Metal Detecting Finds (Update, 3 hits, 3 finds in 20 minutes)

[Guest TankerHC]

So me and the BIL were in his backyard trying out the new detector. Got a hit in about 5 minutes. Detector has a built in pinpointer, said down 5 inches. It was exactly 5 1/4 inches (Checking to see how accurate it was we measured the small hole. So here is the first find on this Detector. Any ideas on what it may be or be part of?

 

Some details.

 

It was 5 1/4 inches down packed in clay.

The detector said it was made out of nickel and there is no bending this thing, I tried.

It was about 10 feet back in the woods along Richland Creek.

There is nothing back there except woods and part of the creek, no cables, fence or any of that.

Its about 5 inches long x 1/2 inch wide. 

 

Any ideas?

 

Edited February 24, 2014 by TankerHC

[runco]

Indian nickel widget?

[Guest TankerHC]

Indian nickel widget?

 

Could be!  :up:

 

Someone tell me it is part of a gun! Reason I say that is because right next to it, no more than a couple of inches is something much larger but about 2 inches deeper. This Teknetiks D4000 is the best Detector I have owned, especially for the money, it was dead on. If it wouldn't have been dark I would have dug up the rest of whatever it is. 

 

Oh, and this is very close to where the guys came through trying to relieve Bragg at Chattanooga and some of Rosecrans guys came through here as well. 

 

I could only be so lucky.

Edited February 24, 2014 by TankerHC

[DixieDawg]

I might be wrong without closer inspection can't be sure but it looks like one of the antique syringes from mid 1800's to early 1900's -Dusty-

[Guest TankerHC]

I might be wrong without closer inspection can't be sure but it looks like one of the antique syringes from mid 1800's to early 1900's -Dusty-

 

Medical? Would they make them out of a metal this hard? It said Nickel but may be something else, but whatever metal it is it is really hard. 

[DixieDawg]

They were nickel for the most part because it was easier to sterilize where it didn't hold the residue and when and if they tarnished it was easier to remove they reused the medical instruments in those days so it had to be durable and had to sterilize easier -Dusty-

[Guest TankerHC]

They were nickel for the most part because it was easier to sterilize where it didn't hold the residue and when and if they tarnished it was easier to remove they reused the medical instruments in those days so it had to be durable and had to sterilize easier -Dusty-

 

Man that would be cool if I could verify that. There were no Hospitals or Clinics in this location, but Rosecrans AND braggs men came through here.

[swim615]

I'm going with a bayonet, knife, or sword.

[DixieDawg]

In those days most regimens had a field medic who served as doctor,surgeon, and dentist all I've got some old field instruments from the civil war era John Rice Irwin up at museum of Appalachia is a great source to identify and date artifacts and usually he'll take a look for free I may be wrong but from the picture the diameter and tube appear to be proportional to field syringes of that period -Dusty-

[runco]

Maybe a door knob or door lock mechanism.

[runco]

Or apart of a ole well pump mechanism.

[c.a.willard]

Im with runco, im thinking a handle to an old pump mechanism.  That large object is probably the rest of the pump.  

[Guest TankerHC]

Im with runco, im thinking a handle to an old pump mechanism.  That large object is probably the rest of the pump.  

 

Would still be cooler than all the beer can pull tabs and bottle caps Ive found over the years with my other detectors. 

[DixieDawg]

I may be wrong I was thinking syringe but I've seen a similar style syringe pump used to pump the stomach on cows and horses used to be what was done years ago before it was understood what it was and how to cure it y'all could be right about a pump especially being along Richland creek -Dusty-

[Tncobra]

Anything i find that I can't identify turns out to be tractor parts.

[Guest TankerHC]

OK, now real questions. I ran it through the Ultrasonic cleaner 3 times and hit it with a nylon brush. Using a GOOD magnifying glass and blasting it with my Streamlight. Just below the second lip there are three tiny letters, one I cant make out but one is an L and the other appears to be an small "i". But here's something else. just below the top lip there are tiny (And I mean like SMALLER THAN 1/8th inch) crossed sabers.

 

Handle from a Wilkinsons razor maybe? Thats what my grandfather used to use. 

Edited February 24, 2014 by TankerHC

[DixieDawg]

That sounds more like it -Dusty-

[Guest TankerHC]

That sounds more like it -Dusty-

 

If it is it is earlier than 1900. Checked and none have square bottoms. Same as the one my grandfather used, his was from the 1940's, round bottom with a screw mechanism. 

