Growing up in Nuremberg Germany, as a child I can remember finding war materials in the woods all the time where we lived. I think all the time what is still there under the soil. I remember when I was 7 years old i brought a grenade into the house and my father having an explosive temper tantrum about it. We all moved to the USA when I was 9 and that was over 50 years ago. There are so many items still buried , oh, and I can remember the hidden tunnels out in the woods. My father took the tractor out and buried the entrance with dirt and wood to hide it from me. LOL. There were so many items in those tunnels. All concrete and so cool to play in as a child. Those are GREAT finds.... LOVE the wooded area.
it is amazing what was actually lost when you lost real silver coins in the past. A few silver coins could easily approach 20-30 dollars. Or when someone finds a gold coin? they're not just finding a gold coin, they're finding the remnants of someone's REALLY BAD DAY.
We had silver 1 $, 50, 25 and 10 cents in Canada until 1969. I have a 5 gallons full of them. I don't know how much they worth but it's heavy. I also have few of what was called "napoleon d'or" those are French 20 franc gold coins. I think I have around of them, and few French ecus who date back to the 17 century. They're silver coins, and have old French Kings on it, Louis 14 and Louis 16. I don't even know what they're worth, but it's funny to have.
@@MarvinHartmann452 You definitely have a small fortune. there are coin melt value calculators online. You should sort them and count them, you'll probably be in for a treat. However, that doesn't even consider the potential numismatic value to coin collectors.
Crazy to think there was a war being fought in such a beautiful woodland. It truly is a testament that nature DOES NOT give a single f*ck and moves right on. Awesome video!!
my parents friend is an archaeologist and during his gap year he did some extra and went to Germany, found a almost complete BF-109, it was only missing a part of the left part of the tail fin, otherwise pristine
Amazing and I love your enthusiasm. I am an American from Texas and my grandfather fought in WW1. I have done some relic hunting in France for WW1 relics. It is very adicting!
Geile Stelle. Das eine Ding ist eine Feile kein Bajonett. Für Leder musst du immer einen Gefrierbeutel dabeihaben, den man zu zippen kann, da machst du dann das Leder rein und gießt etwas Wasser hinzu, damit es nicht austrocknet. Wenn das Leder einmal ausgetrocknet ist, ist es zu spät. Zuhause säuberst du das Leder im Waschbecken, dabei lässt du es warm volllaufen und gibst Spüli hinzu. Im Spülwasser schön sauber machen. Danach schön trocken tupfen aber nicht trocknen. Zuvor musst du dir am besten Sattelöl vom Pferdeausstatter holen, oder ganz einfach online bestellen. Kein Olivenöl oder so benutzen. Du gibst das Leder wieder in einen Gefrierbeutel und reibst es dort mit dem Öl ein, gieß ruhig etwas Öl hinein und lass das Leder im Öl ein paar Tage stehen. Das kann sich ruhig schön vollsaugen. Danach holst du das Leder wieder raus und tupfst es mit Zewa papier wieder ab. Danach kannst du das Leder nochmal mit Schuhledercreme einreiben zum konservieren. Wenn du das alles gemacht hast wird das Leder wieder super geschmeidig.
Wow danke für die umfangreiche Beschreibung! Das werde ich definitiv mal mit dem nächsten Lederfund probieren, bisher nie Erfolg bei der Konservierung gehabt.
@@MetalMaxWW2 Ja das ganze ist leider eine schmierige Angelegenheit, am besten ziehst du dir dafür diese Einweggummihandschuhe an, so mach ich das immer.
Very exciting. I metal detect here in the states and may I suggest carrying some handheld pruning shears in your kit. Great for the roots, just cut at each end of the hole.
i grew up on an ex German POW camp in Scotland (named Cultybraggan) as my Grandfather was Commandant. I clicked on this thinking you might be detecting there but loved your enthusiasm so much ive subbed, thanks for the great video!
