1-5-11
More goodies found over the winter!
Before Christmas, Sonny, one of our longtime, talented Wampum Hunters, went to Utah on business and found himself with a few spare hours in a Salt Lake park. The weather was fair, and as you can see, the hunting was HOT! It just goes to show, that winter shouldn't slow you down when the opportunity to metal detect presents itself!
|
|
|
|
12-17-10
Back in June of this year, you may remember Nathan Torrey, a young airman from Mt. Home Airforce Base. Nathan was bitten hard by the metal detecting bug, and as a result, he's uncovered some interesting finds. Scroll down to the bottom of this page for a look at his first find in Mt. Home and the story he sent the Wampum Hut. We only had Nathan for a couple of months before he was transferred down South, but that didn't stop his metal detecting, or his great finds! Here's the latest from Nathan Torrey, Traveling Treasure Hunter!
|
|
E-mail received November 2010 from Nathan Torrey, who is an airman and Wampum Hunter serving down South:
Hey Guys,
Thought I'd send you an email with some more of my recent finds. In the same field where I pulled that 1856 Seated Liberty Half dollar I've pulled a few more goodies. In the photos are a 2 ring bullet from the civil war time frame, a fired 3 ring bullet from the same time, a General Service Eagle button with "C shield" and two General Service Eagle buttons with shields. The "C" on the one button stands for Cavalry, so whoever lost that button was part of the Cavalry during that time. It's been fun hunting down here. Had some interesting finds but soon I'll be heading for the Atlantic coast. I should be in Virginia digging up more Civil War relics, lost jewelry on beaches and hopefully coins by the time New Year's rolls around. I'll be sure to send more photos when I've got more to share!
Take care everyone and Happy Hunting!
~Nathan Torrey~
|
 |
| Metal detector find |
|
|
 |
| This is the two-ring bullet Nate mentioned |
|
|
 |
| Cavalry button |
|
|
9-8-10
Duane G. came into the Wampum Hut the other day to redeem a Wampum Egg found at Baggley Park. He redeemed the egg for a 1900 Indian Head one cent piece. But he really came in to brag about his finds from two days of detecting at an old home in the older section of Boise. Duane said he noticed the yard was being scraped up prior to new landscaping, so he asked if he could metal detect the area. The owners said "No problem", in fact, others had metal detected the area in the past week, so Duane and his 14 year old daughter Amanda, got to beepin'! Right off the bat Amanda found a silver Roosevelt dime, while her Dad found an assortment of goodies including a brass bell, household objects, wheat-back pennies and marbles. Duane said he ran his machine at an "extremely high setting for sensitivity" but kept it on low discrimination. Duane went back later with a friend where he retrieved the second-oldest coin he's ever found metal-detecting, an 1898 Barber Dime with an "O" mint mark. Duane also retrieved what he now calls his "fleet" of toy cars, including a pretty classy Caddy! Overall, he felt it was the best yard he'd metal detected in a long time! It's always fun to stumble onto a new hunt site, and by getting permission and jumping right in, Duane proved that old adage "Nothing ventured, nothing gained" really works. Remember, it never hurts to ask, all they can say is "no", and when they say "yes"....well, look at the pictures below! Thanks for sharing, Duane!
|
 |
| Duane at the Wampum Hut with his loot! |
|
|
 |
| Here's a closer look at some of the items Duane found. |
|
|
7-23-10
Father and daughter redeemed "Last Monday" Treasure Eggs from Quarry View park (daughter was happy with 100 Grand candy bar) The Father reported a silver earring, silver war nickel, and seven surface quarters in less than a 12 inch diameter area, as well as his Treasure Egg, which he redeemed for un-circulated coins. Quite a day of finds!
7-9-10
A Camel Back park "Treasure Egg" certificate was redeemed for two rings on the board. The finds of a sterling silver man's ring with 12K gold design was another find on the same day. Good work on that one!
|
 |
| The only way to hunt! |
|
| 7-9-10
One detectorist who likes to drive around and find different areas that may not have been thoroughly searched, reported: 19 dimes, 15 quarters, 23 pennies, one 50 cent, 1 five cent, and three ancient fold over pull tabs. All of this was found in a small area in less than two hours!
7-2-10
A husband and wife team redeemed their certificates from Quarry View park for an Indian head one cent piece, and a buffalo nickel. They also had been searching other areas and came up with a two inch high pewter knight with a decided limp...one leg had been cut off! But they were not unhappy with a small 10k gold ring with diamond chips.
|
6-19-2010
Nathan has been stationed at Mt. Home Air Force Base for several months, but only discovered the Wampum Hunter Club in time to attend two hunts. He and his family (Congratulations on the one year anniversary!) are being transferred to Texas, but he's leaving our group with a great story that illustrates why we spend so much time retrieving treasures from the dirt. Here's the story as sent by e-mail after our June Hunt:
Hey Guys,
Here's the short story of what I found and the pictures you were asking for. Hope you enjoy it!
A couple weeks ago while searching my local park in Mt. Home, Idaho, I got a strong signal and dug about four inches down to find this mysterious marker in the ground. After carefully jotting down all the inscriptions in it, I went home and researched markers of this type. Had I been smart I would have just taken a photo with my phone at the time, but always forget it has that capability.
Anyway...My curiosity led me to Curt Smith of the National Geodetic Survey. He's the director in charge of all marker in the states of Montana and Idaho. The National Geodetic Survey (NGS) happens to be the United states oldest scientific organization. (Over 200 years old) When I contacted him he seemed very interested in recovering it as he had no information on that particular marker.
Yesterday after two weeks, I was finally able to meet with Curt and we went to the park and uncovered it again. He told me that this marker was most likely placed between 1921-1924. All documentation of these markers between those years has been lost, unfortunately. But he did inform me that there are only approx. 10 of these located in the state. And they only have information on three of them. This marker was used during that time to set the magnetic declination of compasses.
After talking with Curt for about 45 minutes, we covered the marker back up, and parted ways. Before we left though, he presented me with a token of his gratitude in helping him recover this lost marker. The marker I'm holding in the second photograph was one that used to be in San Luis Obispo, Ca. It was placed in 1977 and was used as an elevation marker. It was taken out of the ground in 2007 because of some bridge construction going on around the site of the marker. He had this marker in his possession and gave it to me for helping him recover what turned out to be a long lost marker.
Well, that's my short little story. I just wanted to say thanks again, for inviting me into your club! I had such a great time on the two hunts I was able to go on. I wish I had found metal detecting and the Wampum Hut much sooner. But I'm glad I was able to meet you all before I left for Texas. If I'm ever back up this way, I'll be sure to stop in. I'll keep an eye on the website as well. Take care of yourselves! Best of luck with the hunting! Nathan
|
 |
| This is what Nate found and left in the ground! |
|
|
 |
| This is what the NGS gave Nate to keep |
|
|
|
