Take this mini lipstick tube I dug up, made of brass and decorated in finely etched butterfly patterns. The Kissproof Midget dates back to the 1920's and was apparently revolutionary for it's time, although some sources claim the lipstick contained poisonous chemicals. It's tiny, a mere 37 millimeters in length and about as thick as a pencil.
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| Kissproof Midget Lipstick Tube |
I decided to revisit one of the fields we had already worked when it was first cleared. I figured seeing as the sugarcane was starting to grow now I could use this structure to ensure we have swung a coil over the entire area. I had also in the past week unearthed another American Great Seal button so I was keen to see if we could uncover a little more of this military mystery.
It would seem I need to research these buttons in more detail as they are extremely common at Boer War sites. I heard another theory this week that seems more probable. Although Americans did volunteer in the 2nd Boer War they did so without their governments backing so it is unlikely that they would have used their official uniforms. I saw a post stating that the Transvaal government at the time purchased army surplus from the States and didn't replace the buttons which could explain why they are so common they are at Boer War sites.
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| Smaller Great Seal Button |
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| For scale: 2 Great Seal Buttons and a R1 coin. |
The first day turned up a few junk items that sounded beautiful which indicated that there were items we had missed previously. I also found this Eley shotgun shell with that beautiful green patina that tells me it's nice and old. The headstamp reads "Eley London, No. 12". The research isn't too clear on the exact date but the website aussiemetaldetecting.com dates it anywhere from 1895 to 1919. Nice! Love that old stuff!
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| Eley London, No. 12 Shotgun shell |
So there's definitely more to find here but we are going to have to spend some long quiet hours walking the field. Quiet is a good contrast to symphony of chaos that is the junkyard surrounding the old farmhouse at the top of the hill.
The weekend arrived and just before my wife and daughter joined me on the field I got a very "iffy" signal and dug up what I believe to be the remains of a Martini-Henry bullet casing. From what I've read they corrode and disintegrate fairly quickly. The metal does seem rather thin. and the size of the base (19.3mm) is consistent with a Martin-Henry round.
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| Possible remains of a Martini-Henry Bullet Casing |
So now with 2 detectors swinging over the field I was sure we would turn up something interesting and I was right. I noticed my 10 year old daughter, shovel in hand, digging quite a sizable hole so I strolled over to take a look. A spoon, not just any spoon, an old spoon. Unfortunately it wasn't in perfect condition but it's definitely old. I can't find the exact one online but similar ones with the same inscription are dated between 1900 and 1940. Could this have been a temporary military camp site or was the farmer enjoying a hot meal out in the field? I wonder?
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| Soup spoon with the words "Silver Nickel, Sheffield England" engraved on the handle. |
I decided to dig an iron signal in the very next row about 40 centimeters from the spoon and dug up 2 rusty nails and a very oddly shaped bone. I'm not sure what kind of animal this was from as it is not even vaguely familiar but perhaps it made for a tasty soup?
Well my daughter had won that round, not that this is a competition, but this field is still not finished and there is more to come I'm sure. The weekend faded into Monday and we took the gap to do a quick lunchtime hunt. In the dying minutes of my lunch hour I spotted my daughter once again wielding the shovel. "Leave something for me to find" I giggled to myself as I walked towards her. Out came another old bullet casing and this one also looked like it has seen better days. Unfortunately not whole but the size of the base (12mm) matches that of a Mauser bullet casing which would be fitting for the Boer War as it was one of the rifles used by the Boers. We are going to try and clean the base a little to see if we can get a headstamp of some kind to properly identify it.
So the competition is on, so maybe it is a competition, to see who can find the next special piece of history. On one of the trips back from the field I was swinging just at the edge of another field and hit a decent mid-tone that proved to be quite a cool find. Not military but interesting nonetheless. A Matchbox Massey-Harris toy tractor. "Massey-Harris? Don't you mean Massey-Ferguson?". That's what I thought while squinting at the tiny lettering through my most powerful magnifying glass. This tiny toy tractor was produced from 1953-1956 and is made entirely out of metal. The Massey-Harris company bought out the Ferguson company in 1953 forming Massey-Harris-Ferguson and securing them as the worlds number 2 manufacturer. This was later shortened to Massey-Ferguson in 1958.
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| Image showing where the Massey-Harris branding is on this tiny toy that is a mere 4cm in length. |
Another fun week of metal detecting with an interesting variety of finds. There are so many places on the farm we haven't detected yet so who knows what we'll dig up next?
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| The sun sets over another successful day of detecting. |
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