A few months ago I went with a friend to a site where a demolition was happening. We found some really cool goodies (Seateds, Mercs, and up). I did not get most of those finds under my coil, but I eked out a few goodies!
I had just found a seated half dime when, poking around under the dumpster that was set up to take the refuse away, I heard what I thought might be another seated (a TID of about 18 on the Nox). I dug carefully, and wide, to make sure that I didn't damage the coin. When I turned the plug over, I looked for silver, but didn't find it. Readjusting my expectations, I noted a thin brass metal plate. I was a little disappointed at it not being silver, until I wiped away the soil and saw that it had writing on it. At first, I thought it was one of those number tags from a mailbox, because it had a two digit number stamped on it. A little further cleaning, and I realized what I had: A pre-1900s dog tag!
Knowing that these can be quite valuable, I was pretty excited that I found this! I was put in touch with some really great people as I tried to learn more about this tag, and I was told that it predated the earliest known tag from this town by over 30 years, which was pretty cool! Eventually I put it up on eBay and sold it for $331. Not a bad return for the fun I had! Win-Win!
I had just found a seated half dime when, poking around under the dumpster that was set up to take the refuse away, I heard what I thought might be another seated (a TID of about 18 on the Nox). I dug carefully, and wide, to make sure that I didn't damage the coin. When I turned the plug over, I looked for silver, but didn't find it. Readjusting my expectations, I noted a thin brass metal plate. I was a little disappointed at it not being silver, until I wiped away the soil and saw that it had writing on it. At first, I thought it was one of those number tags from a mailbox, because it had a two digit number stamped on it. A little further cleaning, and I realized what I had: A pre-1900s dog tag!
Knowing that these can be quite valuable, I was pretty excited that I found this! I was put in touch with some really great people as I tried to learn more about this tag, and I was told that it predated the earliest known tag from this town by over 30 years, which was pretty cool! Eventually I put it up on eBay and sold it for $331. Not a bad return for the fun I had! Win-Win!