The Relic Hunter

Holmes tucks away each find in a velvet bag that helps protect the patina. Lead often turns white, just as brass turns green.
Photo by W. Clay Crook / The Lexington Progress.

Moving slowly through the wood line, a figure in lightweight hunting camouflage gear hears a noise and crouches down to the ground.  He’s not hunting turkey or other wild game, and the temperature is pushing towards 95 degrees…he is relic hunting.

Richie Holmes, of the Middlefork Community, has been using a metal detector since his very early teens, moving from coins to Civil War relics.  The ground is heavily rooted, so he uses a pick to dislodge the find, it is a .69 caliber round ball, an ammunition type often used by Confederate Infantry early in the War.   Within another hour and a half, he has found another…

For the complete story, see the July 5th edition of The Lexington Progress.

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