Walked in, dug, made withdrawal

[scaupus]

yesterday, I felt i had used up our nearby city park from which I had pulled 2 sterling rings last week. I felt the need for fresh turf. I decided to hit the soccer field adjacent to our nearby elementary school. I picked a spot to start, and the very first beep I dug turned out to be a nice little vermeil bracelet (gold-plated sterling), just shy of 12 grams. It was really cool just walking in and digging it up as if I'd known exactly where it was!

 

[PROSPECTORMIKEL]

NICE FIND...
SOUNDS LIKE YOU NEED TO GO MORE OFTEN.

SOME FOLKS HAVE ALL THE LUCK!

I CAN'T FIND ENOUGH GOOD STUFF TO PAY FOR MY BATTS. AND I GOT NO EXCUSE.

HAPPY HUNTING


PROSPECTORMIKEL

 

[steelheadwill]

I love those vermeil pieces, Great Find

 

[rmptr]

That's a nice find, S !
IMO you should never hesitate, but always 'think outside the box' and search areas you feel may be rewarding. Working a grid is indeed a valuable method, yet if your instinct is productive, that's the best way.
It's better to be lucky than to know what you're doing!
Good luck
rmptr

 

[scaupus]

That's a nice find, S !
IMO you should never hesitate, but always 'think outside the box' and search areas you feel may be rewarding. Working a grid is indeed a valuable method, yet if your instinct is productive, that's the best way.
It's better to be lucky than to know what you're doing!
Good luck
rmptr

I hear ya, brother.

 

[N.J.THer]

Congrats on the bracelet.

Last week I went to a park that I've been getting some old coins out of and the maintenance crew were all over the place so I went over to another local park. First signal was a nice big silver ring. Sometime things happen or you just get a gut feeling and it pays off.

Good luck on future hunts.
NJ

 

[Historyhound]

Very nice looking, but having been made in China, there's a high chance that it's a pot metal bogusly marked as being silver. Those Chinese just LOVE TO DEFRAUD. But nice find in any case.

 

[allen]

that is one gorgeous bracelet !!!

 

[scaupus]

Very nice looking, but having been made in China, there's a high chance that it's a pot metal bogusly marked as being silver. Those Chinese just LOVE TO DEFRAUD. But nice find in any case.

LOL. I imagine that's very true. But this bracelet was quite tarnished when it came out of the ground, and cleaned up nicely with Tarn-X. Also, it has the right heft, unless they loaded it with lead, which they don't seem to have a problem doing, judging by all the toy recalls. But if it contained lead, I think i'd have seen some lead oxide leaching out after being in the ground for some time.

 

[PROSPECTORMIKEL]

I'M NO EXPERT, BY ANY STRETCH, BUT I DON'T THINK THAT TINY LITTLE LATCH WOULD HOLD UP IF THERE WAS MUCH LEAD IN THE MIX. I'D TAKE IT TO A JEWELER AND GET I PRO TO DECIDE FOR YOU.



JUST A THOUGHT ...
PROSPECTORMIKEL

 

[scaupus]

I'M NO EXPERT, BY ANY STRETCH, BUT I DON'T THINK THAT TINY LITTLE LATCH WOULD HOLD UP IF THERE WAS MUCH LEAD IN THE MIX. I'D TAKE IT TO A JEWELER AND GET I PRO TO DECIDE FOR YOU.



JUST A THOUGHT ...
PROSPECTORMIKEL

here's the same item for sale online, but with a slightly different charm.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/74713966/vintage-sterling-vermeil-bracelet-with

She's asking $32.50 with shipping. On mine, though, the goldplating has worn off in quite a few places, either as a result of the heavy tarnish from the silver damaging the goldplating, or else the silver tarnished where the goldplating had worn off, I'm not sure which. Anyway, I'm satisfied that it's real silver, I think I have a pretty good sense for when something is silver and when its base metal .

I found a little ring on the beach Saturday, completely black, I scratched at it with a steel blade and I just got more black. I'd never seen tarnish that thick, I wasn't sure it was possible, and so thought maybe it was a base metal of some sort. Also, the surface seemed rough. My mother was watching and dismissed it as junk. At home, I dropped it in tarn-x for an hour, rubbed it with magic wadding, and poof, there it was "Mex 925" and a hallmark. Also initials on the front plate that I had not been able to read, "SEK". It's a nice, bright little ring now. I just had a sense that it had to be sterling. From the feel, the weight, the form, all added up to sterling, despite its cruddy appearance. I once took an artisan-made sterling bracelet in to a jeweler near my home for his opinion about its provenance, and he wanted $75 before he'd even look at it. I think I need to make friends with a jeweler.

 

[PROSPECTORMIKEL]

I WAS RIGHT ABOUT ONE THING!
I AM NO EXPERT...... $75 TO LOOK. NO ONE HAS EVER GIVEN ME A NICKEL TO LOOK AT ANYTHING. I GOTTA RAISE MY OPINION PRICE.


HH
PM