Vermonster
Elite Member
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2014
- Messages
- 9,477
Well, the 1880-1910 site that gave me tons of headstamps, cool relics, and my only silver coin to date is starting to grass over due to the recent rains out here. Rain is hard enough to come by, so when grass does grow, I will leave it alone for a couple of months. It'll probably be dead again by April or May anyway. But, I was able to find another target on public land about a half mile away using old topo maps. It was there in the first maps produced in 1903, and when they were redrawn in 1945, it wasn't there. Wasn't exactly sure I could find it.
However, looking around, I soon saw an old stone wall similar to the other location. So using that as a reference, I was able to find the old remnants of a structure. I started finding surface pottery and colored glass, then the other surface pieces starting appearing (Photo #1). That was all I needed to see. Went back a day later and did a quick 90 minute scouting hunt.
In that time, I pulled about 35+ headstamps (All 1880-1910), including some of the earliest Peters designs that I had never seen. Also found some .44 Henry rounds, and a monster of a 56-50 Spencer round, made by Winchester. Got 4 spoons, 2 of which are the same set. They have C. Ives stamped on the underside, and a crown with "Royal" stamped on the top handle. I am assuming Currier and Ives, but I can only find info on their flatware, not any silverware (Help???). Finally, was also able to pull what was later identified (thanks) as a Wind cover for a pipe, which I had never seen before. Very neat, has some little fleur de lis type designs. Can't find any other marks, and it looks like some reddish color on the metal, so I doubt it's silver, but really cool. Oh, and the clock part in the group photo is stamped "Waterbury Clock Co.".
So, needless to say, I think this place needs more searching. Funny thing is, I found 5-6 of the 40 or so items as surface finds, just under the dry grass. This California dirt is so dry and rocky, stuff lays on the top from time to time. I would love another silver, but my goal is going to be an Indian Penny.......
However, looking around, I soon saw an old stone wall similar to the other location. So using that as a reference, I was able to find the old remnants of a structure. I started finding surface pottery and colored glass, then the other surface pieces starting appearing (Photo #1). That was all I needed to see. Went back a day later and did a quick 90 minute scouting hunt.
In that time, I pulled about 35+ headstamps (All 1880-1910), including some of the earliest Peters designs that I had never seen. Also found some .44 Henry rounds, and a monster of a 56-50 Spencer round, made by Winchester. Got 4 spoons, 2 of which are the same set. They have C. Ives stamped on the underside, and a crown with "Royal" stamped on the top handle. I am assuming Currier and Ives, but I can only find info on their flatware, not any silverware (Help???). Finally, was also able to pull what was later identified (thanks) as a Wind cover for a pipe, which I had never seen before. Very neat, has some little fleur de lis type designs. Can't find any other marks, and it looks like some reddish color on the metal, so I doubt it's silver, but really cool. Oh, and the clock part in the group photo is stamped "Waterbury Clock Co.".
So, needless to say, I think this place needs more searching. Funny thing is, I found 5-6 of the 40 or so items as surface finds, just under the dry grass. This California dirt is so dry and rocky, stuff lays on the top from time to time. I would love another silver, but my goal is going to be an Indian Penny.......
