Bronze age Japanese ceremonial engraving hammer...!!!!!!

[burlbark]

Well I do not speak Japanese, nor can I read it. This was found today at an old logging camp at around 5" down. It (vdi'ed) like a bottle cap yet it pinpointed tight. It behaved very much like one of the 40+ mason jar lids I dug today. Once again I must dig every target that vdi's consistently, this includes all over load signals. I found the target amongst nails and trash and the signal was broken up but pinpointed separately. Once I found the center through pinpointing and watching the 3 bar graph I was able to determine that is was a good target alongside the ferrous trash by giving the coil a little wiggle. There where multiple nails of all sizes in the hole and around.

The hammer is all hand engraved and I tested it for specific gravity and the numbers say bronze with a mix of tin. I was hoping for Gold but I dont want to buff the patina out of this one. Specific gravity of 8.08 so if it is gold it is less than 5k. It weighs 113.2 grams and has some deformation to the face and porosity. The bottom of the handle is hollow and this may have been a striker of some kind, but this could be ruled out as there is inconsistent strike patterns to the face.

Can anyone read the caricature? I can read a little and it appears to be the old romantic language, please someone tell me I am wrong because this would date it back to around the 15th century and I just dont see the wear here. It may have been an engraving hammer and their appears to be a masked Ninja on either side of the handle..... This is just to cool. Looking at the pics they arent Ninjas but it does make it sound cool.

I also got a 1915s wheat cent and an unidentified token.

Special thanks goes out to the Vince's that I hunt with.... I owe you gas money after this one.

 

[jcooking]

Cool hammer! Be sure to let us know what you find out about it

 

[Hunt4Fun]

Congratulations for an outstanding find. Hope you get some identification help soon.

 

[Yellow Beard]

Go to the local college and see if they have a Japanese program if not, there is one here where I live, if you need I'll try to see if they can translate for you.

 

[burlbark]

Ok I found out it is near 200 years old and is from a state run medical supply house in China. I have not yet been able to determine the maker. I showed it to half a dozen Chinese people today and there was one older man who was able to sit down with me and wrote it out like it was nothing. He told me the dialect has not been used in that manner for well over a hundred years. One side says the state and provenance and the district. The other side is Governmental authority to make the instrument, like a patent but with more authority. The lower part of the handle shows a currency and is the trademark of the manufacturing house they are the bottom markings with a cat and currency representing Long life and Goodluck.

Made in the sate of Cantong, Guandong. Permission for construction only giving to this manufacturer. Dental tool..... possibly 200 year old

 

[Hunt4Fun]

WOW! A dental hammer made two centuries ago in China found buried in a logging camp in the United States. Aint this hobby great?

 

[nw1886]

What a nice find! (You can just imagine some poor guy sitting on a stump having a tooth extracted!) The Chinese immigrants were an important part of our countries growth and culture, and to have this as a tangible "touch stone".....how awesome is that? Must have been equally as cool to have sat down with that gentleman and learn about it!

Hunt4Fun......Your handle says it all doesn't it! Very special congratulations to you Burlbark.

 

[Schultzie]

Wow, that is a priceless find! Its neat that the elder Chinese fellow could give you a history lesson. Good job!

 

[Neil in West Jersey]

Great find! What would make you think it was gold? It does not appear to have any similarity to gold (other than its weight).

 

[burlbark]

Great find! What would make you think it was gold? It does not appear to have any similarity to gold (other than its weight).

This is where I should kick myself in the butt. I should have took pictures of the first gold ring I found.

I found a ring about a week ago that was completely black and rusty in color. Gold in a low karat state and being in the ground for some time will have the ferrous and non ferrous metals within it corrode.

Just like when you pull a wheat cent out of the ground and it has that patina, low karat, typically 10k and below (but in some cases 14k) will have that same patina as the copper starts to oxidize and literally grow around the gold molecules. Just like cast iron that when it rusts expands to roughly 20 times its volume. This is why it is important to thoroughly examine targets recovered.

Have you seen gold jewelery that has the black antiquing? The high spost do not have the black because of abrasion the low spots have black fake oxidization.

The amount of intricate detail on this hammer and the fact that the itty bitty thing weighs 4 ounces made me question its content and I still do.

 

[ferdware]

WOW. Awsom find.
Would consider that a top find.
Really. Congrats.
Ferd

 

[*SodBuster*]

Nice write-up and pics Burlbark.Congrats on your find. Very swift on your ID'ing the object. I have never seen anything like it. Makes me wonder if the hammer was not only used to help remove teeth but also as an anesthetic. Good luck in your future finds.