tigerbeetle

I'm a NJ Th'er who now mines for copper and brass – kinda.

For decades, I’ve been happily digging what I call Deco dumps. These are old trash dumps from, roughly, 1920 to the start of WWII, i.e. the Art Deco era. In rural areas, this era was marked by backyard dumping or, more often, regular personal visits to “town dumps.”

I began hunting Deco dumps when bottle collectors dug out most of the prized older dumps. Fortunately, those collectors shunned newer dumps, i.e. my Deco dumps.

From the get-go, I kept all kinds of collectible minutia I painstakingly dug from the many large early/mid Twentieth Century dumps, most within easy driving distance of my Jersey Shore home. I primarily targeted the likes of classic old milk bottles (high collectibles) but quickly began finding all sorts of valuable goodies, one of the oddest being old celluloid toothbrush handles in countless colors. The celluloid had replaced bone and wood handles, giving way (after WWII) to modern plastic. Turns out certain artists do amazing things with the celluloid. In one pop, I sold 100 easily-found toothbrushes for $300! Now there's an angle on scrapping you likely hadn't heard before.

But what’s this got to do with metal scrapping?

Early on in my Deco dump diving, I noticed the presence of huge amounts of copper wire, copper sheet (roofing, downspouts), huge lengths of copper piping, brass plumbing fixtures, chrome-plated automobile parts (chrome over brass), copper-loaded motors and even heavy brass bed frames.

Face it, right before WWII, the late-Industrial Revolution period brought with it something of a free-for-all use of hard metals, quite cheap at the time. No one gave a second thought to chucking it out – until the war began and recycling became mandatory.

Despite sensing the hard metal items I was digging had value, I long maintained a collecting purism. I sought more sophisticated items. And to comely ends. I found a load of fairly high-ticket items, including some sought after local-interest items, ranging from porcelain signs (a Coke sign with a local store’s name on it brought a cool $820 at auction) to a slew of assorted badges (police, fire, health department) that are one-of-a-kind items. I now have a local milk bottle collection second to none.

But it was the hike in copper prices that first got me thinking hard (metal). My first metal gathering began as something of an also-ran effort. As I collected a growing number of Deco dump favorite items, I would also throw easily-carried copper wire into my carry-home "goody bag" knapsack. I got quite good at power twisting the wire into copper logs, of sorts.



Over the weeks, I off-loaded the wire into a side yard bin at my home. It filled. Then a second can filled. Then a third.

Realizing my side yard was beginning to take on a “Sanford and Son” feel, I asked a “picker” buddy of mine to take my copper to the scrap metal dealer he frequently used.

Long story short (OK, so maybe this story isn’t that short), he later walked up and handed me a wad of money. I, at first, truly thought it was practical joke. $932! WTF? I was so stunned I gave him a 50-spot. Needless to say, I was thereafter hooked on heavy metal. That $932 became a norm. Then a minimum.

Now, I’m (proudly) a treasure hunter, bottle digger and scrapper. My digging of old Deco dumps has become more of a mining effort. I’d say fully half of the material in most Deco dumps is scrap-able. If you recycle glass, 90 percent of old dumps are reclaimable.

I've yet to include iron/steel in my pickings. Many of my prime dumps entail healthy hikes to reach. Hauling ferrous finds could be a bit much.

Anyway, I hope this offers some insights into a truly fun phase of scrapping -- with a vintage twist to it. It often entails some serious digging -- and heavy lifting; something scrappers are no stranger to.

Of course, the “You were trespassing!” folks will instinctively try to rain on such a scrapping parade but I can tell you from long experience I have never once been approached by anyone hell-bent on protecting the likes of old town dumping areas.

Hey, that's a great story! I love the treasure hunting angle.

You east coasters are fortunate to have large cities with long histories - which means lots of good old stuff! Where I'm from in dayton, oh the 1913 flood wiped out most of the very early antiques and significant items, so we've always been at a loss for the good stuff.

Here's to a happy hunt!

welcome tiger. How do you find these dumps ? I have one just outside of my town, but I was planning on locating the owner for permission. I couldn't do it otherwise...I'd feel guilty and afraid of buckshot !

Welcome to the board tiger! Is there any significance to your name? Tiger beetles are amazing critters... Cheers

Hauling is huge in treasure hunting and/or scrapping. Right now, I'm back up to easily a few hundred pounds of stored copper and brass, all vintage – and all strenuously hiked out of the outback.

The backpack I use has become a stand-in for a health club. Before I began scrapping, it would be needed to carry a few minor-sized treasures. I could throw it around with impunity. Now, lifting the heavy-duty backpack is often a match for snatch-and-jerk free weight exercising -- just to get it onto my back.

In NJ, quads and most smaller non street-legal ORVs are strictly verboten virtually anywhere off-road -- or I'd be a lot happier, albeit less muscular man. I can't imagine how much scrap I'd have if I could legally use a quad for transporting stuff. Just yesterday, I came across what amounts to an entire road's worth of antiquated cast iron sewer pipes, dug up many decades back during a sewer upgrading -- and improperly and illegally disposed of. The mountain of stacked iron (tons) is an eyesore in an otherwise pristine South Jersey woodlands.

By the by, a vintage town dump or former general public dumping area are often long-term digs. For that reason, there is some tending that must be done as digging proceeds. The trick is to always back fill. No trenches or festering pits left behind. I always rake over a worked area; often covering exposed dump with fallen leaves. I have even been commended for leaving an area looking way better than when I began mining it. I've occasionally thrown wild grass seeds in a completed dig areas.

As for the “Tigerbeetle”, I have studied Cicindelidae (tiger beetles) under some of the masters, including the late Howard Boyd of New Jersey.

I’ll try to get a photo in here of just a small fraction of the vintage brass plumbing fixtures I’ve salvaged. I don’t have the heart to place them in with the sell-ASAP metals, even though the weight is way up there.