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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Ra1der5, post: 24555361, member: 146576&quot;]Okay, so this thread is over a decade old with 637 pages of posts and still obviously active. I’m new here sooo…. welp, guess I should get started!</p><p><br /></p><p>I had to look up “exonumia”. Not sure if this counts, but I’ll share the story…</p><p><br /></p><p>I’m a beach metal detectorist. People think summer is the best time for detecting, but it’s actually winter.&nbsp; Heavier metals sink in the soft beach sand. When we have a good storm, waves wash the sand away and that’s when a good detectorist can get down to heavier targets that have been buried for decades.</p><p><br /></p><p>After three years of La Niña winters and very little sand movement, the California coast lines were ravaged by the 2023 winter storms. A couple of months ago, I was working behind another beach detectorist. He was searching near the waterline and I could tell he was having little luck as he wasn’t digging many targets.&nbsp; As a result, I chose to detect higher up on the beach. I found a small cut created by water washing up against an embankment and exposing the hard pan beneath. The area might have only been 15’x30’, but that was enough to provide a couple hours of work.&nbsp; Among other targets, I found a war nickel, a Franklin half, and this 6.6g, 14k gold, 1906 San Francisco Conflagration Adjustor’s badge/pin (quarter for size reference).</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1554777[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>I’ve found these being sold in the form of a pin on the internet, but this one does not have evidence of a clasp on the back. I’m still researching if they were given as an award or used for identification, how many were issued, and the person that owned this one (name engraved on the back). The company that printed these was sold several times since this badge was issued and the records did not transfer. I have reached out to several museums in the Bay Area and still following leads.</p><p><br /></p><p>There’s some pretty cool stuff posted in this thread.&nbsp; Thanks for your interest![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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