Chasing Pre Civil War Relics

Last week I had the opportunity to search for some pre Civil War relics with a couple of good friends (Shot out to PB, Jason, Ben, Duane, and Matt). We targeted a remote location for several hours and we all came away with some very good finds! It's amazing to pull something from the ground that has been there for 160 years! Most of these finds predate the civil war and are from US soldiers that would eventually fight on both the north and the south. I love this hobby for the stories I get to see and tell!

Here are my bullets! I found all the different calibers of bullets from the time period. The largest one being a perfect dropped .69 cal. I also found .58, .54., and .52 cal sharps.



Here are the best buttons I found! One on the left is a Eagle A meaning Artillery unit. The one on the right is a tin back (As you can tell by the rust) General Service Eagle button.



Here are the other relics found that day!

Lost Gold Ring Returned!!!

Received a call while I was golfing today from a couple who let me metal detect thier house last year! Anthony was playing flag football and put his ring in his bag on the sidelines. Unfortunately his bag was kicked and the ring came out. He noticed it was gone when he got to his car. His wife Kira called me and explained the situation! We met up at the field and I focused on the area he mentioned. Needless to say, the ring is now back with its owner!!!

9/9 Silver Keeps Flowing! Honey Hole Keeps Producing!

So last week I talked with one of the prettiest girls around as I saw on Instagram that her and her sister had moved into an old house. I met McKenzie in Lake Powell earlier this year and captured her heart by catching her a lizard. Well captured her heart is not true but I did catch her a lizard haha. I told her what I wanted to do and she informed the landowner and he was cool with it. The house was build early 1900's but the yard had been redone and we didn't find anything old. That was okay because the landowner had two other properties he said we could try out. Ben and I headed that way on Saturday and we covered both places in a short period of time.

Here are my finds for the two houses! I found 70+ coins at the two locations. I found 7 wheat pennies from 1935,37,37,39,44,45,52. One Utah Tax Token and one 1923 Mercury dime!



Ben had a good day as well! First location he scored a nice little silver ring along with a two wheat pennies from 1926 and 1935. Second location he found his 2nd silver ring as well as 1953 silver Rosie.



2nd location



Also this weekend spent some time at a 1891 home that had previously been metal detected. I've been by twice now and all finds are deep scratchy signals. All finds are also usually pretty good old as well. Here are the finds from my two trips! 3 silvers, 2 buffalo nickels, and 26 wheats! Some of the relics are pretty cool as well, like the skeleton key and lead soldier

 

Week of Labor Day

The week leading up to Labor Day was great! I didn't know how I would recover after a 10 silver day. Started with a 1919 with home with Ben. Only came with two buffalo nickels as Ben found the silver.

Thursday before the long weekend I headed back to the honey hole! It's amazing that place keeps producing. Came away with two more silvers (13 in total)! Also a cool vintage ring that was in the hole with a1944 wheat. 

Over Labor Day weekend I spent time at a house where the owner told me three guys came by two weeks before and only found a few coins because of the iron nails every where. I uses two tone ferrous and went extremely slow! I cleaned the yard of every signal and at the end I had a pile of coins! Over a hundred clad coins, one silver Rosie, one 1896 Indian right next to a thimble, and a token from Eureka Utah! It was an awesome day!

Here is a close up of the Indian and the thimble.

1935 Home = Honey Hole!!!

Thanks to my good friend Katie, I was able to secure two homes from her brother that have been very good! The first house was built in 1935. I started working the from tree strip and my first signal was a wheat! I just knew it was going to be a good spot to get VT Mining back on track for the year!

Well the targets just kept on coming! I focused on all non conductive signals and before I knew it the time flew by. When it was all said and done, I found 161 total coins! I set a new bench mark for silvers in one day of 10 silver coins! Along with the silvers, I found 35 wheat pennies (oldest 1913), 1928 buffalo, and 2 Utah state tax tokens. What a honey hole!!!

It's Been Too Long

I'm sorry it has taken me so long to get a new post up! Life has been crazy in 2014 but that doesn't mean VT Mining hasn't had his coil to the ground. In fact I've been around the world doing it! I finally find myself sitting on a plane 40,000 miles up and with enough service to get a new post. Instead of telling stories I'm going to let the pictures do the talking so I can catch up! Enjoy!!!

Trip to Utah Territory

Back in the 1850's the US government commission General Johnston to lead an army of about 3000 men to Utah to monitor the Mormons. It is a piece of US history that even I know very little about. It has however been a part of history that I have had the pleasure to search out and find relics. My good friend Jame aka PB on most forums and YouTube has done extensive research on Johnston's army and has aloud me to join him on some of his hunts. This past weekend was one of those opportunities.

I  met James at 6:30am and we were metal detecting by 7:45am. It was cold and windy but we went after it pulling find after find out of the ground. It is amazing to hold a piece of history that is over 160 years old in your hand. The thought that right under feet just a couple inches are rare glimpses of the past. It was so much fun to go out there and find such relics. Here are my finds!

First are the Eagle buttons from the military uniforms. I found a total of 14 eagle buttons. These are by far my favorite thing to find!

 I found 4 general service buttone, 1 Eagle A for artillery unit, and a total of 9 Eagle I's for Infantry unit. The bottom left 4 buttons are made from pewter and are older then the others. They were made in the 1820's 

 Found several bullets from the time. The 3 .69 cal that were all over 12" deep.

 Civil war spencer bullets

 A couple of shoulder scale pieces and some random mystery items

 Plenty of cool old glass

 This was my find of the day! I dug down and found some trash but then I noticed this guys in the hole. It is for sure my oldest find of the trip!

In total we were out there for ten hours. James found even more stuff then me but it was a good time! If you would like to see the live hunt, here is the link http://youtu.be/_Zx_mZYc0cQ. Happy Hunting!!!