Three
Holes, One Treasure
JW,
Attached you will find a picture of an ornate silver bracelet
I found awhile back. This bracelet is special to
me as it taught me a valuable lesson in metal detecting
I will never forget. I was out hunting an old site
that was home to ballgames and picnics back in the late
1800's and early 1900's. Nothing there now but a cow pasture.
I had dug several nice old coins that day and was making
my way back to the car, when I got a loud signal that indicated
a good target. At a depth of about 5 inches, I pulled what
appeared to be a small ladies belt buckle. About two inches
in length and about an inch wide. It was silver with the
copper image of a bird inlaid on the silver. It had a small
clasp on one end. But I couldn't figure out how, if it were
a belt buckle, it would latch at the other end. Thinking
I would clean it up and figure it out when I got home, I
stuck it in my goodie pouch. Finding silver made me decide
to stay a bit longer, as obviously people had frequented
this portion of the pasture. About 3 steps later, I hit
another good signal. Upon digging, I found two more identical
pieces of the silver with copper bird inlaid.

Both
of these also had hooking "hinge mechanisms" and
obviously had been connected to the first piece I had found.
But the pieces were still a puzzle as there was still no
place for the latch on the original piece to fit into. Knowing
that somewhere out in that pasture there had to be the "missing
link", I resumed my hunt. Five minutes later, I found
it. The fourth and final piece to this beautiful bracelet.
Over all it measures 8.5 inches long and 7/8 inch wide.
It has four "links" total. Each having the copper
bird inlaid into the silver bracelet. Each bird is identical
with a long beak and large curled tail. They look like the
bird of paradise. Each link also has one copper and one
silver "leaf" that resemble feathers. Each link
also has three groupings of objects that appear to be berries.
Two clusters of three on the lower left and right and one
cluster of 5 above each bird. Each of the four links are
connected to a small silver bar (also decorated with leaves
shaped similar to a bow tie) with hooks on the back of each
link. This is a beautiful piece of jewelry and I appreciate
it for it's beauty. But even more, I appreciate the lesson
I learned when finding it. If you find part of a piece of
jewelry, keep looking in the area.
Thanks for all the support Kellyco has given me
over the years. And thanks for keeping me informed about
the technology available to the treasure hunter today.
Found
by Randy H. Clarinda , IA
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