Silver Thimble

[datumx]

Hi All,
I'm new to this forum from north of the border. Got a CTX in January and am 'learning the ropes' with the help of the 'resource centre' and a friend. I have a park I go to that always gives up a wheatie or 2 every trip. Found a pair of '44 wheaties today plus 4 other Canadian pennies from the '40s and '50s. I was just about to leave when I got a weird bouncy 12-36 to 12-41 at 8 inches. Out popped this very cool silver thimble! I figured it was worthy of my first post.
Take care,
Datumx

 

[Detecting History]

Wow. That is a sweet thimble! Welcome to the forum

DH

 

[hershey1]

Worthy indeed! That is a nice find regardless of when it is posted. Congratulations on your finds and keep posting. HH

 

[~ACE~]

Hey dude. Welcome to the forum! That thimble is awesome! Great save !

 

[banditicey]

BEAUTIFUL

 

[GateKeeper]

Welcome to the forum. Unfortunately for you, all new forum members must send their first silver find to me. Please send to Findmall, attn. Gatekeeper.

 

[sube]

That a great looking timble wtg .sube

 

[SteveB]

That is one fine-looking piece of sewing kit you found there! And welcome to the forum!

 

[Larry (IL)]

That is the coolest silver thimble I have ever seen and it looks like it saw many years of use before being lost, the end is worn pretty smooth.

 

[datumx]

Thanks all for the warm welcome. Sorry GateKeeper, I won't be sending this one to you, I like it too much! The park where I found it only dates from the '40's, but I think the thimble is much older than that due to the design and the wear. Somebody was probably really bummed when they lost it...
HH
DX

 

[GpSnoopy]

datumx, you can't hide from us fellow Canucks, hehehe.

I also think the thimble is older than the 1940's park you found it in, but it could have been lost anytime, even in the 40's or later.

I'll post the information I found about this thimble for the rest of the members.

That thimble design is called an "Atlantic Cable" and was named for an interesting tidbit of history....

The first message sent through the transatlantic cable stretching from Valentia Island, Ireland to White Sand Bay, Newfoundland was in 1866. The message was sent by Latimer Clark. After a few unsuccessful attempts he came up with the idea of making a small electric cell from a touch of sulphuric acid, a little bit of zinc and a smidgen of silver.

The silver came from a thimble like the one above. It was lent to him by Emily Fitzgerald, the daughter of the Knight of Kerry. Emily's thimble generated enough current to send the signal 3,700 miles across the Atlantic in a mere second. Imagine that - high speed communication - from a thimble! The thimble now resides in the London Science Museum.

This particular design of thimble is now known as the Atlantic Cable thimble.

This thimble was a popular design in the Victorian era. (1850's- early 1900's approx.)

Atlantic Thimble Story

Another Atlantic Thimble Example

 

[GKMan]

That's a really nice find! Is it stamped with anything? A couple years ago I found one stamped coin, which I learned meant the silver's previous life was a coin.
Welcome to the forum.

 

[doc1964]

That's a great thimble with a great story to go with it. Congrats and welcome!

 

[datumx]

Ha ha GpSnoopy...I guess I can run but I can't hide!! Thanks for posting the cool links to the info, you are a research genius!
No GKMan, no markings. But it sure reeked of sulphur with the tin foil treatment, so I am sure it is silver - like the 'unmarked' one that GpSnoopy linked to.
Thanks!
DX

 

[AngelicStorm]

That's a very nice thimble. It would look nice in my collection......

 

[sonnydigs]

I've found many thimbles over the yrs and seen 100's...
That has to be the finest one I have ever seen...
Congrats...
HH...
Sonny

 

[datumx]

Thank you for the kind words Sonny & everyone.
HH
DX