Metal Detecting Adventures Ep. 2 - Returning a Family Heirloom

In February, I was driving my kids to school and passed this old farmhouse which was being renovated. The day was cold, but after a long winter spell I was itching to get back to hunting. So after a cup of coffee, I worked up the nerve to stop at a total stranger's house and ask the owner for permission to metal detect on his property. He was very nice and graciously allowed me to detect around the house.

I'm not sure about other detectorists, but I get always the "New Huntin'Grounds" high!!!

In my head it's...

Come with me
And you'll be
In a world of
Pure imagination

So off I go, detector and spade in hand, and giddy as a school girl!

And what a day it was... After several hours of detecting I found some really cool artifacts:

• A harmonica reed
• A piece of an old lamp
• A silver plated spoon
• Gears and valves
• Some old square nails and other odds and ends

And some of my favorite things... COINS!!!

• A 1936 Silver Quarter
• A 1945 Silver War Nickel
• A Wheat Cent
• And a Missouri Tax Token, which was pretty obliterated

So as the day went on the homeowner introduced me to his father, who was an amazing guy full of historical knowledge of the area. He explained that the house belonged to his mother who had lived there her entire life and passed away at the age of 99. He showed me all the surrounding farmhouses that were owned by his relatives for over a century. He explained how the families in the area fought in the Civil War on opposite sides. Missouri after all was a highly contested split state during the Civil War. I loved the history lesson!

Well, I was just about to call it a day, I had been at it for hours and was pretty exhausted. I decided to check one last signal along the old gravel driveway.... It was a strong signal in the high 80's, but it was large and sporadic... I knew it was too large for a coin and I wasn't too optimistic thinking it was probably junk. I dug down down a few inches and found a small link. I pulled it out and gave it a gentle wipe.. It came off clean and shiny.... silver! I checked again and found more signals... Out came another link and then a small set of links... I had found something special; I just knew it. But what the heck was it?! Once I ran out of signals I examined it all. I had several separated links with names on them, like, "Ma, Pa, and Dwayne." Well after a few minutes of putting this back together I realized I had a beautiful, antique, silver-linked bracelet with an entire family enscribed on it.

I contacted the father who was really excited to see the find. He explained that the bracelet had belonged to his Mother, and the names were in fact his parents and his siblings!!! I eagerly returned the bracelet to it's rightful owner and asked only for a photograph in return. It's days like this that I really love this hobby!

I hope you enjoyed Ep. 2 of my Metel Detecting Adventures. Please give me an Upvote if you'd like to see more of this series. And keep digging those holes!