Unusual Find

[petersra]

I could have found this with my detector, but it happened to be an eye find. I was at the lake cutting grass on an empty lot. I usually pick up the loose rocks before I cut, since they seem to work their way to the surface and tend to get hit by the mower blade. It would have been nice to have an in-place photo but I was so surprised when I saw what I thought might be a grenade, that I dug it up without thinking about a photo. The dark side of the grenade was exposed and the rest of it was buried in the red clay. The inside was pretty full of dirt and it is pretty rusty, so I think it has been there for a while. Not sure how it got there since I know of no military activity in the area. I guess some kids were playing Army on the empty lot many years ago. I cleaned it up and treated it with a product called "Ospho" which is suppose to neutralize the rust and act as a pretreatment for painting. Fortunately, the cleaning process revealed that the inside was empty of explosive material. I wasn't sure what I would find with the top still mostly in tact. I haven't been finding much at the beach except some clad not worth posting. HH to all. Ralph

 

[Lorrain.]

Oh, my goodness, Ralph!! That is sure an interesting find...and dangerous.

Take care .

Thanks for posting the pics....I am intrigued with that grenade find ; never saw one in my life.

Lorraine

 

[Cavedweller]

Ralph : This is a practice grenade but your looks like a real one that was defused or unloaded - Cavedweller

 

[Bobbypins]

Interesting find you got there. I remember going to the Army/Navy store when i was a kid and picking them up for $5. They make interesting conversation pieces. Finding one in the ground is a first that i've heard of.

Maybe I'll find one here in Okinawa...

Here's a link to some currently selling...

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=250800971

 

[Terry Soloman]

Ralph, I don't know man. I think I would have called the Bomb Squad, and let them handle it. I mean, I'm happy for you that you found something neat, but I would caution EVERYONE that finding something like this could also be extremely dangerous.

I know a Civil War enthusiast that found an old artillery shell that had to be exploded in place because it was deemed too dangerous to move. Of course, he had it dug half way out of the hole before someone suggested calling the professionals..

Glad it turned out OK!

 

[stevemc]

The hole in the bottom means its a practice grenade. My dad has one from the Korean Conflict, a practice grenade, and it has the pin, sprung swing arm and the popper, but it has a hole in the bottom just as both of the pics show. A real one has a solid bottom.

 

[petersra]

Thanks for the replies. I actually have a practice pineapple grenade with the cast-in handle like the one Cavedweller posted...... Although I am sure anything is possible, since I was no where near a military operation and the handle was gone either from corrosion or the pin was pulled and handle flipped, I figured it was a practice or smoke grenade. Believe me, I too am glad it wasn't live..... It sure would be something to survive the Vietnam war and get blown up by a grenade on an empty lot in the states. HH to ya'al. Ralph