So I spent some time last weekend hunting an 1800's foundation (read "pile of rubble where I was told a house used to stand") and found a few cool things. Only found a single 1917 wheat penny as far as the coins go, but I can't help wondering if there are more there and I'm just missing them with all the rusty junk in the way.
Within 5 minutes I found a nice Robinsons Extra button that, from what I've been able to gather, dates from 1820-mid 1830's. I thought that was good foreshadowing, but I didn't find anything worth saving the rest of that day. The following day I did find an old padlock which has my interest at the moment....right now it's hooked up in an electrolysis setup so I'm curious to see how it ends up looking in a day or so.
I also found my first cannonball! To be more specific it's a grapeshot or canister ball. It's cast iron, weighs 1.1lbs, and as a diameter of a little over 2". A friend of mine who shoots cannons competitively and some users on another forum helped to verify the ID. I used my job as a high school science teacher as an excuse to do the electrolysis at school and turned it into a mini lesson for some of my chemistry students. Throughout the course of the 20 hours it was at work I used both a carbon anode and a copper anode, which accounts for the differences in appearance in the photos below. Once the rust was off, it was sealed in beeswax, and I think it looks pretty good now! I hope the lock comes out looking that nice!
Within 5 minutes I found a nice Robinsons Extra button that, from what I've been able to gather, dates from 1820-mid 1830's. I thought that was good foreshadowing, but I didn't find anything worth saving the rest of that day. The following day I did find an old padlock which has my interest at the moment....right now it's hooked up in an electrolysis setup so I'm curious to see how it ends up looking in a day or so.
I also found my first cannonball! To be more specific it's a grapeshot or canister ball. It's cast iron, weighs 1.1lbs, and as a diameter of a little over 2". A friend of mine who shoots cannons competitively and some users on another forum helped to verify the ID. I used my job as a high school science teacher as an excuse to do the electrolysis at school and turned it into a mini lesson for some of my chemistry students. Throughout the course of the 20 hours it was at work I used both a carbon anode and a copper anode, which accounts for the differences in appearance in the photos below. Once the rust was off, it was sealed in beeswax, and I think it looks pretty good now! I hope the lock comes out looking that nice!
