AirmetTango
Forum Supporter
Interesting coincidence for my hunt today (Sept 16) - almost like someone wanted this token to be found....
I had my standard couple hours this Sunday morning to get a short hunt in - I didn't want to hit my latest permission because I'm worried it's getting a little too dry again for digging a private yard. So I decided to swing past a nearby public spot in town instead - I figured it was close by, so hunting time would be maximized, plus I hadn't hunted the spot since before I upgraded my detector. Well, when I rolled up on the spot, the groundskeepers were all over it, cutting the grass and trimming...very odd for a Sunday, I thought. Not wanting to deal with dodging them or getting in their way, and not having enough time to wait them out, I went to Plan B.
Instead I took the longer drive out to a park that I've had good luck in this year...it's an exercise in patience, but I can still pull one or two keepers out on most hunts. By the time I got there and set up, I was down to little more than an hour. I'm usually fairly systematic when I hunt the place, gridding small areas each time, but for some reason I did the drunken sailor technique this time - I just meandered around, mostly just keeping the sun to my back in an pathetic effort to create my own shade! But I guess it also helped me feel like I was covering more ground in the limited time available even if it obviously wasn't true
Anyway, good signals were rare and generally ended up as bits of copper or lead shot, and I ended up rolling the dice on some nickel-like signals that only served to fill the trash pouch. About midway through the hunt, I got over a nice sounding signal, initially 70-73, but varied to 75-79 as I circled around it. Depth counter said only 4" down, so my hopes were low for anything other than another bit of can slaw. So I was ecstatic to pop out a small octagon shaped coin - I knew right away I had my favorite kind of find...trade token!
Being aluminum, it's a little bent up, but most of the detail came out after cleaning it up at home despite a little corrosion. The hardest part to make out was the first initial of the proprietor, but my best guess was B. M. Soleau. I wasn't having any luck researching the dairy, so I tried the name and ended up with a hit almost immediately on a WWI draft registration card!
It turns out that Benjamin Monrad Soleau lived in Bowling Green, OH (the town right next door to Portage) in 1917, and he listed his occupation as "farmer" on the draft registration. And check out his birth date...Sept 16, 1890! Happy Birthday, Mr. Soleau!
And weird coincidence #2, my first name is also Benjamin...between the date and the name, it's almost creepy weird!
I had my standard couple hours this Sunday morning to get a short hunt in - I didn't want to hit my latest permission because I'm worried it's getting a little too dry again for digging a private yard. So I decided to swing past a nearby public spot in town instead - I figured it was close by, so hunting time would be maximized, plus I hadn't hunted the spot since before I upgraded my detector. Well, when I rolled up on the spot, the groundskeepers were all over it, cutting the grass and trimming...very odd for a Sunday, I thought. Not wanting to deal with dodging them or getting in their way, and not having enough time to wait them out, I went to Plan B.
Instead I took the longer drive out to a park that I've had good luck in this year...it's an exercise in patience, but I can still pull one or two keepers out on most hunts. By the time I got there and set up, I was down to little more than an hour. I'm usually fairly systematic when I hunt the place, gridding small areas each time, but for some reason I did the drunken sailor technique this time - I just meandered around, mostly just keeping the sun to my back in an pathetic effort to create my own shade! But I guess it also helped me feel like I was covering more ground in the limited time available even if it obviously wasn't true
Anyway, good signals were rare and generally ended up as bits of copper or lead shot, and I ended up rolling the dice on some nickel-like signals that only served to fill the trash pouch. About midway through the hunt, I got over a nice sounding signal, initially 70-73, but varied to 75-79 as I circled around it. Depth counter said only 4" down, so my hopes were low for anything other than another bit of can slaw. So I was ecstatic to pop out a small octagon shaped coin - I knew right away I had my favorite kind of find...trade token!
Being aluminum, it's a little bent up, but most of the detail came out after cleaning it up at home despite a little corrosion. The hardest part to make out was the first initial of the proprietor, but my best guess was B. M. Soleau. I wasn't having any luck researching the dairy, so I tried the name and ended up with a hit almost immediately on a WWI draft registration card!
It turns out that Benjamin Monrad Soleau lived in Bowling Green, OH (the town right next door to Portage) in 1917, and he listed his occupation as "farmer" on the draft registration. And check out his birth date...Sept 16, 1890! Happy Birthday, Mr. Soleau!
And weird coincidence #2, my first name is also Benjamin...between the date and the name, it's almost creepy weird!
