Gold Seeker

These types of buttons were in use from WWI, WWII and onwards, I would guess WWII or Vietnam, era

Being that there were 2 bowls in the "sealed" container, it's very possible that IF there are ashes in the bowls that it could be a couple interned together!! The question of what is in the bowls needs to be answered, IMHO!!

OOH, I see what you're doing Peg, you take Lila out there and she sniffs out all the gold and then you pretend to find it with the Gold Monster....I bet you make her dig the gold up and then lick it clean so you can take photos of them as well !!!!

Now that's one hell of a pocket spill!! The only problem now is the price of old Chinese coins has been affected to be even worse than they were before!!

Gerry, that's for sure the most unusual nugget ever!!! What did it actually weigh?

Thanks for posting, I'm always interested in history, history of gold prospecting is a added bonus! Since that video "First Contact" was just a preview I had to see the rest so after much searching I found a site that has the entire video in 2 parts that free to watch, I haven't found the second and third part of the trilogy ("Joe Leahy's Neighbours" and "Black Harvest")to watch for free yet but still looking. If you have watched the preview posted you can skip ahead about 9+ minutes because the preview is the first of the whole video, once the first part plays and finishes..just wait and the second part will load and play automatically. https://archive.org/details/firstcontact_201602/firstcontactreel1.mov

War nickels have 35% silver, silver dimes have 90% silver, 10% copper. 1942 P nickel DESIGNER: Felix Schlag EDGE: Plain DIAMETER: 21.20 millimeters WEIGHT: 5.00 grams MINTAGE: 57,873,000 MINT: Philadelphia METAL: 56% Copper, 35% Silver, 9% Manganese

You can find some of the episodes on YouTube here in the USA. https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Legend+Of+Croc+Gold&qpvt=Legend+Of+Croc+Gold&FORM=VDRE

Can you get an actual measurement on the lead ball? Yes PLEASE tell us there's a D mint mark on the back of that Merc!!!

The token is definitely a "tax token" not a redeemable cash token. Here's a couple of links on the history/origins of tax tokens, the second link is especially for Illinois. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sales_tax_token https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=http%3A%2F%2Fjcns.org%2Farticals_files%2FILLINOIS%20LOCAL.doc

Here's a site that give the actual melt value of US coins. https://www.coinflation.com/ The same site for Canadian coins. https://www.coinflation.com/canada/

I edited both of my posts above because I saw I mistakenly referred to the big button as a "Boston Central Guard" button when it should of said "Boston City Guard" button.

Check with Norcal6er because it appears he has or had the very same buttons! I have been doing some more research and I found a button almost identical as the big button and it says it is a Boston City Guard button...it the second one down at this link, the back mark is different but it very likely around the same date line of late 1850s to 1860s. http://relicman.com/buttons/Button4811-Massachusetts-BostonCityGuard-000.html The small button is a Navy eagle button, there are many of them on eBay, pretty sure it a CW button as well but haven't found any site that confirms that.

I saw both of these buttons posted on Treasurenet back in 2012, OP was thinking the big button was a Coast Guard button. No one ever ID either button but CannonballGuy thought it maybe a version of a Boston City Guard button from the CW, he also stated that he found a photo of the big button in the "Albert button-book in the "Unclassified and Unidentified" section as Button #UU-18". http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/what/310191-coast-guard-button.html Since you stated you obtained them years back, was that you who posted them on Treasurenet, are you NorCal 6er" on Treasurenet?

What is the mint mark on that 1923 penny, hard to tell from your photo, it looks like a D or is it an S? That being said if it's a D then I would get it checked out, it could be a very rare coin, I can't find any listings of a 1923 D penny nor any photos, plenty of S mints marks out there.

I was always of the option that they taste like a cross between the California Condor and the Spotted Owl!

Just an FYI, I live just across the Savannah River in South Carolina, we have strong "rip tides" along the coast here so don't go out to far and especially if you can't keep good footing with the bottom, there are almost at least one or more drownings on Tybee Island beaches every summer. Not to many reports for shark attacks but there are some sharks out there. Also at the present time there one area that has some kind of water contamination on Tybee, I believe it's around the pier, they have signs posted to stay out of the water there so it would be wise to heed those signs

The button you found is indeed a military button, it's a WWII button used on..... " WWII US Army HBT Model 3 Suit -The HBT model III worksuit was one of the most versatile cloth items of WWII. This coverall suit was widely used in a variety of roles throught the American armed forces. It was employed by mechanics, linemen, tank crewman and infantry personnel alike., The construction of the outfit consists of a single-piece herring bone twill material. The model three used black or green metal 13-star pattern buttons . The stars in the design represented the initial 13 colonies of the United States. The suit came in three different models. Our collection also includes an example of the Model I . The differences between the models consisted primarily of the number and placement of the pockets and the use of the belt." http://quanonline.com/military/military_reference/american/wwii_uniforms/hbt3.php http://quanonline.com/military/military_reference/american/wwii_uniforms/usbuttons.html https://www.ebay.com/itm/US-WW2-LOT-OF-6-13-STAR-BUTTONS-UNIFORM-HBT-NOS-US-ARMY-USMC/192209622558?hash=item2cc096161e:g:kgAAAOSw1DtXK5tz

Sam not only should have been drilling them remotely...but he also shouldn't have been doing them in his garage, when it exploded shrapnel went into several of his neighbor's homes, windows shattered by the blast force, etc., some them hundreds of feet away fortunately no others were hurt. The reason they drill them and not cut them open is because they are "restoring" them for collectors or their own collections.

