Went prospecting for gold, ended up eyeballing some silver!

[The Aluminum Monster]

Hi all.

Woke up at dawn to make a 2.5 hour drive to western Massachusetts to do some prospecting on the Westfield River. Unfortunately, that's about how far in any direction I have to drive if I want to find any gold since my area is not a gold producing spot. I had classified material into a 5 gallon bucket and brought it to the water to pan. A few shovels in and I noticed this silver spoon, not two inches from where I set the bucket.

Oddly enough, I usually bring a metal detector with me on trips like this, but I left them at home today. From what I can tell, even though I can't find a match online for the spoon, it is a souvenir from the Bethesda Pavilion in Waukesha, Wisconsin. How it ended up on a river bank in western Massachusetts, I will never know.

Thanks for looking and I hope you got a chance to go out and enjoy the day!









-Jay

 

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[The Aluminum Monster]

Oh yeah... the gold!

Didn't cover the gas money today.

 

[NZ49er]

Lol, treasure is where you find it!

 

[watercolor]

Awesome find!

I lived in Waukesha for 11-years . . . folks from all over the country came there for the mineral springs & water

 

[The Aluminum Monster]

NZ49er - Haha. Yep. And I reckon I won't leave the detectors at home next trip up.

 

[The Aluminum Monster]

Awesome find!

I lived in Waukesha for 11-years . . . folks from all over the country came there for the mineral springs & water

View attachment 1842857

Thank you! It took a few minutes for me to get to that picture you posted. I was assuming Bethesda, Maryland in my searches. Still didn't find an exact match on the spoon but learned a bit of history of that area.

 

[madmantrapper]

I'm guessing that is one of those spoons travelers collect and display?

 

[The Aluminum Monster]

I'm guessing that is one of those spoons travelers collect and display?

That's my thought as well. I am guessing it has a little bit of age to it, maybe the 1950s or so, since it doesn't have the crowned, colorized, ceramic inlay that you see in the modern tourist spoons. After dinner I am going to see if I can find the mint mark online and hopefully narrow down the age.

 

[ArfieBoy]

Nice spoon! Did you just eyeball it? Congratulations!

 

[The Aluminum Monster]

Nice spoon! Did you just eyeball it? Congratulations!

Thank you! Yep. It was just laying on the ground next to where I was panning. Noticed it a few pans in.

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Awesome relic find!

 

[JeffInMass]

Great find Monster! I spent 11 years of my life in your town..

 

[The Aluminum Monster]

Awesome relic find!

Thank you kindly! It was, quite literally, a "oh hey, a spoon" find while bending over to scoop some dirt. Dumb luck was my friend today.

 

[The Aluminum Monster]

Great find Monster! I spent 11 years of my life in your town..

Thank you sir. If you want to trade the spoon for your pine tree shilling, just shoot me a message!

I mostly hate my town. I am glad for you that you managed to escaped.

 

[CalReg]

Very cool spoon!

 

[The Aluminum Monster]

Very cool spoon!

Thank you! Nice little surprise.

 

[xcopperstax]

very nice find to eyeball! Did you find any gold to speak of? I had no idea that there was any gold to be found in Mass!

 

[1235CE]

Very cool eyeball find!.....love the Westfield River for trout fishing!!

HH all!

Greg

 

[The Aluminum Monster]

very nice find to eyeball! Did you find any gold to speak of? I had no idea that there was any gold to be found in Mass!

Yessir, out the western way, you can find some. I have a picture up thread a bit. I only dug about three hours so I was happy to get that tiny amount. Thank you!

 

[The Aluminum Monster]

Very cool eyeball find!.....love the Westfield River for trout fishing!!

HH all!

Greg

Tons of bait fish in that river that I saw. Quite a few fisherman and we were all respectful to let each other enjoy the river in our own ways. Maybe I will see you some time!