Checking out a old goldmine

[scubapirate]

Went to explore an old goldmine site along the shores of a local lake. To my surprise right along the shoreline I found this green disc. Turns out to be a brass mfg serial number plate for a ore car from the late 1800"s. I recalled seeing an ore car in the city park telling the history of this mine. So off I went to see if it matched and sure enough right where the plate should be was the two holes for the tag that matched up to a perfect fit. This was a very small mine so chances after all these years this was the lost tag from this cart.
Also picked up a ingot of what I think is iron (its magnetic). Not the gold brick I was hoping for.
A little research on the tag tells me these are quite collectable and worth a pretty penny to some

 

[ken ward]

Maybe the city will give you a reward for it. Cool find... KEN

 

[runninnavaho]

That's so awesome!

 

[MikeO]

Nice find. You should donate it to the park district so it could be re attached to the cart.
You might be surprised how many doors that opens for you as far as additional places to hunt.

 

[ShadyMechanic]

Sweet find. And I have to agree with MikeO. Be the good citizen and let karma reward you.

 

[pinpoint]

AGREED!

 

[Elton]

Donate it to the City. Get newspaper coverage. ( Good Will) and mention you scan yards for historical items... This could open up many, many sites for you.

If possible have the newspaper take photos of the tag being attached to the car..with you being in the picture too..

 

[kschae4]

I agree with the comments above. Great relic finds and maybe if you haven't already, you can join the local historical society to hunt those designated historical local sites to preserve history for future generations.

 

[huntingsonny]

great find follow your heart .

 

[Ed (Upstate NY)]

n/t

 

[GunnarMN]

Yes give it back to the City , as it is history for every one , it belongs back with the city the scrap value is minimul

 

[cted8767]

Interesting...post. Tonight I'm also on line researching a brass ore car tag that I recently found. Google led me to this interesting forum. Here is some back ground about my tag. I work for a sand and gravel company just outside of Cripple creek Colorado. Cripple creek is rich in early mining history. At nearly 10,000 feet, Cripple creek is more recently known for its casino's and gambling than for its mining history. In the late 1800's people flocked up the mountain by the thousands for a chance to strike it rich in gold. My understanding is that these early miners ( Before cyanide leeching and strip mining ) only chased the high grade ore and discarded lower grade ore as just a waste material which leads me back to my tag. OK.... so fast forward 100 years. These gold ore "waste piles" are massive. Thousands of tons of rock just heaped in large piles through out the mountains. I have an old 1954 cedar rapids jaw crusher at a near by gravel pit that I use to crush this ore down to 3/4 inch for landscaping. The major landscaping wholesale gravel companies cant get enough of it. I've crushed thousands and thousands of yards of rock throughout the years with my old crusher and blessed it has provided for me very well. Anyways... thing is my old crusher hates wood and metal so several times a day I stand over a conveyor and hand toss these out so they don't tear something up or end up in my landscape rock.I'm always finding old drill steel bits and sometimes hand forged tools from the blacksmith days, but last week I found something special. My brass tag. I've found limited information but read that my tag is one of George Truax earliest. My tag says Silver State ore cars. Has a Jan. 1898 pat. date and has 1717 Wazzee st. Denver Colorado on it. I haven't seen any photos on line exactly like my tag, only the Canada, Stockton, and globe-works tags. Anyone know any thing about this tag I dug out from 100 feet down in a 50,000 ton waste ore pile?

 

[E-Trac-Ohio]

A nice piece of history - congrats !

 

[Roland58]

If you do give it back to the city and they put it back on the cart, make sure they spot weld the bolts to make it harder to steal. Otherwise, it probably won't last until the water gets hot.
Yeah, I know, I'm not a trusting person. It is a great find and I would hate to see it lost to some creep with a screwdriver and a pair of pliers!!

Merry Christmas to all!!