Why Historical Buildings Are Among the Best Places to Look for Platinum, Gold and Silver Scrap
“Finding Buried Treasure at a Historic House,” an article Alexis Gutter wrote for the This Old House website, lists a lot of valuable old items that members of the This Old House renovation crew found in a 300-year-old house in Bedford, Massachusetts. They found bells, buttons, part of a silver brooch, buckles, a chisel, old iron ox shoes (which are kind of like horseshoes, only bigger), and plumbing fixtures.
You are probably thinking, “Good for them, but that stuff can’t be worth too much money, can it?” And you are probably right. That “treasure,” with the exception of the silver brooch piece, are not made of precious metal. Their value is purely historical.
But the story does contain a valuable lesson for those of us who like to hunt for precious metal . . .
Old buildings are more likely to contain valuable precious metals than new buildings are.
Where are old historical buildings found in your area? There are probably a good number of them that are worth investigating, including:
The oldest historical houses that are found in your town or region
Local history museums and historical societies
Churches and houses of worship
The locations of old homes, factories and other structures that burned down, which you can sometimes find by reading old copies of local newspapers
Finding the hidden treasure at some of those places could require the use of a metal detector. At others, you can work with the people or organizations that currently occupy the buildings to be sure they have found all the valuable items that their sites contain. But no matter which approach you use, chances are you will find some valuable items that could be worth sending to us for testing and evaluation.
A Lesson from a Typical American Town
A member of our writing staff is on the Board of the historical society in the town where he grew up. Here are some of the local sites where he believes precious metal items can be found, and others that he believes are worth investigating with a metal detector.
The collection of the historical society, with holdings that include dozens of old medals that have been awarded to local firefighters and policemen over the last 150 years. There are also boxes of stuff that local people have donated to the museum over the last half-century, much of it uncatalogued.
The location of a large old fabric mill that was destroyed by fire more than a century ago. As of today, its site has not been investigated with a metal detector or even more basic tools like shovels.
Old local homes and mansions that are still occupied today, which could contain hidden valuables that even their current owners might not know about.
Four or five old wells, now filled in, that once provided water to older homes in the town. Old wells often contain coins at least, and their contents should be excavated and examined.
A now-defunct pharmacy, closed for more than half a century, that still has shelves in its basement that are stocked with old chemicals. The building is currently being used as a private residence.
An old inn, used as a speakeasy and a hospital more than 100 years ago, which is now a town historical site. Chances are good that valuables are hiding under the dirt floor in the basement and in the land surrounding the building.
A stone church that is located on the site of an earlier wooden church that burned to the ground in about 1900. How much of the old structure is now hidden under the new church? How much of it is hidden under the soil outdoors? It is worth finding out.
The site of a large Victorian mansion that was razed in about 1963 and replaced by five small houses. Are valuable items still waiting to be found in the soil of the area?
There are also two large old cemeteries in town that have not been analyzed with metal detectors. Chances are good that old coins, jewelry and other items are waiting to be found in them – old cemeteries are fertile search sites for treasure-hunters.
And all those possibilities can be found in a typical small American town. What can you find in yours?
Find Valuable Items?
Stop and think about the oldest buildings and historical sites in your town or area. Visit the reference desk of your local public library and check through old newspaper archives to locate older homes and buildings that have been lost to fire or destroyed.
Call our precious metal consultants at 800-426-2344, tell us what you have, and let’s discuss them. We are here to help you get the most money by recycling or selling your old items made of gold, silver, platinum and other precious metals.