Don't Ignore Those Iron Tones! Found A Nice Penny Bank Near An Old Farmhouse

[ShintoSunrise]

Hey folks! Unlike many of you more seasoned folks, I'm still trying to learn when to ignore iron tones and when to dig. I was exploring the land behind what I knew once belonged to a northern Virginia farmhouse back in the 1930s and heard a nice iron tone that I felt was worth looking into. Lo and behold, an incredibly well rusted cast iron piggy bank. Following some electrolysis and wire brushing I find it to be pretty presentable. I'm unsure of the age, but based on some research I'm guessing circa 1900s. Cheers! 

[CVISChris]

That is pretty cool! I have been using lemon juice to clean some stuff like that and it seems to work well.  Nice find. 

  

[matt]

Really nice! Are there any coins in it?

[ShintoSunrise]

26 minutes ago, matt said:

Really nice! Are there any coins in it?

Unfortunately not, just a lot of dirt and roots! 

[Valens Legacy]

Nice find, and I hope it cleans up well for you.

Antiques like that are hard to find anymore.

Good luck on your next outing.

[GB_Amateur]

Excellent find (and approach).  Another reminder that discrimination (whether detector settings or brain settings) should at least be site based.  Makes me wonder how many keepers I've missed by being too selective....  Too bad they didn't leave you a few pennies inside, but still a worthy display piece.  There was a period (1950's?) when commercial banks were advertising by handing out similar items, but I don't see advertising on yours (do you?).  There are collectors of those.  I agree that yours looks way older than 1950's.

[ShintoSunrise]

1 hour ago, GB_Amateur said:

Excellent find (and approach).  Another reminder that discrimination (whether detector settings or brain settings) should at least be site based.  Makes me wonder how many keepers I've missed by being too selective....  Too bad they didn't leave you a few pennies inside, but still a worthy display piece.  There was a period (1950's?) when commercial banks were advertising by handing out similar items, but I don't see advertising on yours (do you?).  There are collectors of those.  I agree that yours looks way older than 1950's.

Agreed, I too often get caught up in only focusing on mid and high tones myself, so I'm glad I did dig this one up. The piece simply says "BANK" across the front with no additional text. Here's a photo of it shortly after coming out of the ground for comparison purposes.