before the camp
pic of camp back then - all woods and a few residences and small businesses now
View attachment 1280759

That is one awesome find Casper! Really glad you got the ID on it and that you and oxbow had a great time hunting I really like old pictures like this one. I do a lot of searching with old maps, but an actual picture is even better. Awesome hunt!

 

[CASPER-2]

The case has a name engraved on its back - I did not post because I wanted to do the research on it myself
R.C.KETCHEN is what is on it and I found that he graduated from the University of Maine and was in the US ARMY 103RD infantry and then the artillery
in what was known as the "Yankee Division" don't know he if actually went over but the 103rd did fight in France in WW I
and he was stationed at that camp where I found it

 

[CASPER-2]

 

[CASPER-2]

paper inside says Old Town = there is an Old Town, Maine
he is from Maine and went to U of M - pieces coming more together

 

[Texas Ed]

Fantastic finds & what a great hunt. Wish you many more great finds.

Texas ED
S/E Texas Gulf Coast