Buried under years of oak leaves...

by Michelle
(San Jose, CA, USA)

unknown golden piece

large buried object

springs

tar cans

My dad has 5 acres on a hillside on the outskirts of San Juan Bautista, CA. I have spent time all my life on that hillside, 40 + years. I love exploring creeks and beaches. I've actually become quite a rock hound in my adult years. Though in the last 5 or so years I have been caught up in the history of events and stories surrounding my dads property. And its pretty much because of some mysterious metal object sticking out of the mulch of oak leaves which I haven't figured out how to dig up yet. Mainly because Im too chicken to walk out onto the soft area not knowing if Im going to fall into some unknown debris below. The ground is very soft. But I have uncovered a old coil springs to a mattress, rusted/deteriorating tins of black tar, couple old water kettles, and a interesting gold tone object that I have no idea what its from. Maybe someone out there has an idea.

Comments for Buried under years of oak leaves...

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Aug 05, 2021

metal detector
by: Frank

let me know if you would like a metal detecting buddy. ive always wanted to hunt San Juan. i love to read history and i'm obsessed with San Juan as they used to call it.

May 19, 2019

Mold
by: Jim

I agree with the first answer.
It appears to be an old bullet mold.
I used to be an avid black powder gun nut 40 years ago and had many molds that looked just like this.
The hinge is missing and just behind the ball recess is a smaller indent which would have been where the alignment pin would have went when the unit was closed.
If you keep looking you may find the other half of the mold.
I also believe that have found a very old burn pile.

Jan 13, 2018

Antique brass bullet mold
by: Anonymous

I think it is an antique brass bullet mold. Hinge end broken off and has been in a fire, probably a big trash pile burned there.

Dec 10, 2017

Contact Me
by: Frank

Michelle, if you'd like, contact me by using the "Contact" form on my site. I'll then send you an email address to use to send me pics if you'd like. Maybe I can help determine what they are.

Frank

Dec 09, 2017

update
by: Michelle

Well I still haven't found out what my mystery object is. But I've managed to do a bit of digging and found another small metal object the size of a button but looks kind of like a cap to something with a rivited center and has yellow paint. Also, a piece of a metal box with the hinge, a broken piece of a old porcelain tea cup, old clear bottle, lots of broken glass of all types, and more rusted deteriorated cans.

Dec 04, 2017

OP
by: Anonymous

Opium pipe, the bowl has broken off.

Oct 17, 2017

Do You Own a Detector?
by: Anonymous

Michelle, thanks for the update.

Do you own a metal detector? It looks to me like that area has lots to explore beneath the ground as well. I'll bet the surrounding area, where it's not real trashy, has lots of goodies below the surface just waiting to be picked.

If you have any questions about metal detectors feel free to contact me.

Thanks again
Frank

detector99@yahoo.com

Oct 17, 2017

Still unanswered
by: Michelle

Still not able to get to the rest of the buried items, now many of the branches have been breaking off making it a little more challenging. And the poison oak is everywhere. I may wait until a couple of rain storms to see if the run off uncovers a bit more. But I have found a 1898 circa Coke can in the area.

Sep 30, 2017

under the leaves
by: Anonymous

poke a walking stick to see how soft the ground is.
had a friend on a beach took 1 step and started sinking. I yelled "sit down" and her ass laded on the solid ground she had just stepped from preventing her sinking more. So yes you can sink.

mystery objest: my guess is a pipe, hash, opium, or crack..probably opium since that was a pharmaceutical you could obtain in the 1800's

babyrazor@yahoo.com

did you ever discover what it was?

Sep 30, 2017

Thanks Michelle!
by: Frank

It goes to show you how addictive finding old "stuff" can be. And if a person looks in the right places, all kinds of goodies can be located.

Hopefully someone can help Michelle identify some her finds.

Thanks for sharing Michelle.

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