Back To The Coal Mining Town

[CPT_GhostLight]

I was invited to go back to the coal mining ghost town last week with the DTC (Deus Two Crew). @Glenn in CO made a post yesterday showing the hot streak he was on and he was on fire! We were having our own mini hurricane in Colorado that day while Nicole was ravaging the treasure coast of Florida. Our winds hit gusts of 65 MPH and it was a challenge just to stay upright at times. For a while I played bowling for tumbleweeds as eveytime I swung the coil I'd tap one and it would snap off and go racing a mile down the track.

I started off running the Relic program but soon switch to my modified Fast program which is based on the Silver Slayer program, but with the lower notch topping out at 35 and no second higher notch. That's when I got a sweet sounding 83 popping out of the iron carpet and it turned out to be an oval shaped brooch with the pin still on it. Unfortunately the stones that once encircled the brooch were long gone.

I kept working my way from one old house foundation to the next. Most of them were not giving up anything but trash when I found one that turned up a few buttons, so I slowed down to a crawl and gridded that one by inches. Everyone else was getting some coins and I was getting skunked in that department, but when I reached a break in the remains of a wall, I hit a strong 86 just on the edge of the broken stone. "This is it!", I thought, "Maybe a Wheat or Indian Head!" Well it was neither. As I dug down next to the stones I noticed a rounded edge poking through that was much larger than a penny and thought it must just be a lid to something. When I saw a small hole and design I thought this might be something good and whipped out my phone to document the extraction. As I pulled it out, I could see writing on it and thought I might know what it is. I ran over to show one of the other detectorists and he said, "Oh you found a miner's penny". I said, "What the heck is a miner's penny? Is it a token or something?" Then he said, "Wait a minute, this is a miner's identification tag and it has the name of the mine on it. You might have the find of the day!" So I asked what was the difference was. He explained that a "miner's penny" was a tag with a number on it that the miners would use to check in and out of a mine. Several miners would use the same tags as shifts changed. The ID tag was issued to each miner when they signed on to the mine and they had to keep it on them at all times while they lived and worked there. So apparently those are fairly rare. He said he's never found one from this site, and he thinks Glenn is the only one who has that he knows of.

I had to obscure the town name on the ID tag because this permission is private property now and the land owner requested we don't post the name of the location.

So at the end of the day I found some pretty cool things including some buttons, suspender parts, a flattened tea strainer and salt shaker top, a flattened bottom to a miner's oil lamp, some clock parts and the back and bezel to a Waterbury Clock Co clock with patent dates of 1890-1892, other odds and ends. Even though I didn't find any coins this trip, all in all it was a great time and I really appreciate the people that have taken me under their wing to help teach me the ropes!

The second button is dome shaped and was the top of a two piece button. There's something on the button face but too corroded to tell what it is.

The real mystery item this hunt was this. When I first saw it I thought it could be a cut Reale and almost peed my pants! But it appears to be a folded over stamp or seal or something? Any ideas?

And the junk...

[GB_Amateur]

33 minutes ago, CPT_GhostLight said:

The real mystery item this hunt was this. When I first saw it I thought it could be a cut Reale and almost peed my pants! But it appears to be a folded over stamp or seal or something? Any ideas?

Can you give us any more?  Size, dTID, composition (if you've figured it out).

I figured you and Glenn must have been together.  Seems you've reported about this site previously (within the last month?).  Looks like you found an intact bottle.   In the western sites I've hunted those are almost always broken.  My hypothesis is that some were broken when discarded and the rest by vandals getting a thrill from destroying things.  Somewhat analogous to people who break the pulltabs (and popouts 😠) off drink cans and toss them on the ground, except those cans have no value, unlike many bottles.

[CPT_GhostLight]

10 minutes ago, GB_Amateur said:

Can you give us any more?  Size, dTID, composition (if you've figured it out).

I figured you and Glenn must have been together.  Seems you've reported about this site previously (within the last month?).  Looks like you found an intact bottle.   In the western sites I've hunted those are almost always broken.  My hypothesis is that some were broken when discarded and the rest by vandals getting a thrill from destroying things.  Somewhat analogous to people who break the pulltabs (and popouts 😠) off drink cans and toss them on the ground, except those cans have no value, unlike many bottles.

The mystery item is about 1.3" long and a hair over 1/2" wide. It is in the group photo between the blue marble and the suspender clips for a reference. The VID on the D2 was 42-43. It is a softer metal like lead maybe. I was going to try to unfold it, but stopped myself.

Yes I rarely find an intact bottles too. But I do collect "interesting glass" pieces for my wife. The bottom edge of the bottle was just visible and I was going to grab it because of the different shape. When it didn't move easily I started to carefully dig it and discovered it was intact. 🙂 

[GB_Amateur]

18 minutes ago, CPT_GhostLight said:

The mystery item is about 1.3" long and a hair over 1/2" wide. It is in the group photo between the blue marble and the suspender clips for a reference. The VID on the D2 was 42-43. It is a softer metal like lead maybe.

That helps me make an educated(?) guess -- lead seal for a canvas bag.  I think those were pretty common in earlier times.  Sometimes they were decorated and sometimes not.  Not much more than a WAG on my part, though.

[JCR]

A very interesting assortment of finds. I like the old glass & ceramics too.

Thanks for posting.

[F350Platinum]

Another interesting dig and some great finds. 👍 Your photos are a historical reference!

From the distance in the first group photo, the button top appears to have an Eagle or Phoenix on it, but as you get closer in the latter photo, the detail gets far more obscured. Sad that it might require more removal of the corrosion to get anything, and that might mean more loss.

Interesting folded object, it does seem to have a lot of detail, however nothing looks particularly Spanish, and I can tell you it would have ID'd at least in the 70s if it was Spanish. However, that silver color would have given my pulse a go.

The brooch is a nice one, the "stones" were probably paste, or maybe the indentations are faceted to reflect in their own right.

Nice pieces of glass and pottery too. Looks like you got some old Japanese china as well.

[Rick N. MI]

Great relic hunt. You have a nice spot to hunt. Nice finds. 

[Valens Legacy]

Nice relic hunt, are those pieces with the gears to a music box?

Seems to me as though I have seen them somewhere in grandfathers old items.

Good luck on your next outing.

[CPT_GhostLight]

9 hours ago, Valens Legacy said:

Nice relic hunt, are those pieces with the gears to a music box?

Seems to me as though I have seen them somewhere in grandfathers old items.

Good luck on your next outing.

Thanks! I was thinking it was parts of an old mantle clock but it could have been a music box. I have to take a closer look.

[CPT_GhostLight]

16 hours ago, F350Platinum said:

Interesting folded object, it does seem to have a lot of detail, however nothing looks particularly Spanish, and I can tell you it would have ID'd at least in the 70s if it was Spanish. However, that silver color would have given my pulse a go.

I'm sure it's not Spanish, but hope springs eternal! 😄 That silvery glint in the sun did push the ol' heart into hyper-drive for a bit though.

20 hours ago, GB_Amateur said:

That helps me make an educated(?) guess -- lead seal for a canvas bag.  I think those were pretty common in earlier times.  Sometimes they were decorated and sometimes not.  Not much more than a WAG on my part, though.

I made a composite image of the front and back of the mystery item and I think you're right GB. I can see what looks like a crown to me, so it was probably was a bag seal of some kind.