REIDSVILLE, N.C. (WFMY) – Civil War buttons, an Indian head penny, a vintage cast iron stove front, and a class ring lost in 1967.
Those are just some of the items the Old North State Detectorists Club have found during their “hunts” around the Triad and the state of North Carolina.
"We're a group of metal detecting enthusiasts," said president Rodney Joslin. "Ultimately trying to get history out of the ground."
The group originally started in Greensboro in April of 2009 with approximately a dozen members, but their current meeting location is in Jamestown and has over 60 members.
Joslin says besides participating in archeological surveys on historic landmarks, “we also find any lost metal items such as jewelry or keys free of charge for the local community.”
ONSD’s most recent hunt was Saturday, June 2nd at Lenox Castle in Rockingham County. The old manor is on the North Carolina Highway Historical Marker program, right off NC 150.
“I expect this hunt to provide a lot of historical artifacts that we want to preserve,” Joslin shared in an email to WFMY a week prior to the hunt.
And so, it was.
Old North State Detectorists Club Find Historical And Personal Lost Items
Among the finding were a number of colonial-era flat buttons, a Civil War North Carolina Starburst button, grommets, an Indian head penny and a cast iron stove front.
According to Joslin, the group prides itself in being a free resource to the community, including services to local law enforcement with training services on metal detecting.
"We're not in it for ourselves, we're not trying to make money, we don't turn around and sell those items that we're finding," said Joslin.
On their website, ONSD shares a number of letters of appreciation from local organizations and government entities like the City of Lexington, the Historic Jamestown Society, the National Park Service, and the Department of Cultural Resources.
You can contact the Old North State Detectorists Club via mail, email and social media.
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