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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1982-08-25, Page 3Si€AIFO-'T II; ONTARIO, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 2S, 1982 — 2ND SECTION Steve Corbett's "junk" can be valuable L BV .fOANNE.RtMM1ER Rover and his family were enjoying a nice Sunday afternoon visit ai a Friend's place in' Seaforth in the summer of 1939. Several children were playing in the nearby woods so Rover went to join them. When he returned to the party, it was discovered he had lost his dog tag. Rover was severely scolded while the family headed back towards their farm in McKillop. Steve Corbett slowly paces around the lawn holding a gadget known as a metal detector. The machine begins its highpitch- ed whine as the base floated over one particular spot. Steve carefully cuts a circle around the section, lifts the plug of earth out and spooned out the remaining dirt. His find: a township of McKillop dog tag from the year 1939. , Finding the dog tag could not get Rover out of trouble, but it did interest Steve as it was a bit of area history. And letting the imagination run with some of Steve's findings is great fun. Steve's hobby of metal detecting has led to the finding of some very interesting and unusual items. A pair of metal rims for glasses was found where mother might have been reading. A toy cannon was found where little brother' had his sandbox. Horse rings, an old set of keys, and a magnifying glass have also been found on lawns, in parks and in schoolyards. For five years, since he bought his first metal detector for $265, Steve has been combing,, various areas looking for metal, old and new. valuable and interesting. The metal detector is approximately three teet in length. with a round base and a mechanical box half -way up the handle. They now sell in a range of $216 to $700, with the more expensive models "finding more and deeper things", says Steve. Steve would like to purchase a better ® e S ec 1 e0T he best pkices her- m e* �*, e c f there's pe there's w st it] c re trig gre'^j� eo there, tri, ��SDo model himself, but his present detector will pick up any type of medal about seven inches into the ground. "It'll pick up silver, copper, nickel, just about any metal," he says. Steve's model has a six inch coil,•but'he said the bigger the coil, the more depth to the' search. "1 .want one that's better because the older coins are one or two feet in the ground. The 50 cent'pieces are heavy j o they've gone right into the ground. 1 only ave one 50 cent, piece and three or 'four coins from the 1800s. A bigger and better coil will probably find more 1800 Coins," he says. Some of Steve's findings could be classified as "junk", although interesting in their own right, but he also has found several coins and more valuable pbjects. A large binder displays the many coins he has "detected". The most valuable large cent he has is a 1907 "H" edition of which only '800,000 were printed. "This one's in good condition. you can see the crown and everything,'says Steve. • A 1905 dime was found in front of the picnic shelter at the Lions Park. A 1944 dime "looks brand new", said Steve, who estimates that some dimes are worth S6 to 58. He also has a coin from the Victoria Jubilee 1887 which reads "Victoria Queen of England and Empress of India born May 1819 crowned June 1838, married February 1840". This one is not even in coin books. Steve's oldest coin has turned out to be worthless. An 1858 Victoria -Regina coin has a small chunk missing, so has no value. In good condition it would have been worth - 540. Another coin Steve found is not worth much materially -speaking, but it represents local history. The coin reads "Cardno baker confectioner, C -4th. Good 'for one loaf Bread--Cardno". "Now there's local history for you." says Steve. Alex Cardno, who built Cardno's Hall, opened the first bakeshop in Seaforth. Another interesting and rather valuable object Steve has found on his hunts is a' gold-plated pin from the Dairymen's Association of Western Ontario, Stratford, Ontario, January 14th. 15th, 1914, Present- ed by the Canadian Saltco, Limited, Windsor, Ontario. Caron Bros. Montreal, "That's the best thing I've found." said :0, Steve. Since coming to Seaforth, Steve has detected in the Lions park, Seaforth Public• School yard, Clinton high school yard, Seaforth DHS yard and several lawns of • neighbours and Seaforth residents. He has gone as far as Sebringville in his hunt. "The best places are where people congregate. if there's•people there, there's coins lost," says Steve. The greatest, concern people have in ,allowing him to look through their property is that he will ruin their lawn, says Steve. "So far we haven't ruined anyone's lawn. We're very careful about putting the dirt back in carefully and putting the plug back in. Most times you wouldn't be able to tell where we'd dug, even if you looked hard," he says. He added that he and his brother Jim are still interested in looking on more lawns. A very interesting find is a war pin from the 94th overseas battalion. He has considered writing to sources to learn more about the objects he has found. A knife which he estimated is "close to 100 years old" was very battered when he found it. So, for interest's sake, Steve has drawn before and after sketches of the knife's present and original apperance. When Uncle Fred lost that knife out of his pocket 100 years ago. he had no idea anyone in the future would have the interest and patience to reach back into the past and dig it up. If anyone has any suggestions as to where Steve could look. please call him.. Who knowns what might turn up? • Keatings helps to keep YOUR MONEY • - IN THE BANK ) ��, with everyday tQ , LOW PRICES in i r and man y more IN STORE SPECIALS! memo, – Reg. Metamucil 340 gm 4,59 SPAS 31.29 tropheno F_ , Entrophen-l0 100's Reg. 5.99 so -e 41.99 Maalox Suspension 340 ml aulm M- Re .3.89 SP� 2.99 9 j i ? Equal Sweetener Eaua0 •. ;,. 50 packets or 100 tablets �.,. \1:4:,,,..„.! 0.Reg. 2.89 SR'N'" 2.19 ' • Reg. 3.29 ABC Detergent g 6 I SP� 2.99 Dr. West r.,� Tooth Brushes Regular & Soft / SP\ -e t� X159 Aim - Reg, 1.56 Air Toothpaste 10 m i • P.‘\-- 1 ■ 19 Baggies Sandwich Bags \_,100 s Reg. 1 .27 SI° 099 Wampole Vitamin E 400 unit 100's �v� 5.49 Reg. 8.19 S -- . 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