Dig It Dan
@digitdan.bsky.social
Uncovering history across Maine. I detect properties for owners to showcase their history by finding items lost by past inhabitants. Credited with discovering a Militia/Civil War muster field in ME. Posts about Maine history and things that interest me.
Finds from today. Another heart heel plate, more toe tapes, more harmonica reed plates, more oil lamp parts and a few other bits. Loving this fall weather!
It's getting pretty up here! Nothing better than fall in New England.
Found a really nice button out in the potato field yesterday. It was silver plated, and from the late 1700's. I wish it had more of the design left, looks like it would have been very nice!
One of my favorite spots. Right by the Kennebec River. All I can hear right now is geese honking in the distance. 1888 Indian Head penny, the remains of a toy gun, and an antique cigarette case.
Man is it beautiful out today! Glad I decided to take the day off from work. The blueberry barrens are starting to change color, found a buffalo nickel and a few other cool things!
Finds from today's gorgeous walk! It was probably about a mile and a half down a trail to a stream bed and back. I was actually looking for a gentleman's phone that he lost a couple weeks ago now while riding his 4wheeler. No luck. It must have taken a crazy bounce farther off the trail somewhere.
You can definitely feel the seasons shifting this morning. It's a beautiful day for a new spot in the woods.
A very interesting find from a freshly tilled field. These tokens were used either to teach mathematical operations to children, as counters in a game, or shopkeepers used them to count on a grid. Also sometimes used in times of currency shortage, these coins are part German, part American.
A few finds from 3 different spots. A 1944 "war nickel" that actually contain no nickel. During WW2 nickel was needed for armor plating, and were made with 35%silver. The rest is copper and manganese. Also, pieces of a pocket watch case that you can barely see a pattern on, and a cool garter clip.
Hit a new spot today. The property has a house from the 1700's. Unfortunately, nothing too exciting from that era. I did find a bridal rosette, solid silver spoon that dates 1850-1870, a 1944 silver Mercury dime, and a 1930 Maine chauffeur license badge. Also a matchbox car, and part of a cap gun.
I forgot to add the Conestoga bell I found on the property along with the two cases full of items I posted earlier. It just wouldn't fit in the cases. Conestoga bells were on covered wagons, and are where the term "I'll be there with bells on" came from.
Today I am presenting the property owner with these two cases of finds from what may very well have been a Civil War era brothel.
A closer look at the 1870 shield nickel I found today. This was the first US coin called a nickel, and was 75%copper+25%nickel. Before this 5 cent coins in the US were silver, and called half dimes. These were made in part due to people hoarding silver and gold during the Civil War.
Got an early start in this freshly cleared and tilled field!
Radagast the Brown says kitties are never late. Nor are they early. They arrive precisely when they mean to.
Another recent find. It's a little over and inch across. Not really sure what it came off of. The body is brass, and has a garnett/jewel/or decorative purple glass set in the center. Judging from the patina, and dates of everything else found in the area I'd says its from the mid 1800s. Any ideas?
Here's a closer look at the pre-Civil War US Navy button I found on Sunday, along with an example of what it would have looked like if it weren't in the ground for nearly 200 years.
Shown here are all the finds from my Sunday outing. In addition to the muzzload pistol, and Civil War snake buckle are a pocket knife, conestoga bell from a wagon, another buckle, some horse tack, a few buttons(one of which is a US Navy button from the early-mid1800s).
Another great find from yesterday. A Civil War era snake buckle. I've actually never found one of these before, and have been looking for one for many years. This spot is the same place I found the 3 brass heart heel plates. It's turning out to be one of the best I've come across.
