I dig New Jersey. Literally.
When I’m not spending time either with my wife and daughter or behind my desk at work, you can usually find me hunting for relics. I love it. I’m passionate about it. And I might admit, I’m a little obsessed with it. When I was in school, I wasn’t interested in history at all. As exciting as I now know it is, and the incredible lessons that can be learned from it, I suppose it just was never presented to me in an engaging way.
I’m lucky to live in New Jersey because our history goes back further than most states. Occupied by Native Americans for thousands of years, and then by Dutch and English colonists in the 17th century, our original residents and settlers are responsible for laying the foundation for what would ultimately become New Jersey. Artifacts (or relics as I call them), whether at the time were lost by the owner or simply thrown away, considered to be garbage at the time, can be found right under our feet with a little hard work. It’s through these artifacts that I now learn history.
In future articles, I will share my learning of NJ history through the research I do on the properties I search and on the relics I recover. However, in this first article, I will focus on a couple items that are special to New Jersey itself.
Searching for items from yesteryear can be a daunting process. OK, is IS a daunting process. Most of what was garbage then, is still garbage today. To find the good stuff – whether through metal detecting, sifting, or privy digging – you simply have to go through lots of garbage. When you search a property that has seen a lot of past activity, you’ll get a lot of past garbage. It is indeed a patient man’s game.
In 2013 I was on a property in my home town that was riddled with junk. Tin foil, pull tabs, nails… a seemingly endless pattern of junk finds. I came upon yet another foil signal and, begrudgingly, dug my hole to investigate. To my delight, I saw something round, larger than a coin, and very thin. I carefully removed it from the hole and gently wiped away some of the packed-on dirt. I soon realized I had a tag of some sorts, with the words “Spratts Patent Limited 1303 New York” pressed into it.
Hmm, what could it be?
Late 1800s Spratts Patent Limited dog cake tag.
It was time to turn to Google, which is usually my first source of research. I quickly learned that Spratts Patent Limited was the first major manufacturer and distributor of dog biscuits in the United States (at that time, called dog cakes). The company was in New York from 1890-1895 and then moved its operations to Newark, NJ. Since this tag says New York, I’ve concluded it dates back to the early 1890s. I learned that this was a time when Americans started doting on their pets, and it was perfect timing for a good marketer like James Spratt to capitalize on it. So, while not born in the Garden State, New Jersey can still claim to have been home to the nation’s first major treat distributor for Fido… and house training has been easy ever since!
Something else New Jersey is famous for is the Jersey Shore and it’s beautiful Atlantic Ocean. Beautiful, fun, and dangerous. Did you know that there are hundreds of shipwrecks off the coast of New Jersey? So many that it’s been nicknamed, “The Graveyard of the Atlantic.”
While I don’t search the beaches very often (I prefer dirt and mud), I’ve always wanted to find something related to a shipwreck. Just like most kids (OK, and adults) I’ve dreamt of finding pirate treasure. To me, however, treasure doesn’t come in the form an object that can tell a story, or spark the imagination, and while this treasure may only be worth a few cents or a few bucks, the true value is thinking about the journey it has taken, and the journey on which it will take me.
It was a very cold and snowy winter in 2014 into 2015. Snow covered a concrete-like frozen ground, and this relic hunter was going stir crazy. Even the sand on the beaches was hard as ice! But I was desperate to pursue my passion and decided to relieve my cabin fever and at the same time meet up with a few friends near the southeastern tip of New Jersey for some less-than-balmy beach detecting.
Two 18th century copper ship nails recovered at the Jersey Shore, pictured with percussion caps most likely from the same era.
To be honest, I have little interest in finding gold and diamond rings or anything else of modern value, unless it’s with the intent of returning it to the person who lost it. I’m look for the old stuff! That being said, the beach is the best place to find the bling, but the summer months and crowds of vacationers is the best time to look for it. On this day it was cold, windy, and freezing rain hailed down on us. After about an hour of braving the elements, I was rewarded when I found not one but two copper ship nails, dating back to the 1700s. What ship they come from and the fate of it and its passengers I’ll never know, but these nails certainly had been on a long and tumultuous journey, only to find a resting spot deep within the sand of the Jersey Shore. With the hundreds of shipwrecks that rest along our coastline, can you even imagine what is waiting to be recovered? And, sadly, what never will be?
I hope you have enjoyed these two short tales about my experiences of not just looking for relics in New Jersey, but also actually finding relics that are special to New Jersey history. I look forward to sharing my experiences and what I learn from them with you and welcome any feedback you may have.
Grant Hansen is an avid relic hunter, and focuses most of his efforts in his home state of New Jersey. He and his detecting partner James run http://relic-hunters.com and work with local and national historical societies and museums to preserve lost history. Some of the best finds Grant has made is the people he’s met and befriended along the way. It’s the kindness and generosity of property owners that makes it possible for him to pursue his passion. These articles are dedicated to these special people.
