William-NM
New member
I had some luck this week despite some wild March weather - my ghost town hunt started with mist & fog, followed by a drizzle, then it cleared up, then it hailed like mad, cleared up again and then rained on and off for the rest of the day. Good thing little blackie is water tight - more than I can say for my thrift shop raincoat, heh (it doesn't rain much around here, so...)
Between that and a couple of creek hunts, I managed to pull a few new favorites: a local watch fob - kind of copper colored, maybe bronze or a high-copper brass? Anyhow, it says "Silver City, New Mexico" on the top and "Broncho Bustin" on the bottom. Nice graphic of cowboy in the center. I've always seen it spelled "Bronco" - not sure if this is a misspelling or ??. Back is stamped "The Arts Shop, SIlver City, N.M". And a broken spur to go with it!
Then I found this token. It's from Fort Bayard, NM, now a historic site about 5 miles east of town. The fort was established to protect the Chino copper mine in around 1860 and ceased operation as a military fort in 1900. Another local 'treasure' - it reads "U.S. Veterans Hospital #55 Ft. Bayard, N. Mex." on the front, and "Good for 1 Pint Milk" on the reverse, with the numbers 4&2 overstamped (a control #?)
Then I snagged this little cast iron airplane, I love the old toys! It has a Barber dime with it for scale, the wingspan is 5", length is about 4.5".
I thought that this Art Nouveau pin was brass, but it tests out at 10K, doesn't smell like brass (brass has a distinctive odor when rubbed), or taste like brass (yes, I did taste it). So, I'm on a nice roll with the gold! It's 4" wide, 1/2" high, and weighs in at .51 oz with the little stone in.
Some of my finds don't require a metal detector:
I hadn't found a "3 Merry Widows" condom tin for a while, heh. and you can never have too much nickel silver / silver plated flatware, right? I must have 150 by now. I also found an old 'Airline' radio set dial window, what looks like an old p.o. box door, etc.
Got a few Coke & 7UP bottles in better condition, and a few other good ones:
Just a few marbles and toys - Tigger likes his new female friend, though. Spooky lookin' porcelain doll.
A '48 truck license plate & a heavy, porcelain enameled (f&b) number - possibly railroad?? And almost 10# of lead - one of the bars on the left is stamped 'ALF".
Between that and a couple of creek hunts, I managed to pull a few new favorites: a local watch fob - kind of copper colored, maybe bronze or a high-copper brass? Anyhow, it says "Silver City, New Mexico" on the top and "Broncho Bustin" on the bottom. Nice graphic of cowboy in the center. I've always seen it spelled "Bronco" - not sure if this is a misspelling or ??. Back is stamped "The Arts Shop, SIlver City, N.M". And a broken spur to go with it!
Then I found this token. It's from Fort Bayard, NM, now a historic site about 5 miles east of town. The fort was established to protect the Chino copper mine in around 1860 and ceased operation as a military fort in 1900. Another local 'treasure' - it reads "U.S. Veterans Hospital #55 Ft. Bayard, N. Mex." on the front, and "Good for 1 Pint Milk" on the reverse, with the numbers 4&2 overstamped (a control #?)
Then I snagged this little cast iron airplane, I love the old toys! It has a Barber dime with it for scale, the wingspan is 5", length is about 4.5".
I thought that this Art Nouveau pin was brass, but it tests out at 10K, doesn't smell like brass (brass has a distinctive odor when rubbed), or taste like brass (yes, I did taste it). So, I'm on a nice roll with the gold! It's 4" wide, 1/2" high, and weighs in at .51 oz with the little stone in.
Some of my finds don't require a metal detector:
I hadn't found a "3 Merry Widows" condom tin for a while, heh. and you can never have too much nickel silver / silver plated flatware, right? I must have 150 by now. I also found an old 'Airline' radio set dial window, what looks like an old p.o. box door, etc.
Got a few Coke & 7UP bottles in better condition, and a few other good ones:
Just a few marbles and toys - Tigger likes his new female friend, though. Spooky lookin' porcelain doll.
A '48 truck license plate & a heavy, porcelain enameled (f&b) number - possibly railroad?? And almost 10# of lead - one of the bars on the left is stamped 'ALF".