This is serious stuff for sure, I didn't know Sam White(the man who died in 2008) personally but I do know several of his friends, and as stated in the article about his death he was a pro at disarming and restoring these CW cannonballs and was the man in the N.E. USA to go too if you found one, it just goes to show even the experts can make a mistake. When these cannon balls were new it was still dangerous to disarm one but it was much easier, all you had to do was carefully remove the fuse with a special tool and then remove the black powder. But after these cannon balls have been in the ground for over 100 years the fuse is so corroded that is no longer an option, the only way to remove the black powder is to drill a hole to remove the black powder, that as you can imagine is very dangerous, one little spark or over heating the metal leads to the powder igniting, which is what most think that happened to Sam on that tragic day he lost his life. Sam drilled the cannon balls with a drill press in his garage and has done well over a 1000 with no issues, but the odds ran out on him on that day he lost his life. There's one other guy I know of who does this as well and I think that maybe Steve H. knows him as well...Steve Phillips of SSD (Southern Skin Divers Supplies) in Alabama, Steve is a long time collector of CW artifacts and has an extensive collection most of if not all he has found himself while diving and metal detecting in Alabama, he's also a long, long time Nome gold dredger, which is where Steve H. may know him from. http://ssdsupply.com/ Steve disarms these cannon balls using a "remote controlled" drill press he designed himself and in small shed out in the middle of a large field so if the cannon ball does explode while he's drilling it(which I don't believe has ever happened to him) no one get injured or dies. That all being said it best to not even touch one if you happen across one, call the local police immediately!!

Here's another that has a different reverse, it doesn't say it gives a $1,000,000 worth of luck but "take me for luck", I think this one maybe an original one from the depression era as it does look to be older to me. https://www.ebay.com/itm/1930S-Great-Depression-Aint-Hell-To-Be-Poor-Good-Luck-Token/384031502150?_trkparms=aid%3D1110018%26algo%3DHOMESPLICE.COMPLISTINGS%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20200818142838%26meid%3D8b1b76c454ec43ca83e9a84672b44ded%26pid%3D101197%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D12%26mehot%3Dpf%26sd%3D303791383481%26itm%3D384031502150%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D0%26pg%3D2047675%26algv%3DItemStripV101HighAdFee&_trksid=p2047675.c101197.m1850

Joe, wishing you a fast and complete recovery.

There have been good size nuggets found in Maine, can't remember the name of the river but a little research will bring it up, not sure if any were found with metal detectors, most gold hunters up there try to use dredges, but I remember on a Gold Fever show years ago Tom Massie visited and dredged up there and they showed a large collection of nuggets from a dredger with a few over an ounce and many at least 1/4 ounce. Also a dredger from one of the older forums found a 2 ounce nugget in that river about 10 years ago. I also know of a fellow that has found numerous gold nuggets in Virginia with a metal detector on private property, with a couple at around 1 and 2 ounce range.

3 great coins, very nice ones too, congratulations! I know it might be hard to do but if you can find where the clothes lines were they're always a good place for coins.

@GoldenHillbilly Burnsville is a little westward of where most gold is found in N.C., gong eastward, southeastward and even into S.C. but mainly N.C. from there increases your chances of finding gold, Uwharrie National Forest is about as far eastward that you're likely to find gold. That all being said most of the gold found in mid to south central N.C. is fine gold, nuggets are not unheard of, in modern history(say the last thirty years)there have been only few 3/4 to maybe up to 2 ounce nuggets have been found but are few and very far between and a 1/4 ounce nugget now-a-days would be a BIG nugget IMHO and would start another gold rush, nuggets from 1 gram to 4 grams would also be rare and stellar day IMHO to find one not to mention more. When I get chance to go to N.C. to prospect for gold I use a sluice, high banker or my dredge because I know I will do better with fine gold from streams and maybe come home with a few grams if I'm lucky than nugget hunting, I do however bring my metal detectors in case I find a picker/s in a stream, then I will try to pinpoint where they're originating from by detecting moss and crevices/cracks in the bedrock. It is correct that in N. C. most gold possibilities are on private property, since most public access areas available to look for gold have been and still are being hit hard, so your best chances is getting permissions on private land.