A Few Recent Finds

[Zaj56]

wow....all cool stuff and in great shape!  congrats!

[rvpopeye]

Good ground conditions there no doubt !

Have you been back there yet ?

[Cal_Cobra]

Nice finds, love the shoe buckle and the telco badge!

[SwiftSword]

On 6/28/2023 at 11:04 AM, rod-pa said:

 

pretty awesome condition for a shoe buckle.  nice save!

 

The key is in cleaning it correctly. The original surface is hair thin and totally corroded. You see where it has cone off in a few places. Underneath it fluffy green corrosion, and under that pitted metal with brown corrosion. To preserve the original surface, I dried the buckle slowly, then used a soft brush to get the loose dirt off, then applied a penetrating, hardening oil (Odie's Oil) to stabilize the surface. I used a soft brush to work it in, and a soft, lintfree cloth to remove the excess (and extra dirt). Then  I put it away for a week or so to give the oil time to cure. Now it's safe to handle, and the surface is preserved. You can even see tool marks where the maker cleaned up the casting. 

if I had rinsed it in water, all this would have been lost. 

[Commonwealthdetector]

On 6/26/2023 at 12:44 AM, SwiftSword said:

These are all from woods and yards in eastern Massachusetts. 


telephone technician's badge, 1910s

shoe buckle

Pocket watch case. Never heard of this brand. 

patent match safe, 1883

ladies' shoe buckle clip, Edwardian 

demi-tasse spoon, plated

That buckle is nice as nice right? Not a thing in sw va but it'd Maka my month and produce atleast as much time of motivation to swing a thing! 

     Awesome 

[rod-pa]

On 7/1/2023 at 7:12 PM, SwiftSword said:

The key is in cleaning it correctly. The original surface is hair thin and totally corroded. You see where it has cone off in a few places. Underneath it fluffy green corrosion, and under that pitted metal with brown corrosion. To preserve the original surface, I dried the buckle slowly, then used a soft brush to get the loose dirt off, then applied a penetrating, hardening oil (Odie's Oil) to stabilize the surface. I used a soft brush to work it in, and a soft, lintfree cloth to remove the excess (and extra dirt). Then  I put it away for a week or so to give the oil time to cure. Now it's safe to handle, and the surface is preserved. You can even see tool marks where the maker cleaned up the casting. 

if I had rinsed it in water, all this would have been lost. 

That was really helpful.  Do you by any chance have a picture of the buckle prior to the work you did on it?

[GB_Amateur]

On 7/1/2023 at 7:12 PM, SwiftSword said:

The key is in cleaning it correctly. The original surface is hair thin and totally corroded. You see where it has cone off in a few places. Underneath it fluffy green corrosion, and under that pitted metal with brown corrosion. To preserve the original surface, I dried the buckle slowly, then used a soft brush to get the loose dirt off, then applied a penetrating, hardening oil (Odie's Oil) to stabilize the surface. I used a soft brush to work it in, and a soft, lintfree cloth to remove the excess (and extra dirt). Then  I put it away for a week or so to give the oil time to cure. Now it's safe to handle, and the surface is preserved. You can even see tool marks where the maker cleaned up the casting. 

if I had rinsed it in water, all this would have been lost. 

Have you tried this procedure with recovered 95% copper cents?

[SwiftSword]

On 7/11/2023 at 10:36 AM, rod-pa said:

That was really helpful.  Do you by any chance have a picture of the buckle prior to the work you did on it?

Fresh from the ground.