M E T A L M A N 9

M E T A L M A N 9

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November 5, 2022 - The Old Farm Yard in Fort Rouge

November 5, 2022 - The Old Farm Yard in Fort Rouge

November 5, 2022 The Old Farm Yard in Fort Rouge. Fort Rouge in Winnipeg is an older, well established area. It’s hard to think of any of it as a farm, yet a farm house still stands at a street corner one block south from where I am now. This specific location was the back pasture and the house that now stands in this pasture was built in 1905. Yup, it’s still standing. Its present owners were kind enough to invite me over to metal detect on their property and the boulevard and what a treat it was. I don’t often have the opportunity to metal detect on an older city site where the history of the property is as well known. I often speak of the “Flavor” of a place, how every place has a special or a particular feel to it and this was no different. A site such as this one has seen immense change all around it and that is well reflected in the artifacts found in its soil. It’s a real mix of farm field and city residential lot. First off, the place is littered with iron as are so many yards. No self-respecting farm field would be without tons of nails, wire tacks and fencing staples. Most metal detectors have a built in feature that allows you to tune out the iron signal. I did so, but even then the iron signals bled through. Especially if the iron has a mixture of zinc such as roofing nails. I placed a squared tack, the rose head nail piece and a finishing nail next to a penny to show scale. These small pieces were found using a pointer when digging up separate metal detector hits. Always double check the hole you dig as you might have multiple targets in it. Like the River Lots in previous articles, I found some glass and ceramic when digging. I also found Clinkers (see description below) in the flower beds at the south end of the property. Someone used the open field to dump the contents of their coal furnace. I had the good fortune of finding more coins here than I have anywhere else this year. 14 pennies and 1 nickel dated 1989. The oldest coin was a US wheat penny dated 1941. Older Canadian pennies were dated 1943, 1947, and 1957. The remainder were much more recent. I love finding coins, not so much for their potential numismatic or cash value but because it cements an actual date and that is always exciting. I had hoped, even expected to find silver coins (pre 1967 dimes and quarters), and earlier dated coins. I’m certain they are there but it will be for another time. Remember all you metal detecting enthusiasts, a place is never truly cleaned out. The more modern artifacts found were the many bottling caps, some of which I’m told come flying in over the fence during neighborhood street events. Coors Light and Corona Extra were not a thing in 1905. The couch button has a nice blue sheen to it. The knife blade was used and lost by the present owner while digging up dandelions. Notice the markings on it ? I picked up quite a few pieces of lead including a vehicle wheel weight. The larger piece of lead has unusual striation or netted markings on it. And aluminum foil has got to be the detectorist arch enemy. Aahhh… What a pain to dig up. The big brownish-red rock is Ironstone. The detector and pointer went nuts on it. The stone now sits on our front step, compliments of the property owners. Thank you once again. Roger Reference: https://www.hunker.com/13415621/what-causes- clinkers-in-coal-fired-boilers Clinkers, also known as slag, are the parts of the coal that won't burn. The act of burning coal at high heat causes the minerals to melt instead of burn, resulting in ashes that often contain hard lumps. These lava like lumps then meld together to form even larger lumps that, if not removed, will make the boiler much less efficient. One major cause of clinkers is coal that is of poor quality, which usually means it's too soft. Soft coal has more water in it, and it may also have a high concentration of sulfur, iron and minerals associated with clay soils, like calcium and potassium.

November 25, 2022 - Nailed it

November 25, 2022 - Nailed it

November 25, 2022 Nailed it. Yes, we most certainly nailed it. And I say “We” because this story of discovery didn’t happen all on its own. Credit is given where credit is due and to that end I thank my fellow detectorist and friend Marty. Something that one learns to develop as a stamp collector, and yes, I have been involved in stamp collecting forever… is an eye for spotting varieties. It’s about noticing subtle little differences. Stamp collecting and metal detecting are hobbies that surprisingly have a lot in common. In fact, I’ll be doing a formal presentation at the stamp club on this very subject on Thursday, April 20, 2023. But first, let me take you back to where and when this nugget of an idea first took shape. In this story, I’m talking specifically about square nails. I’ve often said that I just love finding square nails. It’s exciting. They speak to me. They are saying “This is an old site, keep looking”. This narrative refers back to a story I posted on April 22 2021: Two Little Points Continued . Specifically pictures 5 and 6. It’s a square nail but it’s a square nail with a peculiar difference. I erroneously referred to them as “Rose Head Nails” at that time. The head of the nail has a peculiar rounded top and two of the sides are flat? They are square and relatively short. I found two or three of these types of nails that year and about 3 more in 2022. Considering how many square nails that I dig up every year, the total is a very low number. So what does this tell us? It says that it’s a special purpose nail of sorts. At the time I thought that they might be linked to ships' nails. Ships and boats and barges of all kinds plied the Red River back in the day. Could these nails have had a special use on board a ship? Decking, railing, crates? I can easily see a ship of sorts being salvaged for the lumber after being hopelessly stuck on a mud bar or sinking after hitting a submerged tree trunk. Cut lumber from a ship and hardware like nails would have come in very handy on a farm. Just musing… I made contact via email with a square nail manufacturer in the US. The Tremont Nail Company in Mansfield, Massachusetts. They have been forging square nails for 200 years. I sent pictures and a description and asked them what they thought this type of nail was typically used for. To my surprise and dismay, they didn’t know. Either the collective memory at Tremont is short or they just never manufactured this type of nail. The mystery just keeps getting deeper. It was on October 22, 2022 that the case was cracked. Monty and I are detecting on River Lot 151. I came across one more of these strange square nails. I showed Monty and I remarked that these nails really had me puzzled. He took one look and said “Oh, those are HorseShoe Nails”! I picked up my phone and I Googled: Horse Shoe Nails; and there they were. And just like that, the mystery was solved. All is right in the Universe again. Thank you Monty. Roger Ref: https://tremontnail.com/ https://canadianforge.com/products/capewell-reg-nail April 22 2021: Two Little Points Continued October 22, 2022: More finds at Two Little Points Farm.