As some of you may know, I am a stonemason by trade and co-own a small business by the name of Penobscot Stone, which also has a blog, accessible from my home page. So, last week I had the task of cutting an 8" wide by 8" deep by 15 foot trench in the concrete slab of a basement in a 19th century home. It turned out that the slab was just a "rat slab", which means it was only a few inches thick, and was quite easy to cut through with my 12" diamond saw blade, exposing the original clay subsoil beneath. Naturally, I could not resist sticking my Garrett Pro Pointer down there as I dug out the dirt. I didn't find much, just the incredibly worn and thinned out remains of an old copper coin, probably a large cent. I have never seen a coin so thin. Maybe it isn't even a coin, but it is definitely copper and just the right size. My only guess is that it was probably pressed right up against the concrete slab and just rubbing against it for the last 100 years.
The other object was not metallic at all, but a really beautiful oyster shell button that I just happened to notice as I sifted through the soil. I think it probably came from the button factory in Waldoboro, which was extremely active in the late 1800's and early 1900's, and whose product can found widely distributed throughout the midcoast.
Lastly, I am including a photo of an interesting bottle top, with an early rubber stopper inside, that I found on a recent detecting trip to a local beach.
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