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have had the honor and Editors note: pleasure of knowing John The prescription for a successful and Rose Kendrick since organized relic hunt includes DIV II, and I’ve participatpreparation and “treatment” by ed in every DIV since then. a team of dedicated enthusiasts. The current medical team is We have asked one of these ® a board headed up by myself, individuals, Dr. Rodney Cox, certified emergency medicine head of the DIV medical team, physician, and two extremely to give us his own behind-thescenes input of his participation Because of the closeness of participants capable paramedic/firefighters, Bill Compher and Tony in Diggin’ In Virginia. Not only and the family atmosphere, Digarelicitis Hochstetler. Committee memdid he do that, but also gave us related illnesses spread like wildfire at bers Roland Hankey and Dave his diagnosis on some medical recent DIV XX and XXI events. Cooper have also played an conditions we might recognize. active part in “search and resWhile much of this article is cue” operations. written tongue-in-check, we A considerable amount ofis not would like to commend Dr. Cox How inhospitable is this area? This highway exhaust morning fog. This timeorgoes into preparing the is steam and his medical team for their rising from deep within the earth. medical team for a DIV event. service in keeping ........Byunrelenting Beau Ouimette Bill and Tony are taskedshells, withand one .52 cal. rimfire attendees of the Diggin’ in showed promise of being old and It may be the most significantthe North American early silver coin spill recovered in interesting. the chore of obtaining andcartridge bor- found by Chris. My vision Virginia events safe. After a short rest and a hastily of finding a box of heavy silver recent memory and most certainly the most exciting of the year. rowing equipment from tableware their buried by an immigrant, eaten lunch, we decided to move
American Digger
For Diggers and Collectors Of America’s Heritage
2012 Sampler
A River of Silver
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Digarelicitis at DIV........By Doc Rodney Cox
a few miles to the west and try an area where wagons had been dragged up from the desert onto a ridge.of ByConfederatus this point in their journey, Confirmed acute cases tired, thirsty, and Obsessionis often immigrants lead towere DIV relics fed up. They lightened their load Although no prospecting was like these (L-R): South Carolina beltside done on this trip, Chris was kind by discarding items on either the trail. Unfortunately, this area enough to show the author some plate found by KevinofAmbrose; Virginia is well known and well hunted. of the gold nuggets he’s found. button and CS tongue Our takerecovered for the afternoon by was a ______________ pocketful .22 cal. dug slugs, shotgun Dale Weaver; Georgia beltofplate by
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A behind the scene look at Diggin’ in Virginia relic hunts XX and XXI answers the age-old question: “What is wrong with us...and why do we have so much fun?”
Chris Roberts. At the top of this page, of
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takes the precaution 30 American DiggerNevada Magazine Vol. ........By 8, one Issue 4sufferer American Digger® on the Road: John Velke self-imposed quarantine.
We head out west to explore the deserts of Nevada, and recover the relics left by the immigrants who lived and died while building the Transcontinental Railway.
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Archaeology At An American Iconic Site ........By Dan Sivilich
have to prepared to dig a lot of small When archaeologists and metal detectorists come together, it is theYou best ofbe both junk to find the hidden good stuff. The 1880s earring at center worlds. The 1777 Valley Forge dig is a good example of how things should be.contains a trace of gold. 40 American Digger Magazine
An assortment of small items Don has found in old mining areas near Virginia City. Shown in this photograph is but a small portion.
Vol. 8, Issue 3
The Politicalithic Period ........By Glenn Harbour
As relic hunters and amateur archaeologists, it’s our duty to share discoveries with the world. But sometimes prejudice and politics make that almost impossible.
The Gold Diaries ........By Steve Phillips It takes serious work to find serious gold in the wilds of Alaska. It also takes an appreciation of the land and a thirst for adventure. This diary explains it all. What I Did On My Summer Vacation ........By Butch Holcombe Everyone needs a vacation, even our publisher. He thought this would be best accomplished by a little jewelry hunting. Then artifacts got in the way. Estimating the Age of Antique Bottles ........By Capt. Dan Berg
Dating the age of an old bottle can be a daunting and inexact science. Perhaps the best way is by recognizing when certain manufacturing processes were used.
