Back To The Drained Pond

[schoolofhardNox]

 I switched things up this week and decided to hit that drained pond again. Actually, I really did not feel like driving to the beach when the pond is 15 minutes away. The tradeoff is that there are way more signals there than at the beach. But I’m not as muddy when I do a beach hunt. The pond makes quite a mess and definitely tests the old knees.  I have a place I can park at a friend’s house and walk down a steep hill onto the pond. I was a bit worried I may get kicked out as the city workers were redoing a culvert right where I was heading down the hill. It’s kind of hard to be stealthy with a battery on your back and a big wire going to a long box. 😄 But they ignored me, so I went the other way. This time was no different than last time, with a lot of fishing and hunting related items. My first nice surprise of the day was a complete and functioning colonial shoe buckle. I’m thinking around the 1770’s as a guess. I spotted a couple marbles, so I grabbed them too. Lots and lots of junk, but as I entered a section that was littered with shell casings, this gold ring appeared. Apparently, I get one gold ring per visit. I can’t complain since I am limited to the seldom used section of the pond. Most finds from others were found nearer the population center of the pond. This ring is old and comes with what we think is a very sad story. It’s a women’s wedding band, very tiny in size and has some somber engravings. 3 Initials in old English script writing on the outside with apparently a birth and death engraving on the inside. 1877-1915. That would make the person 38 years old and probably her husband. It is possibly not from the US originally, as we seldom engrave on the outside of the ring (I think). We even wondered if he died in WW1 and then she moved to the US. WW1 started in 1914, so it’s possible. I’m happy it found me, and I have only good feelings from it, so it will go into my collection, along with some special feelings left on that one. I’m not sure if I’ll get back there anytime soon, so it may be my last hunt at the pond. They are pushing hard to finish the project (now going on 2 years), and they should be out of there soon. Great to get out, really nice that the rain held off, and I didn’t get kicked out…..what more could you ask for?😊

[CPT_GhostLight]

Wow, that's a nice haul! That shoe buckle looks to be in great shape. Are the earrings, tie clasp, and spoon silver? Man you have some massive stamina to dig all that. I've followed your other posts and you are the Energizer Bunny of diggers! 😎

[F350Platinum]

That's quite a story.  And quite a lot of work! I see you got a Merry widow tin, an amusing find. 😀

Now I want to know who brought their train set to the pond... 🤔

[JCR]

Very nice.

[schoolofhardNox]

3 hours ago, CPT_GhostLight said:

Wow, that's a nice haul! That shoe buckle looks to be in great shape. Are the earrings, tie clasp, and spoon silver? Man you have some massive stamina to dig all that. I've followed your other posts and you are the Energizer Bunny of diggers! 😎

Thanks. The shoe buckle was preserved in the pond muck. It also had a brass pin instead of the iron pins most buckles had. So it still swivels like it should. No such luck on the spoon though....silver plate. Bummer 😄 I get lost in the moment of detecting and just don't realize on how many targets I did. I just keep wandering around hoping to find something to make the effort worth the while. That buckle and ring made it all worth it.

3 hours ago, F350Platinum said:

That's quite a story.  And quite a lot of work! I see you got a Merry widow tin, an amusing find. 😀

Now I want to know who brought their train set to the pond... 🤔

Ahhh the Merry Widow tin  🥰. Not only did I find out what went on there in that secluded section, but if you look close on the bottom left of the junk picture (white square) you can see the new version of that Merry Widow tin too. 😆 Time moves on but nothing changes. The train set is probably part of the junk that the houses above threw out, along with about 20 golf balls. Some people use the steep banks to get rid of their trash. 🤬 There is so much trash in that pond. They already removed all the stolen vehicles that they found there when they first drained the pond.

2 hours ago, JCR said:

Very nice.

Thanks JCR

[phrunt]

It's a shame they removed the cars, you finding a car with your GPX would have made an amusing post.

You're doing so well with your hunts, the most motivated digger I've seen.

[schoolofhardNox]

1 minute ago, phrunt said:

It's a shame they removed the cars, you finding a car with your GPX would have made an amusing post.

You're doing so well with your hunts, the most motivated digger I've seen.

Thanks. I think I have to get a bigger pouch for those cars 😄 It would have saved the city a lot of money.... I bet it was a project to get all of those cars hauled out. They go in a lot easier than they go out 🙄

[Rick N. MI]

Wow, you dug a lot of stuff. Besides the great gold ring and other stuff, I like the old bottle opener.

[Gold Seeker]

I don't think back in day I would have bought a tin of the "3 Merry Widows" because of the "Selected Tested" part on the tin, who would want a condom much less 3 of them that has been tested!!!  

[schoolofhardNox]

3 hours ago, Rick N. MI said:

Wow, you dug a lot of stuff. Besides the great gold ring and other stuff, I like the old bottle opener.

Yeah I dig a lot, it's mindless work that can give me nice stuff 😄. I use it as therapy for the fact that I am not rich and retired yet 😭 That bottle opener may be older, but the design has remained relatively the same for many years. I have found them in a picnic area I used to do that ran from the 1890's through the early teens. Got to love this hobby!!

1 hour ago, Gold Seeker said:

I don't think back in day I would have bought a tin of the "3 Merry Widows" because of the "Selected Tested" part on the tin, who would want a condom much less 3 of them that has been tested!!!  

I wonder what the people that test them tell their kids when they ask them "what do you do for work daddy?" 😳  Yeah, makes you wonder how much damage a disgruntled employee can do.