[DixieDawg]

Still a good find I go over here on the Holston river and go detecting on some friends places a lot of good civil war finds up in the strawberry plains area and in the general area of ft.holston -Dusty-

[sigmtnman]

Man, I've considered getting a detector for a number of years though it tends to end in analysis paralysis and forgetting about it.  Don't want to spend a fortune, but don't want a useless device either.  I live minutes from where they used to mine gold.  Also right close to a major thoroughfare during the war.

Edited February 24, 2014 by sigmtnman

[Dustbuster]

There's a guy in west tn that's an expert at civil war relics commonly found w metal detectors and such I'll get his name later today and post it. He knows all about buttons bullets and other items that surface.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2 of course it ate my spelling.

[swim615]

OK, now real questions. I ran it through the Ultrasonic cleaner 3 times and hit it with a nylon brush. Using a GOOD magnifying glass and blasting it with my Streamlight. Just below the second lip there are three tiny letters, one I cant make out but one is an L and the other appears to be an small "i". But here's something else. just below the top lip there are tiny (And I mean like SMALLER THAN 1/8th inch) crossed sabers.

 

Handle from a Wilkinsons razor maybe? Thats what my grandfather used to use. 

 

So if its a razor my guess is the closest do I win?

 

Also on the subject of getting a metal detector and going hunting, I have found that lots of people are not very friendly about giving you permission to do any hunting on their land.

 

I lost my wedding ring while working on some private land near the Natches Trace and went to find it with my detector, it wasn't long before a park ranger stopped by and was questioning why I was detecting where I was.

[Guest TankerHC]

So if its a razor my guess is the closest do I win?

 

Also on the subject of getting a metal detector and going hunting, I have found that lots of people are not very friendly about giving you permission to do any hunting on their land.

 

I lost my wedding ring while working on some private land near the Natches Trace and went to find it with my detector, it wasn't long before a park ranger stopped by and was questioning why I was detecting where I was.

 

No worries here, my wife's family owns all the land Ill be hunting on. And its all on Waldens Ridge. And I have a copy of the map from the Campaign, Ill be hunting their property.

 

This paragraph from the NPS book 

 

"As September drew to a close, heavy rains began to fall. Roads were beaten to paste, and in the mountains, long stretches were washed away. The Confederates made common cause with nature. On October 1, Major General Joseph Wheeler's cavalry descended on an eight-hundred-wagon train rumbling over Walden's Ridge, burning the wagons and shooting the mules.

Wheeler's raid was "the funeral pyre of Rosecrans in top command." Three Federal divisions were left without supplies, and the ammunition reserves of the entire army were rendered dangerously low. By mid-October, the Army of the Cumberland was on the brink of starvation.

An unparalleled opportunity had been presented to Bragg, but he was too absorbed in his internecine struggles to fashion a coherent plan for compelling the Federals to abandon Chattanooga. Bragg's actions against the Federal army at Chattanooga during October were little better than a series of poorly thought out, makeshift measures conceived during the odd moments between battles with his generals.

 

http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/civil_war_series/9/sec1.htm

 

Not only did Wheelers Cavalry and Rosecrans men come through here, but later Grants men came back and forth carrying messages through Smiths Crossroads. 

 

If I dont find SOMETHING here, then, like the Moon Landing, the Civil War didnt happen. 

Edited February 24, 2014 by TankerHC

[Dennis1209]

Trust me, I've dug more holes metal detecting than all the gophers have in the history of their species, well almost!

 

No telling what you might find. I've found everything from small lead toys to valuable coins and rings, to tons of nails, pop tops, tabs and washers. Until you get very good with your detector the majority of your finds will be trash. The screen on even the best detectors like Minelab & White's are not all that accurate in identifying what metal it is, i.e. many nails fall into the silver range and will fool you, gold is in the pop top range.

 

Tip: The most accurate way to identify what metal it is, is with a good set of head phones (Grey Ghosts are excellent) and sound and practice.

 

When you get hooked then serious about my proposed new Olympic Sporting Event, since they tried to get rid of wrestling in the Olympics (why not?) You'll Google such things as "metal detecting halo effect" to use to your advantage.

 

Just like on a cigarette package, metal detectors should come with a warning...

 

WARNING: THIS PRODUCT CAN BE HAZARDOUS TO A RELATIONSHIP AND SHOULD BE TREATED AS SUCH. :wave:

[DaveS]

Maybe we should start a "what is it" page. I have found an item or two from the Civil War era that I can't identify. Help wanted!

 

Dave