Bell-Two
Active member
Saturday was a cool crisp day here in Ohio as the group got together for a hunt. Doug and his son Malachi joined Diane and me for a day of door knocking and detecting. First site was one we have hunted before, a mid 1800’s abandoned house that is in the process of being torn down. Again the trash overwhelmed the chances of a good target; the only find of note was Doug’s find of a shingling axe head in a dump site behind the house. We then moved on and did a door knock at an 1848 house that proved very interesting. We all got wheat cents there and while there were not much in the way of coins Doug did score a Walking Liberty Half. Relics were the thing here though. I got a thimble, two buttons and a lovely “Emerson” suspender buckle with the patent date of Dec. 1 1874. Also I found a button front and a bell. Doug found a stirrup and an interesting spoon that had the figure of a soldier on the handle, USA on the back and in the bowl was the image of Franklin Pierce who was the 14th President 1853-1857 possibly a campaign item.
Also at this site Diane found a silver spoon handle with the initials M. A. on it. My research afterwards showed that this home site was originally on the 1855 map as the property of “Widow Alexander” and the 1850 Census gave the family listing with a son M. C. Alexander. On the handle of the spoon is some crude scratching that appear to be those initials. I believe this is his baby spoon. Here is some documentation.
Copy of 1850 Census record showing M. C. Alexander third from top.
We moved on and went to another spot that I had previous permission on. Doug did very well here with a 1906-D Barber Dime and a worn 1919-S Mercury dime. He also hit a large wheat spill and ended the day with 16 wheats dating from 1911. Diane did well also with the oldest coin of the day a 1901 Indian Head. I dug a few wheats and another thimble! A long day but a productive one. Here are more of the finds.
[video]http://youtu.be/1guIIV6uH6w[/video]
Also at this site Diane found a silver spoon handle with the initials M. A. on it. My research afterwards showed that this home site was originally on the 1855 map as the property of “Widow Alexander” and the 1850 Census gave the family listing with a son M. C. Alexander. On the handle of the spoon is some crude scratching that appear to be those initials. I believe this is his baby spoon. Here is some documentation.
Copy of 1850 Census record showing M. C. Alexander third from top.
We moved on and went to another spot that I had previous permission on. Doug did very well here with a 1906-D Barber Dime and a worn 1919-S Mercury dime. He also hit a large wheat spill and ended the day with 16 wheats dating from 1911. Diane did well also with the oldest coin of the day a 1901 Indian Head. I dug a few wheats and another thimble! A long day but a productive one. Here are more of the finds.
[video]http://youtu.be/1guIIV6uH6w[/video]