Stever0812
Member
Hey guys,
Looks like the CTX once again proves its worth over the Etrac (for me). My detecting buddy (Billabong on the forum) went back to the battlefield that we had hit pretty well with his VX3 and my Etrac 2 weeks ago and used his CTX to pull out some items we missed. Namely FOUR musket balls, a Merc, and a War of 1812 artillery button. So, being intrigued that there was that many finds that we missed (he only hit about 1/10th of the field) we went back this past Thursday to do some gridding. We were both not disappointed. My first target was the 2 ringer that looks like it hit 2 different objects (2 bones???) and could be a kill shot/wound maker! My second target was the silver ring, it is thin, but is marked sterling. I got the 1960 nickel an hour later, then hit paydirt again with a small caliber musketball/pistol ball! Finished the 5.5 hour day with a 1955 wheat..not a DDOand the weird shape chunk of old lead. Billabong got 2 rings, both copper, one was a thin plain band(maybe a soldiers wedding band???), and the other is more ornate with 2 small stones and a big rectangular hole in the middle, for whatever stone/engraving/etc. was there. He also got a nice New York Militia button c.1800-1815 with an eagle standing on a half globe with excelsior written under it. Some of the backmark with remaining gold gilt was still there! Like all of the targets we have pulled from this field, they were all found between 2-4 inches, thanks to the plowing that happened a number of years ago. Needless to say we will be returning to the field and re-gridding the whole thing. The other photos I posted have the results of a boiling peroxide bath, followed by a month long soak in olive oil of a crusty large cent. This cleaning method worked beautifully. I got a perfect date off of the coin(1826), and got a lot of the details back. You can see the previous condition it was in. I was anxious about getting a date and patience paid off!
A few questions though, I am having a hard time ID'ing the 2 bullets. The 2 ringer is 10.5 mm in diameter, and the rings have 100's of small vertical lines in the groove. The bottom is slightly concave.
The musket/pistol ball is 15 mm in diameter, and has an equatorial line(I think from the mold edge because it still has the nub from the pour-hole). Is this a pistol ball or small caliber musket?
Does anyone think I should try the method on the KG2 in the picture? I am hesitant cause it has a thin patina that looks like it might fall off. Maybe just olive oil? I really would like to get a date off it.
I am enjoying all the great finds you all have been posting this week. Keep those coils swinging!
Looks like the CTX once again proves its worth over the Etrac (for me). My detecting buddy (Billabong on the forum) went back to the battlefield that we had hit pretty well with his VX3 and my Etrac 2 weeks ago and used his CTX to pull out some items we missed. Namely FOUR musket balls, a Merc, and a War of 1812 artillery button. So, being intrigued that there was that many finds that we missed (he only hit about 1/10th of the field) we went back this past Thursday to do some gridding. We were both not disappointed. My first target was the 2 ringer that looks like it hit 2 different objects (2 bones???) and could be a kill shot/wound maker! My second target was the silver ring, it is thin, but is marked sterling. I got the 1960 nickel an hour later, then hit paydirt again with a small caliber musketball/pistol ball! Finished the 5.5 hour day with a 1955 wheat..not a DDOand the weird shape chunk of old lead. Billabong got 2 rings, both copper, one was a thin plain band(maybe a soldiers wedding band???), and the other is more ornate with 2 small stones and a big rectangular hole in the middle, for whatever stone/engraving/etc. was there. He also got a nice New York Militia button c.1800-1815 with an eagle standing on a half globe with excelsior written under it. Some of the backmark with remaining gold gilt was still there! Like all of the targets we have pulled from this field, they were all found between 2-4 inches, thanks to the plowing that happened a number of years ago. Needless to say we will be returning to the field and re-gridding the whole thing. The other photos I posted have the results of a boiling peroxide bath, followed by a month long soak in olive oil of a crusty large cent. This cleaning method worked beautifully. I got a perfect date off of the coin(1826), and got a lot of the details back. You can see the previous condition it was in. I was anxious about getting a date and patience paid off!
A few questions though, I am having a hard time ID'ing the 2 bullets. The 2 ringer is 10.5 mm in diameter, and the rings have 100's of small vertical lines in the groove. The bottom is slightly concave.
The musket/pistol ball is 15 mm in diameter, and has an equatorial line(I think from the mold edge because it still has the nub from the pour-hole). Is this a pistol ball or small caliber musket?
Does anyone think I should try the method on the KG2 in the picture? I am hesitant cause it has a thin patina that looks like it might fall off. Maybe just olive oil? I really would like to get a date off it.
I am enjoying all the great finds you all have been posting this week. Keep those coils swinging!