What do you prefer?

Something really valuable, like a new gold ring, jewelry ect.?

Or something old with provence?

Personally, I prefer the later. The idea of finding something someone dropped 100+yrs ago, something they used, worked hard to buy, lost, searched in vain to find only to be found by myself with a electronic device never even dreamed of back then is very satisfying to me.

The Artillary Officers Button I found last week is worth more to ((me)) than all the gold rings I've ever found.

Give me the old stuff, history that talks to you.
I hunt the beach in the summer when old site are thin but just killing time till the fields open again.
The only gold ring i have found was in the woods that used to be a park in late 1800s
It is enscribed From Mother to Elton , have not been able to melt it yet .
Same site 1820s Mass Militia button , one of my favorite finds.

I wonder long Elton saved for that ring?

I wonder how his mother lost it?

I wonder how long she looked for it until she finally told him?

Thanks



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/01/2012 01:30AM by Aaron.

Sort of odd Aaron. For some reason I prefer to find silver coins (would jump at gold of course). I have found a quite a few old coins from the 1800's or so but I MUCH prefer (generally) to find a 100 year old or newer silver coin. I said generally as there are some nice looking old coins. Really old silver coins take the cake and most coins hundreds of years old that I have found are silver. I have found quite a few silver coins from as far back as 1548 or so... :-)

I don't particularly hunt for gold rings, or I should say I hadn't, but I'm starting to (with the price of gold and detectors where they are, you sort of have to!)

I was ready to jump and say old coins, but thinking a little more,.... the relics, minnie's, round balls and antique rings give me that "hard to put into words" feeling also. So I guess my preferecces are not as narrow as I thought.

I find it interesting at old home sites the amount of horse items and brass you just cant ID. Some of those old coins are interesting because like was said when you lost a seated half dollar that was big money back then. Tokens are an interesting find for me as well.

Dew

Funny I should read this post today. Today we were relic hunting and I found a 3.1 gr. gold ring. It was in a field by an old stone foundation. It was the last thing I expected to dig in this location. Gold is nice to find and does not come that often, so I was very excited finding it. But I get just as much of an adrenalin rush finding an old relic or coin.

Monetary value does matter to me to a certain degree. But if I had a choice between let's say...a 14k mens wedding band...and a seated half dollar in AU condition....I'd take the half dollar. For the aestheic beauty and rarity.

I feel the average fellow goes for old history type.....whether it be gold or silver.

My favorite ever sort of combined the two 14 kt. 16 diamond turn of the century ring found in a mansion yard now a religious retreat.

Jeweler dated it when I had sized for my wife and will go to my daughter hopefully in many years down the road...

I'm a treasure chest type of guy. I like the gold and silver more than the relics. A piece of gold floats my boat, and silver makes me happy. I do enjoy the shiny glint of a reeded edge in the hole, but the buttery yellow color of gold is what I'm after.

HH
Mike

Mike spoken like a true veteran and only took a line and a half...

Well let's see Aaron "RELICS"

Once you get the relic bug there's really no cure...it's worse than than getting the goldbug.....


I have found my whole life for the past 30 year's has been revolving around artifact's and history...and it all started with a single Minnie ball I found while coin hunting a school school yard when I was about 12 years old.....I went home found out what it was...And well the rest is History LOL!!!!

Time I was 16 I wanted a license for one thing and it wasnt to take girls on date's....Not that I didnt ..But my dates was taking them to the local civil war battlefields for picnic's and museum tour's....actually a pretty cheap date...

But yes I love to dig history...especially civil war...Confederate Cavalry.....Man I get weak thinking about Confederate cavalry relics....


Hey Aaron where are you in Florida? or are you in Florida?...I have some Kin folk on Amelia Island..we get down every once in awhile....I got into a spot down there a few years back that had some .69 Three ringer's and eagle button's...and camp brass...Right on the intercoastal waterway..

Next time I get down that way if the site has not been developed or something I need to call you and Tom and we can get together and hunt it...

I remember talking to a guy down there a few years back who said He knew a guy who found a spanish spot on the back of the island and the guy found a bronze cannon with dolphins for handles...dated like 1620 or so....said the guy dug alot of spanish artifacts in the area over the year's..


If I was living in Florida I would really be on the Lookout for Spanish Artifact's..

Keith

Hey Keith,

Nope....I'm Yankee from up in Michigan, although Ive managed to hunt with Tom when I get down there. That would be cool place to hunt, if we could arrange it.....

Thanks!

Aaron, I live in a town that was established in 1658, I wanted to find something that was older, a could of years ago, I found a French Laird with the date 1657, I would rather find buttons than coins, but I like old coins

My preference is GOLD. Anything made of GOLD, GOLD makes my feet do the "Happy Dance"
The higher the Kt content, the more exuberant the "Happy Dance"

I like finding coins, especially old coins, the older the better. When I find an old coin, I often wonder about the people who may have had it, the items they transacted with the coin. In the late 1800's you could buy most of your groceries with a pocket full of change. I wonder about the person who lost the coin, were they miff'd when they lost it or did they even realize it was gone. The average wage earner only made $16.00 a week. Some trades only made two, three, four, or six dollars a week. The men driving the horse drawn streetcars in New York in the 1880's made $1.75 a day.
Here are some average prices of goods ( from a website oldrecipes.com )
1 bag of flour $1.80
Small measure of potatoes daily at .17 per day $1.19
1/4 lb of tea .38
1 qt milk .56
1 lb cheap coffee .35
Sugar 3 1/2 lb $1.05
1/2 ration meats per week $3.50
4 lb. butter $1.60
2 lb. lard .38
Dried apples for treats .25
Vegetables .50
Soap, starch, pepper, salt, vinegar, etc. $1.00
2 bushels of coal $1.36
Kerosene .30
Sundries .28
Rent $4.00 week

I like it all but there is something just so absolutely profound and romantic about
certain old items . . . like the bell Aaron found recently.

Stuff like that just has to touch your soul . . . and would certainly be a prized
possession to me.

Grant............ I really like that kind of data.

NASA-Tom Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Grant............ I really like that kind of data.

Yea, me too. I'm intrigued by anything historical. I used to listen to my grand parants, great aunts and other older relative who would tell me about moving becasue the rent went from $12 to $16 and they moved. $4.00 would buy groceries for a week plus for a large family. If someone were to find a penny or a nickel it was worth something and you could buy many items at the store. I remember as a child that a full size candy bar was only 15 cents. 15 cents would buy a 10oz Coke in an ice cold glass bottle. The historic prices of all things has always facinated me.

Here's a few history-book common numbers:

1818 = $9.45/month for Farm Laborer
1864 = $13.50/6-days Carpenter
1900 = $487/year ($9.37/week) average laborer
1908 = $0.22/hour laborer

One of the great things about this hobby is with research, one has a chance for relics and silver and gold. I still get a tingle even after 40 years, though, of seeing the glint of silver down in the hole. HH jim tn