Detectoring interrupted by thunder storm

June 29, 2018

Sometimes Mother Nature tells you when it's time to pack up and go home!  I have an app called "My Lighting Tracker" on my phone.   As I was out detecting the Flea Market it was giving me warnings by vibrating in my pocket and making alert sounds.  Of course I was keeping and eye on the sky as small anvil clouds moved in.  Since it was warm and humid I was OK being out as the rain started, but then it got heavy and I was glad I had the rain cover on my ACE 300 detector as I ran to the car.  I covered about 150 feet today while swinging wide, as usual I was stopping very few feet to dig something up.

I took this picture 20 minutes before the storm hit while I was taking a break.

And this is what the flea market looks like in full swing:

I stop by every week or so to study where the popular booths are, so I can increase my odds of finding dropped coins and items.

Today's finds are interesting.  As usual I'm not showing modern coins, but I got $1.45 today.

I'm pretty sure this is a hook for a picture rail, but it's more decorative than the typical hook.

  

I'm guessing this badge is from the 1964 or 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria.

And this nice heart shaped item cam out in pieces.  The clasp appears to be designed for a bolo tie.

There are a few sellers that carry military items, and I find a lot of military buttons and  badges.  This USNR one has a screw on back rather than the typical pin back.

The most interesting item is this tiny hollow brass ball.  It's only 0.37" (9.3mm) diameter and the tinier captured ball is only 0.129" (3.28mm) diameter.  Both are made from formed brass.  The big ball (not a bell) has this stamped on it: "PAT. MAY 9. 11.".  I doubt this refers to a patent, so maybe it is a person's name and memorial date?

OMG, 18KT gold plated ring

June 26, 2018

I have been having good luck in the vendor parking area of  the flea market site, so I went back to that area again today.  About 10 minutes into it I pulled up this bling!  18KT gold electroplate - the stones don't test as diamonds.  Basically really nice costume jewelry!  It's a size 7 according to the ring sizer I just got, and weighs in at 0.078oz (2.29g).  Stamped 18KT G.E. (A) - the A is in a circle.  This is the second gold plated ring with fake diamonds I have found.  Gets my pulse racing every time - this is what keeps me going!

I also got the usual assortment of hardware, pull tab etc.

But I like the 1979 Hong Hong bronze nickel 50 cent piece with Queen Elizabeth the Second on the back.  I scraped it with the digging tool, but otherwise it's in pretty good shape.

   

And I seem to find a lot of these little cast metal animals, this is my second cat.  Not sure what they looked like originally, there is a hint of gold (paint?) on all of them.

Neato keeno! Captain Midnight medal of membership from 1940

June 24,2018

Neato, keeno.  Just when I was getting tired of digging up thrashed Lincoln pennies and junk at the flea market I came across this treasure.  A bronze 1940 vintage Captain Midnight Flight Patrol Medallion of Membership.  It features Captain Midnight and his sidekicks, Chuck Ramsay and Patsa Donovan on the back along with the password: "?COBRALHOFA?".  The bump in the middle let you use it as a decision spinner.  How cool is this?

These were made by the sponsor, Skelly oil as give-aways to augment the popular radio show.

There were other interesting finds as well:

2 Wheat pennies - a thrashed 1944 and a 1952 D in better shape:

This tiny silver cross pendant:

Another tiny Christian pendant.  (there must be a booth that sells a lot of Christian items because I have found a lot of this type of thing):

This baby locket pendant made from cheap plated pot metal is pretty beat up:

And finally a necklace that was a surface find dropped today by one of the sellers:

Gaudy bling ring and Indian Motorcycle badge

June 20, 2018

It was a slow day digging st the flea market today, lots of scrap and a few pennies until I found all the items above within a few minutes.  I realize that I have been spoiled by having this amazing location just a few miles from my home so I can just pop over there on a whim and dig any day.  I generally dig 5 days a week for an hour or 2 each time and fully expect to find really interesting stuff every time.

The US army unit crest pin is for the 18th support battalion.  I think it's gold plated brass with 2 pins on the back, one is broken off.

       

Then I hit a really strong signal in the soft dirt under one table where I had seen a guy selling jewelry and pins.  This is a nice vintage brass Indian Motorcycle badge, missing the pin back.  They are selling on eBay for about $7-12 intact.  I cleaned it up in my rock tumbler as it came out dull.

Then I got another really strong signal with a big footprint that I almost wrote off as can slaw or a whole flattened can.  Almost walked off, but went back over it and found this gaudy ring.  It looked like silver at first and is really heavy with a quartz stone, definitely got my pulse racing for a minute there!  I think it is chrome plated pot metal that is corroding in places where the plating has worn through.

After I pulled that out, there was still a strong signal.  Yes, I always check my holes and all around them before moving on.  It was just a dinged up fishing weight!  Gah!  I have pounds of lead scrap in a bucket I'm saving to be recycled.

Sterling ring and pirate treasure dug up at the flea market

June 19, 2018

Spent an hour or so digging under the tables at the flea market near me here in Maine.  I have been scouting the booths that have jewelry and small items, so I know where the best tables are.  Among the odd finds are a bent brass drawer pull, a nice brass lamp finial and an old style glass fuse.

On hot days it is nice to dig around in the shade under the tables.  I haven't bumped my head yet!  The dirt is soft and easy to dig down there.

It always seems to happen that when I'm about to give up, I find something really cool.  Today it was a really nice sterling ring marked 925.

        

This is a beauty in mint condition and weighs in at 0.123oz (3.4g).  I might try selling it on eBay.

Found yet another military button, this one is a U.S.M.A. CADET It is dinged on front with a bent back.

         

A nice Egyptian motif hat pin with a small blue glass(?) stone in it.  It's brass and may have been gold plated.

Among the pennies I got a thrashed 1957 wheatie and a 1996 Canadian one cent.  The find that capped the day was this cool "treasure" board game piece that Peter Hart in London, England helped me identify via Facebook:

      

If you look closely (I missed it) it says: "DREAD PIRATE" around the edge in the image on the right.  Peter sent me these pictures.  Thanks Peter! 👍😀

The good dirt is under the flea market tables

June 17, 2018

I'm continuing to explore the "virgin dirt" under the flea market tables.  It's soft and easy to dig and I don't have to be as fussy about putting the dirt back as no-one ever goes down there.  There seems to be a lot of dropped items buried under them.  Definitely some cool finds today.  I'm not showing all the modern coins, but I usually get about $1.00 or so a day that I clean up enough to go through the Coinstar machine.

First is this chunky sterling silver ID bracelet with a barely readable name and the other info is worn off completely.  It weighs in at 0.656oz (18.62 grams) and will go in my silver recycling bin.

I like this tie pin.  It took me a while to remember how these were used.  The T-bar goes through a button hole in your shirt and the pin goes through the tie to secure it via the chain.  It may have been gold plated, and the stone looks like malachite.

This charming brooch might have been to honor a deceased child.

This "Soccer'd out" pin has lost the pin-back.  The back says "SPORT PINS" a phone number and "made in Taiwan".  Not sure if it is brass or maybe gold plated.

I got my first Buffalo nickel with the date worn off - as often happens with these.

    

A wheat penny from 1913.

And finally this neat aluminum token.  It says: "CHICKEN FEED PLAY COIN" on one side and: "ONE HENNY PENNY" on the other.  It might have been a cereal box give-away or something?