Author Topic: One Heck of a Metal Detector Find!  (Read 2704 times)

talesofthesevenseas

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One Heck of a Metal Detector Find!
« on: June 12, 2019, 10:56:40 am »
I promised you guys I would let you know when I found something cool with my metal detector at my 1790ish stone house in Tennessee. Well, My uncle is an avid metal detectorist. I have never been sure of what I was doing, so I asked My Uncle Frank for some help during his visit. He gifted me one of his metal detectors to replace my ancient one and a bulls eye pinpoint detector. We started pulling things up out of the yard right and left. On our second day, we had quite a find. This gold 1956 ladies high school ring is worth about $600, but it was from Dobyns-Bennett High School in Kingsport, class of '56 and had a set of initials inside the band. We spent several hours online sending out inquiries and researching. By 10am the following morning we had placed a call to the owner of the ring, who had lived in my house during her high school years. She came over and I returned the ring to her and learned a lot about the house during the period she lived there! What an awesome day! I was SO excited to give her back her ring! 1956 isn't as old as I was hoping for, but it was really fun!
« Last Edit: June 12, 2019, 01:28:00 pm by talesofthesevenseas »
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mart

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Re: One Heck of a Metal Detector Find!
« Reply #1 on: June 13, 2019, 02:08:11 pm »
Oh My !!  How exciting to actually be able to return it !!  It isn`t so much about the age,, but just because it was lost,, then found !!  How many times does that happen ??  Not many !  Excellent story Tales !!

Rauville

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Re: One Heck of a Metal Detector Find!
« Reply #2 on: June 13, 2019, 07:39:42 pm »
Your stars must be perfectly aligned for that to happen! Well done!

fancypants

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Re: One Heck of a Metal Detector Find!
« Reply #3 on: June 14, 2019, 01:13:41 pm »
Another dandy tale from talesof !!!

It's always a pleasure to restore such finds to the owners/family members !

I've got 2 gold championship  footballs (for watch-fobs , etc. ) from the captain of the Wisconsin football team , champs in 1925 & 26' (I think , but don't have them in my hand right now) , but altho he's been dead for some years , his family doesn't want them back !? Kind of an unusual response for such things , but I still think it's worth trying to return to the 'originals' .
Guess I'll just sell them for the gold ?
" Methinks me the 'mental' in sentimental .... "

talesofthesevenseas

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Re: One Heck of a Metal Detector Find!
« Reply #4 on: June 14, 2019, 01:33:00 pm »
Wow, that is odd about the family Fancy!
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KC

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Re: One Heck of a Metal Detector Find!
« Reply #5 on: June 15, 2019, 10:46:21 pm »
How great is it that you find it, get to return it and find out more history on your home! 

You always have such interesting things happen to you!  Thanks for sharing!
I'm from the South - but please don't mistake my Southern Manners/Accent/Charm as a weakness!

ghopper1924

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Re: One Heck of a Metal Detector Find!
« Reply #6 on: June 16, 2019, 04:32:18 am »
Great story! What are the odds?
"I collect antiques because they're beautiful."

-Broderick Crawford

jondar

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Re: One Heck of a Metal Detector Find!
« Reply #7 on: June 29, 2019, 07:07:10 am »
Great story and great pictures.  Well done!  I may have posted this a few years back, but almost to a T the same story.  I stopped at a deserted country school house and used my detector.  Among the debris was a HS school ring.  The year of the ring was 1942, and the HS was Lecompton, Kansas.  I lived near there and visited the Historical Society there and asked the lady at the desk if she could identify the owner of the ring based on the MAR initials.  She went to the files and told me the initials were for Marvin A. R_____.  She said he was the CEO or ex CEO of a very large hospital in Topeka.

I went to the hospital, faced a very obnoxious secretary who wanted me to give exact details why I wanted to speak to him.  It was none of her business.  So I handed her the ring and said, "Tell him I found his old class ring."  , walked out, took the elevator down, out the front door, and toward the parking lot.  I heard a man screaming, "SIR!! SIR!! and a man was runnning toward me.  He told me he had lost the ring the day after graduation in 1942 putting up hay in that old school house.  He thanked me for finding and apologized for the obnoxious secretary.

You never know what you're going to find.  This was one of the two times this has happened to me.  I really enjoyed both.

mart

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Re: One Heck of a Metal Detector Find!
« Reply #8 on: June 29, 2019, 07:36:12 pm »
Gotta watch those secretaries !!  Glad he caught you before you left the parking lot !!  Love hearing those stories !!

KC

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Re: One Heck of a Metal Detector Find!
« Reply #9 on: June 30, 2019, 09:17:10 pm »
Awww Jondar!  How nice!  Glad it worked out!  Hopefully she got an attitude adjustment.
I'm from the South - but please don't mistake my Southern Manners/Accent/Charm as a weakness!

cogar

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Re: One Heck of a Metal Detector Find!
« Reply #10 on: July 01, 2019, 04:25:08 am »
Private/personal secretaries of CEOs have a specific job to do, …… and it’s not just answering the telephone when it rings.

KC

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Re: One Heck of a Metal Detector Find!
« Reply #11 on: July 02, 2019, 09:08:46 pm »
That is very true.  And, they are to screen people.  However, A bit of "personable professionalism" can go a very long way!
I'm from the South - but please don't mistake my Southern Manners/Accent/Charm as a weakness!

talesofthesevenseas

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Re: One Heck of a Metal Detector Find!
« Reply #12 on: July 06, 2019, 08:56:28 pm »
Jondar, what a fantastic story! It was the BEST feeling to give back that ring, I'm so glad that the CEO caught you in time!
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