Unusual Find
A couple weeks ago(June 4) while searching my local park I got a strong signal and dug about four inches down to find this mysterious marker in the ground. After carefully jotting down all the inscriptions on it I went home and researched markers of this type. Had I been smart I would have just taken a photo with my phone at the time, but always forget it has that capability.
Anyway...My curiosity led me to Curt Smith of the National Geodetic Survey. Which happens to be the United States oldest scientific organization.(over 200 years old) When I contacted him he seemed very interested in recovering it as he had no information on that particular marker.
Today after two weeks I was finally able to meet with Curt and we went to the park and uncovered it again. He told me that this marker was most likely placed between 1921-1924. All documentation of these markers between those years has been lost unfortunately. But he did inform me that there are only about 10 of these located in the state of Idaho. And they only have information on three of them. This marker was used during that time to set the magnetic declination of compasses.
After talking with Curt for about 45 minutes we covered the marker back up and parted ways. Before we left though, he presented me with a token of his gratitude in helping him recover this lost marker.
The quarter in the photo is just for scale purposes. The one I found in the ground is the same size. This particular marker used to sit in the ground in San Luis Obispo, CA at the junction of Avila road and San Luis Bay Drive. As you can see in the photo it was placed in 1977 and thirty years later in 2007 was removed because of bridge construction in the spot where it laid.
Hope you enjoy the short story and pictures!
~Nathan F. Torrey
I don't know if this would be considered an unusual find or not for some folks but it was for me.Several years ago I was searching around the outside of Oak Park in Montgomery, Alabama, account of they didn't want anyone hunting inside the park. I had found a few wheat pennies and some clad stuff, then got a real good reading. At the time I was using a Fisher 1260x, which has no meter of any kind, just the discrimination and the tones to give you a hint at what you might have found.I dug it up and it was a standing liberty quarter, pretty worn, enough that the date was illegible. I quit right after that and drove home, which was between 15 and 20 miles away. I went by the little post office near my home and was showing the lady who worked there what I'd found. She noticed that a circular part of the coin wasn't as dark as the rest of it, and asked me why it was like that. I looked at it, and on impulse, pulled a dime from my pocket and placed it on the untarnished part of the coin...a perfect fit!I just knew that I had probably missed a mercury dime or better, so I drove all the way back to Montgomery to recover what I could imagine was a spectacular find. I managed to find the spot where I'd dug the quarter, but no luck. I figure some other coin hunter had dug up the dime, didn't bother to check the hole, and missed out on a pretty good find.I know this is a lengthy post with no climax, but a good point: Always check the hold before filling it in. Aws
Hey Nathan,
That was a really cool and interesting story. Never heard of these markers or that organization before. You taught me something new today. That would definitely be an exciting find. Thanks for posting the info. I love historical stuff like that. Happy Hunting.
Glad you posted this information , I've come across a few of these in Charlotte,N.C. in the woods and thought the Survey pepole knew where they are located. I found some old Barb wire in this area that probably dates back 80 years. I'll keep track now.Thanks goldnugget
Quite interesting
Glad a few people have found this interesting. The replies were a little slow coming in, so I wasn't sure if anyone was interested. Glad you three thought it was interesting.