Soon after getting my first metal detector in late 2019, I drove to Maryland with my daughter. (We were living in Maine at the time.) I had been invited by my friend Bob to visit his place on the Eastern Shore. I had a lot to learn about using the detector, but shortly after we started, I got a promising signal on the front lawn. We dug and dug, and about 12 inches down, saw what looked like the green of old bronze.

Something that has never grown old over the four years that I’ve been detecting is that feeling of discovery when a new find is revealed. “What’s it going to be this time?” This first time was no different. Initially, we couldn’t figure out what the emerging object was. It certainly seemed large – much larger than a coin. The top of a lantern? As more of it was unearthed, it suddenly became clear – it really was a big crotal bell. Once we got it out and measured it, we found it was a number 15, and was over 3 inches in diameter. Certainly an exciting way to start of my metal detecting hobby!

I’ve been asked several times since I posted this, “What is a crotal bell?” In short, they are bells of various sizes that are hung on animals. Here’s a good article explaining more.