I gained permission for a 1930s golf course in the beginning of April of 2017, just a Month after purchasing my Minelab CTX 3030. I can say that I have completely fallen in love with this amazing machine!
Near the middle of a rainy day, I had a pouch full of clad and trash. Two of my friends, who I brought with me, had already struck silver for the day. I decided to dig one more hole before breaking for lunch. It would prove to be one of the most memorable digs of my metal detecting journey. I popped the plug and began to pin point away in the hole. After a brief search in the hole and no target in sight, I concentrated my search in the plug. I pin pointed a target in the middle of the plug.
A quick swipe to remove some of the dirt and there it was. A beautiful gold band. I jumped to my feet in excitement and pronounced what I had in the plug. My buddy Blaine walked over to look in my plug. A sliver of a gold ring shining bright from the plug was undeniable.
Blaine started a video of the removal of the ring from the plug. Delicately removing the ring from the dirt, the first thing I noticed was a "1952" stamped on the outside of the ring. Upon further investigation, it all became real. I had just dug my first gold ring, confirmed with a 10K and a lone "NJJ" stamped on the inside. It was a 1952 Oxford High School ring. I knew that I had to do all that I could to locate the owner of the ring. After a bit of quick math we deduced that the owner must be in their 80's. Being that we were in Oxford NC I knew that locating an old year book was the first thing on my list.
While still standing over the ring in the field, I Googled the yearbook and located a Jack Jones from the Senior class. It was the only name in the Senior class that had a repeating "J" in the name. I was stumped on the "N" that was on the inside of the ring. A couple days after the find and a trip to the Library. I found another picture of Jack Jones in his Junior year with his first name Norman! After some communication with the historian at the Library, he spoke with two other people who graduated in 1952 from Oxford High School. They told him that Norman "Jack" Jones now lives in Texas. I was able to get a phone number and a possible address. I gave the number a call but got no answer. I left a voicemail for Mr Jones and requested that he call me.
Several days later while at work a got a call from Mr Jones. I told him the story of the find of his High School Ring. It was a truly amazing feeling to finally speak with Mr Jones. He asked me how much he owed me for the ring and I told him I couldn't accept any money for his ring. He told me that he played golf out at the old golf course when he was in High School, he stated that it had possibly been lost more than 60 years.
I was able to mail the ring back to Mr Jones along with a personal message. This is by far the most awesome find that I have ever dug; the experience of searching for the owner is something I will never forget.
Dean – NC, USA.