Now my reputation was at stake and to add inthat Dr. Dorfman d sult to injury, the point’s provenance was now archaeologist after tainted. This so-called “professional” had gone The man was sha out of his way to slam me and I had to react. My Perhaps in the futu redemption, however, was to come from an unwill take a few m usual and completely unexpected place. contributions of s ourselves the first day by ogling over the custom bikes theI wouldn’t Biketob though, Weeks passed as I allowed my anger to diminish and develop a viable plan C. One day, and noting what hotels the riders with the most jewelry I summarize Thinkingthith cal (but lately all t at an auction, a rather distinguished looking were staying at. Sadly, we soon learned that none of thewhat we spent m should we, th elderly gentleman strolled over to my table. He thousands of coprolites, bikers inwhich attendance lost any notable blingtake away crowded D from it? seemed very interested in my emotionally overch theoldbeach. were soon are 75 millionon years fish feces (you read that torically right have right) retrieved from the local creeks. By that night, any thoughts of forgoing serious only scatte out-of-control virus The gentleman, Don Dorfman, Ph.D was detecting were blown away like the storms that were Itthe time sp is now three head of the Marine Biology Department at the to be (West pounding beach. By dusk, we were all threeserveonly a few and report fin University of soon Monmouth Long the Branch, erage citizen is sup New Jersey). swinging Don had both ourserious loopsacademic over the beach and surf, looking for and almost watch the Hist credentials and an gold open minded attitude. lost and silver. AsMost previously stated, the joke was onand can citizens, still h importantly, he gladly acknowledged the contrius, and we returned the condo with empty pouches. dig, as long as wefted butions of amateurs to science and was to fascinatwithin the bounds noo As the theDalton motorcycles left town the next day, ending ed by my finds. After point debacle, nor an obligation Don became my ace in the hole. Professors pubfrit those who hold deg lish like a rabbit making bunnies and soon we always and prot are narrowing teamed up to publish a series of scientific articles coils over who would condem The Dalton Point which based on my finds. The first was you guessed it on coprolites, then others followed. I evenwas rejected for publisought, alt tually asked if he could help me with the long cation by the newspaCorps oneIn 2010, I disc neglected Dalton piece. per’s archaeologist. On the stemmed Paleo poi Don knew the antagonistic archaeologist and __________ It wasloaded perfect Pale wit confided that he had a reputation for arrogance course, it had to b even among his peers. As for my Dalton point, trio’s jinx, went through many of the same prob he suggested we submit an article to the annual New Jersey half a decade earlier. Itbutton. was a bit Or dep Archaeology Bulletin. This periodical annually highlights the were as sku gone through the vetting process. Th Garden State’s most significant finds and is highly prestigious in monthly picked it up and did a bett Anothe scientific circles. One of Don’s closest friends was the managing article. chief editor and, ironically enough, the newspaper’s archaeologist day of not More recently, my discovery of also sat on the board of the magazine. The web that was being fishing tac brought quite a bit more recogni woven around this single spear point was getting thick indeed! numerous phone calls, lead severalweigh interv In the spring of 2006 (almost a year after my find), the bulletin people with Ph.D’s. But I had evolv arrived with an accurate, objective write-up, and photos of the been better their eyes and thus, the find could b Dalton point. It was late in coming, but there it was: a literal I wastaketh donea media giveth and the media exercise in persistence and luck. French and Spanish beach finds dugable bytoRobann rob a find of its good provenance. book The gravy on top of my ‘taters was the verbal dressing down
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Koenig. Most are relics remaining from the 1500s massacre of Ribault’s men by Menéndez.
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They’ve turned their love of “space rocks” into a hit TV series. Join us as we talk with one of the show’s stars, Geoff Notkin.
Sugar was king on the Caribbean island of Nevis, and plantation owners lived like royalty. Now, the author uses a metal detector to explore a kingdom lost in time. Our freelance writers are the best in the industry! Want to write for American Digger®? Click here for writer guidelines.
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2012 American Digger Magazine Sampler ®
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Meteorite Man: Interview With Geoff Notkin........By Eric Garland
The Queen of the Caribbees ........By Michael Chaplan
too exhausted to carry on with it, vanished over the mountain with the sunset. Sunday morning arrived before my old tired body was ready. Chris, Don, and I had agreed to meet at a casino near Carson City for breakfast. I confess that my first thought was that we would have been better off eating at an IHOP or Waffle House, or something similar, but I
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About The A Glenn Harbour has been digg his teenage years and has trav the east coast extensively in h Although his degree is not in his hobby very seriously and an amateur scientist. Hailing f Glenn is also a prolific author November-December 2012
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Some of the 1800s silver coins found by the author during his detecting on the island. protect the occupants from obeah spells, a form of Caribbean sorcery practiced by a cult of Bongoman “root doctors” on the island. Upon arrival, I saw a large, desolate, volcanic stone building, located on a bluff overlooking Charlestown harbor. Cloud covered Mt. Nevis loomed in the background. Once famous for its beautiful hanging gardens that were
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was his health and I was glad that he found it. I’m sure that the original patrons discussed their ailments in the same spot. An overgrown walled garden looked very inviting and made me think of dinner parties with string quartets and people dancing the minuet. I fired up my trusty Fisher 1266-X detector and started searching the area. Two signals turned out to be an 1817 shilling with the bust
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