Metal Detecting

In the late 1800's scientist and engineers were using their knowledge of electrical theory to invent a machine that would pinpoint metal. In 1937 Gerhard Fisher was granted a patent for a metal detector. In the early years of World War II a Polish officer, Lt. Josef Stanislaw Kosacki, refined Fisher's design for practical use. After WW II there was a surplus of detectors on the market which were being bought by relic hunters. Thus began metal detecting as a hobby.

Friday, June 27, 2008 was an exciting day in my front yard. My cousin Becki's husband, Tom, likes to metal detect. Since their first visit last year he has wanted to come back and metal detect. My parents bought the property in 1943 before metal detectors were available for the general public. Knowing that this property was virgin territory was very exciting for Tom. Abigail and I were both very interested in learning what it was all about.

Friday morning while I was visiting my hospice patient, Tom was in my front yard with his White's 6000 metal detector. The detector beeped indicating there was something between a penny and an aluminum pop top. He begin to dig the spot not knowing what he would find. He brushed off the dirt and realized he had a button. He brought it into the house to get a better look. He could see the eagle on the front, the letter "I" in the center. It was a Union Civil War button! I was thrilled. I'm ready to research this property to find out more about the people who lived here years ago.


My sister Grace told me that one of her former neighbors had told her there used to be a fort here. I called the neighbor to hear the story from him. Fort Harris was an encampment just down the road. When he comes to visit at Thanksgiving he will show me where it used to be, including the confederate graves.

The back of the button (image below from the web) had lettering on it. We looked around on the web and found who the maker of the button was. You can visit the following site to see the description:
http://www.relicman.com/backHorstmannA.htm, look for HorstmannA10 var (21mm) about half way down the page.