It feels good to be on dry land again.

[2ndoldman]

No we have not had enough rain to make digging in parks any better.
It is because the parks department has started cutting the long grass in some of the rocky areas.
Not every hunt finds treasure.
These were the results of a hunts on the 12th and the 13th of this month. Why do we keep hunting if these are the results?
Well it is because we know better than to quit until the goodies are found.
Working the same small area on the 14th produced the same amount of modern stuff. With two nice exceptions.
This will show you how dry it is here. My best find of the day surprised the heck out of me.
So much so that I didn't even take an in-situ picture of it.
When I saw it lying on top of the grass all I thought was "that's cool" and put it in the pouch.
This was it when I got home. A cigar cutter is not what I expected to find and I really didn't expect it to be anything other than a curiosity because of the object that it was found with.

[2ndoldman]

Once again though it really does pay to look closely.

[Sugaree]

Cool finds Bruce! Do you save and clean the match box cars or are they just trash? Nice ring also.

[2ndoldman]

If the wheels still work I clean them up and find a kid who likes cars to give them to.
Otherwise they end up in the trash can.

[p kurt]

Neat cigar cutter, one more modern piece pipe, and that is a nice looking ring. We are dry here too, which is normal for this time of year.

[2ndoldman]

We do experience drought conditions here every year Kurt.
This time it is just dryer than any other year since the 1850s.

[G10+]

Love your post Bruce !!! May the tides be in your favore :-):-)

[2ndoldman]

Thank you Everett.

[Jethro355]

This has been the wettest, coolest summer in my lifetime, by a wide margin. We just hit 90 for the first time in August usually our hottest month, temps hover around 100-105. It's been really odd this year.


i have a question, and you appear to be an expert on this...I've been waiting to ask until I got time to type this story out.
My Grandparents migrated from the foothills of the ozarks to the delta in the 1910's and bought a rundown place that had belonged to a confederate officer in the War of Northern Aggression. Anyway, the place came with lots of outbuildings, each full of surprises. As they settled and began to raise a family, the four boys took to really exploring the property and found dozens of old cavalry sabres and muzzle loader infantry rifles, cannon balls, pretty much all the oddities and leftovers of war. Over the years they lost all but a few playing cowboys and Indians and whatnot.

Bear with me now...same story, just wanders off in a different direction, like my mind always does

years later, in the late 50's grandpa built a new house and they burned the old one when I was child to keep us from playing in it and getting hurt. I had found a gold pocket watch in a giant wood rat nest in one of the outbuildings, and we were forever finding Minnet balls, CSA buckles, old coins and stuff. Since then, both grandparents have passed on and now one of my cousins resides in the old home place, as we call it. A week or so ago she and I were talking at a family reunion and she said while doing some work on the well house, she had found written(in my Grammas' hand) a list of "treasures" she had buried around the back yard. They were just a series of mason jars, each with a count of how many and what denomination coins were in them. None of us knew anything about it, and she asked me if I had any ideas. Immediately, my thoughts ran to you and your treasures. These are the kinds of things that, while likely not all that valuable monetarily, they would mean the world to us, her grandchildren.

Here's where my question comes in...is this the kind of thing a person could find with a metal detector, and also, are they able to discern metal types, ferrous and non-ferrous, because I would also like to try to find some of the old cannon balls or cavalry swords as well. My uncle has a pair of them he kept since childhood, and they are truly exceptional. Do you have any recommendations of a type/brand of detector? I would also like one that is waterproof...
I'm going to go find that pocket watch and post a pic of it...

thanks in advance for any and all feedback.

[2ndoldman]

WOW Jethro how do I answer this?
Firstly, I wish that I could be there to offer my assistance because that is a treasure hunt that I could really get into.
Yes metal detectors can and will find everything that you are describing. Your choices of which detector will be governed by your budget. If your budget is small I suggest that you keep an eye out for something used. As to what brand, well Whites and Garrett are very popular down there and they both have a huge number of people who profess that they are the best. If you do decide to pick up a detector and give it a shot be prepared to be digging a pile of trash.
No detector on the market today will be able to say dig this and not that 100% of the time because there are so many variables in how they work and how an item in the ground will be seen by them.
All I can think about as I am writing this is GIVE ME THE ADDRESS. Best of luck to you my friend and YES I would love to see that pocket watch.

[Jethro355]

If you ever decide to venture down here, I'll be glad to let you spend as much time as you want pouring over the entire place.

a guy I work with has a white. He swears it's the best thing ever. Of course, the first time he used it he found a Rolex at the beach. 😳 I'd probably swear it was great too. Another guy said he used to have a Mindlab or something.

I would like to not spend more than $1,500-$2,000 if that will get me something decent. Maybe I'm going to check out Craigslist.


rhank you, sir. I appreciate the info. 👍

[2ndoldman]

If you ever decide to venture down here, I'll be glad to let you spend as much time as you want pouring over the entire place.

a guy I work with has a white. He swears it's the best thing ever. Of course, the first time he used it he found a Rolex at the beach. 😳 I'd probably swear it was great too. Another guy said he used to have a Mindlab or something.

I would like to not spend more than $1,500-$2,000 if that will get me something decent. Maybe I'm going to check out Craigslist.


rhank you, sir. I appreciate the info. 👍

This is a good place to look Jethro. http://www.treasureclassifieds.com/metal-detectors there is one there right now that is a killer price.
Check out what I would have to pay for it up here.
By the way the CTX is the machine that I use.