Dug out a section corner today at a busy street intersection in Lincoln, Nebraska and came out with 16 cents! Most coins had wear from being run over on the pavement, so I think they all got there by chance. Also some other little trinkets in the hole. Must be careful to watch out for broken glass too!
> Dug out a section corner today at a busy street intersection in Lincoln, Nebraska and came out with 16 cents!
What is the object marking the corner, Jerry? It looks to be close to pavement grade, so does that mean that it probably isn't older than 1920's vintage?
Is that an axle of some sort?
It is an axel. After reconstruction of the intersection, which will remove the pin, we will drill a core and set a new monument in a nice 7" diameter cast monument well.
I still got that Australian streetcar axle, which would make a nice stout corner, if you want it. You pay shipping. 🙂
man you guys have all of the luck finding unique monuments. i live in a world of 1/2" rebar.
Worked in a rural subdivision where the surveyor was also in the junk yard business. All lot corners were marked with rear axles with hubs and lug bolts still in place. Dug down to find bolt threads. Wondered what the heck is going on. Another inch or so of digging and suddenly realized what was in store. A bit more digging and found five lug bots staring at me.
We had a local surveyor by the name of J.B.Allen Sr., who discovered a great source of survey markers. When potato cultivation entered the mechanized age in Baldwin County the cultivators use an interlinked conveyor. There is significant metal to metal wear, with the only lubricant being the dirt they dig into, so these wear out over time. Mr. Allen would take these conveyor links where one end had broken off, and drive that end as his distinct markers. The end exposed at ground level was either another broken end or the curled link still intact. Locally we call these either pigtails or Allen pins.
He did very good work, especially in the Foley/Robertsdale area and his plats (what remain) fit record vs. actual as well as anyone could hope for, well in excess of the required 1:5000 of his time.
Upon his death at his request (so the legend goes) all his plats were destroyed. What remain are the copious copies he supplied to any and everyone that requested them.
