Posted on 02/15/2016 6:24:28 PM PST by jy8z
I saw this question posed by a fellow FReeper in answer to another Freeper today. I thought it would make for an interesting topic. I do not remember who it was so I can't attribute it to them.
But back to your question, the best finds are artillery rounds. You have to take them to an expert to "safe" them because black powder is really unstable after over a 100 years. My friend found a completely intact 3 inch shell. The artillery man cross thread the fuze so it was a dud. You could see you see marks on it where he banged on it to try and get the fuze back out! Who bangs on a live artillery round? These guys where in a desperate situation I guess. From the fuze it was a CSA round too.
A Latin textbook printed around 1520.
If you want buttons and stuff like that you go to encampments. Encampments are harder to find and it is not illegal to relic hunt on them. You just need the owners permission. The trick is to research on letters and sometimes a soldier will say the regiment camped on so an so’s farm for 2 weeks, then you have to check records but you can find it if you try. If might look like a deserted field or even under agriculture today but a long time ago a regiment camped there and they usually dropped a lot of stuff while there. I think a lot of it is from soldiers just tired of lugging stuff around.
A book about Sam Colt by his wife 1866 Armsmere worth about 2000 bucks
1849-O Liberty Head gold dollar. Tiny, but pretty cool. Good thread.
My 4x’s great grand mothers engagement ring from 1864.
A gorgeous platinum butterfly shaped diamond cocktail ring that belonged to my grandmother, and my other grandmother’s grammar school autograph book....both treasures.
I once had a Mammoths molar fossil found in Kansas.....loaned it to a small museum and the curator stole it.
This is what a 3 inch CSA round looked like. I have one on my attic somewhere, it has been professionally mounted on a wooden display wall art type setup. It has a chuck out of it so it is not worth much. Sometimes the shells didn't disintegrate properly and just a chuck blew off. A lot of those still laying around.
And Robert Gentry’s work?
I’ve got numerous Japanese prints dated from the 15th century, as well as porcelain and various tansus and hibachis circa 1700s. My father-in-law collected most of it from trash piles in the 70s. My favorite is a real sword probably from the 1800s-nothing fancy, but a remarkable tool with incredible balance and still sharp enough to shave.
LOL!
Same here, not much new in our house.
We bought an English Staffordshire chamberpot with cover at an auction a few years ago. The auctioneer offered it as a one handled covered casserole dish. He wasn’t joking either, he actually thought that is what it was.
We have a Confederate bayonet that my husband’s grandmother used to prop up her tomato plants in the garden. It is not in the best of shape from all that outdoor exposure but it is a part of his family’s history, from War to garden.
Don’t tell anyone but I have the actual Ark of the Covenant.
I remember them and I remember the night their house burned down. I remember your great granny running out of the burning house in her nightgown and she was carrying a white porcelain potty.
What are the chances of that story coming together! ; )
A field jacket.
5.56mm
That’s a great story! Amazing you met the person who knew it, which proves it is a small world.
I’m not thinking I would save the “covered casserole” in a fire, lol unless I grabbed it to put the silver in for ease of transport.
I am a manager at a homeless shelter. Last year, a nice man donated a can of hominy that had expired in 1974. I kept it for myself.
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