Treasure Finds: Returned 74 Years Later

Published by Jenna Anderson on 07/02/20

Daniel Jurgan Beach Hunting

Daniel Jurgan had been itching to get out of the house. He, like all of us, had been under a Stay at Home order, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He was itching to get out with his Nokta Makro Anfibio 19 and find some treasure. Shortly after the restrictions had been lifted, Daniel took it to a park near his home to follow guidelines and avoid large groups of people while also being able to get his detecting fix.

As the lone person in the park, Daniel found a few items of note: a Brownie ring and a 1943 mercury dime.

He was fairly happy with his spoils but he wasn’t satisfied. A storm was brewing in the distance and it started to rain as he headed to a tree line for cover. While the storm rolled on, he continued searching under the cover of the trees and that’s when it happened. He knew the signal he was getting was something good.

1943 Mercury Dime

After digging about 9” into the ground with his Lesche 36” T-Handle Shovel, he pulled out a sterling silver box with what looked to be the likeness of the Virgin Mary pressed into the lid. He stuck it in his pocket, covered his hole, and headed to his car after the storm had passed. Once he got into the car, he anxiously pulled the item out of his pocket and opened it up. He was correct in assuming that this was something good.

Inside was a sterling silver rosary with an engraved name and date, Diana, May 5th, 1946.

Sterling Silver Rosary

After some research and calling around, Daniel was able to track down who the rosary belonged to. He was able to locate the owner’s children and return the rosary to its original owner, Diana, 74 years after it was lost. The rosary was a gift for her first communion from her aunt. Diana says the rosary went missing not long after she had received it and suspected a neighbor boy, who had a habit of taking her things, had taken it. She assumes it was buried so deep because he was scared someone would find it. Little did he know that Daniel Jurgan and his metal detector would come along eventually and find it.