Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.
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| See the BBC News link below for more. |
A metal detectorist has told of his "shock" after finding a gold ring engraved with baby Jesus which is believed to be more than 500 years old.
Matthew Hepworth, 48, found the rare oval ring which also features the Virgin Mary in a field in Lancaster.
The nurse, of Morecambe, Lancashire, said the "once in a lifetime" find was thought to date back to the 1400s.
An inquest will later rule whether it is treasure but Mr Hepworth hopes it will end up in a local museum.
The father-of-two told the BBC: "I am over the moon about it. I was so shocked to find it.
"I have been metal detecting for more than 30 years and this is a once in a lifetime find...
Here is the link for more of that story.
Metal detectorist's shock at 15th Century baby Jesus ring find - BBC News
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Several times I mentioned finding bottles embossed STUART BOTTLING WORKS. See TreasureGuide's Bottle Barn: STUART BOTTLING WORKS Embossed Bottle. (tgbottlebarn..blogspot.com). I have found several of those but wasn't able to find much information on the Stuart Bottling Works. I recently found some good information on the short-lived company and wanted to post it. Here it is
In July 1913, James Elersly Weir, Jr., purchased a pitch pine wooden building owned by Joseph A. Lucas, a real estate developer, located on an isolated dirt road (Decker Street) south of Stuart; he had it converted into a bottling plant, Stuart Bottle Works. Soft drinks were bottled, sealed with large snap off caps and distributed in Stuart, Palm City, Jensen, Salerno, Hobe Sound, even to Fort Pierce and Jupiter. Weir only remained in Stuart a few years, joining family in West Palm Beach, in the plastering business and later, an auction house.
The bottling plant building was eventually owned by Ira L. Decker, who operated a concrete manufacturing business and was used primarily for storage. In the afternoon of Feb. 6, 1933, while Decker and local firemen were battling a brush fire nearby, the building caught fire. The wooden structure quickly went up in flames making it impossible for Ira to retrieve equipment, vehicles or machinery.
At least two bottles from the plant survive, clearly marked Stuart Bottling Works, one of which can be seen at the Stuart Heritage Museum...
And here is that source link.
Historical Vignettes: Some of Martin County's 'firsts' -- Part 2 (tcpalm.com)
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I've also found a good number of canning jars, including, but not limited to, Mason jars.
I'm not going to talk about canning jars in this post, but this is such a great site for identifying canning jars, I wanted to get the link posted. I'm sure it will come in handy.
Antique Mason Jars: Types, Identification and Value Guide (txantiquemall.com)
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And on the lead items I've been talked about in recent and previous posts...
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| Lead styli(?) or Whatever. |
I received some emails on these objects and wanted to provide a little more information on them anyhow. If you can't tell from the photos, they are pretty cylindrical. A cross-section view would show them as being basically round.
The longest one on the right is different than the others in multiple ways. It is thinner and longer than the others. It has very little patina and appears cleaner. The mold seams are more distinct than the one other item that shows mold seams. It doesn't look as old. It has a more uniform width. I wonder if that one fits in with the others.
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The surf is two to three feet and the surf is very flat.
I've been hoping for a good low tide. Have to wait some more.
Good hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net