What an adrenaline rush! Kudos to you for having already done the research/study to recognize and name many of those historical military relics as they came out of the ground. 👍
Sure was! Always an amazing feeling being the first one to take a special relic out of the ground... Thanks, but it wasnt always like that ^^ But some years of detecting makes you familiar with most things :)
@@MetalMaxWW2I began swinging a machine in 1998 and though have spent thousands of hours digging in the dirt unearthing innumerable metal targets of treasure and junk alike here in the Southern US, at no point have I had opportunity to hunt virgin ground so abundant with military relics. You my young friend are living the dream, make no mistake about that! 👏👌I appreciate the vicarious rush experience because even that was intense. Our paths have crossed, yeah I know it's just on this digital social media platform, but nonetheless, I want to share with you a little bit of my history for an unusually relevant perspective and possibly some info of interest. You'll understand I am sure. Twenty years or so ago I spent a year working for the Museum of East Alabama in Opelika, Alabama. My zest for metal detecting inspired the Curator to create a "Research and Recovery Team" that he so graciously appointed me to oversee. I can't remember ever being told no by anyone locally upon permission requests to detect. Alongside my two other team members, we successfully located and recovered many locally significant relics, lending a tactile enrichment to the community historical records and having a blast in the process. Now let's step even further back in time, locally to the 1940's. During WWII, a large POW camp compound was erected not too far outside the Opelika city limits. I learned much about the imprisoned German military men of that time through the Museum held writings of the prisoners themselves and the US military men stationed as guards of the prisoners. The Museum also housed an impressive collection of complete German military uniforms, weapons, and a wide assortment of accoutrements including a humongous 50 foot wide hand sewn together out of bed sheets by many German women 'banner' swastika flag that was so big it had to draped over the side of a large building. German soldiers transported it in advance to pre designated locations of display just prior to the Fuhrer's parade style celebrated arrival for morale and photography staging purposes and it was taken down before he left and on to the next and on and on so this banner flag was moved. I saw this flag, my hands touched the flag, but I never saw it completely unfurled, just color pictures taken of it on full display in many Germany towns/cities by German military photographers. The Museum held so many German WWII items that only a third or so were displayed at a time with the entire display rotating to another set every 4 to 6 months (which was quite an undertaking as I learned firsthand twice). During the time I was with the Museum, I scoured the internet for items being sold that were made by the German military prisoners while in the camp. The handcrafted items were usually a wooden bowl or wooden cup or something another and OPELIKA POW CAMP would be burned into or painted on the item. The internet was still a new thing, it really was, back when Alta Vista was the best internet search engine. I was a computer hardware engineer with established yahoo and ebay accounts as well so one of my many responsibilities was to locate anything historical Opelika for sale and the Curator would determine yea or nay on purchase specifics. The Museum's collection of POW crafted items more than doubled during my time there. I do apologize for such a long comment that goes on and on. Humor me but one deep dive and of this I'll speak no more. I read much that was available concerning the day to day living conditions of those soldiers and officers during their confinement here in the US as prisoners of war. There was not a uniformity of accommodations or prescribed procedural mannerisms. It was war. What I can say with 99.999% certainty is that those German sons and fathers, brothers and friends fighting for the Fatherland were, as happens in war, defeated, transported to the US, and for the duration of the war imprisoned in the Opelika, Alabama POW Camp where they were treated humanely and with civility the entirety of their stay and the proof of such a bold proclamation will become damn near undeniable by the time this comment of mine does actually end. Why in the world would a country as well water small east central alabama town of many residents being just farmers, whose growth was in no small part thanks to the cotton mills industry and during that time be just a blip on the map receive a POW camp compound? There were too many farms that weren't being tended to properly because the man of the household had gone off to war and was overseas somewhere fighting the Germans. Irony! Irony that these German POWs would be daily transported by wagon to help work the fields, harvest crops, slaughter pigs, milk cows, mend fences and countless other farming tasks a normal day in the life consisted of back then. It's my understanding that the Germans were overwhelmingly appreciated, were fed all the home cooked food they could eat, cold water was made available to them at all times and in copious quantities, and were given cash money regularly (that was overlooked by their transporting guards) and were allowed to spend that money in town for food/toiletries/clothes/whatever at regular intervals. In turn because the Germans felt so appreciated and needed, they never complained of their predicament, they worked their asses off helping these primarily women farmers stave off loss, foreclosure, structure deterioration and outright utter ruination from any number of reasons. A 360 win situation arose out of such dire circumstances for all involved parties. Amazing stories of compassion and dignity were told of those times! I listened to recordings of recollections told with respect and admiration by the local resident men and women who were there and lived through it day to day, interacting with the Germans, thankful to tears for the resiliency and resolve of these men who's speech they only partially understood could rise above it all and be the man who saved the day for many folks in Opelika and the tiny satellite communities around the area. I often wondered why a studio movie was never made in commemoration. The day did eventually arrive when the hostilities were done, the war was over, and the US returned those men held within those POW work compounds to their native homelands. An engineer and guard at the Opelika camp named John Herbert Orr was taken aback with surprise when the very last night before the scheduled departure of the Camp and return home to native Germany a couple of engineering officers under his responsibility wished to express their appreciation of the entirety of their stay that he took very good care of them and so spoke with him throughout the night divulging very detailed specifics of magnetic tape recording, a technology known in Germany for many years but to no one else in the world. They knew the specifics because they were the lead engineers of this technology. They knew that Germany would take years to rebuild to the advanced state necessary to continue on with it and rather than see it forever flounder, he could begin a successful and prosperous life and insure their life's work live on. Shortly after, the camp was closed and Mr. Orr purchased some of the empty buildings within the now defunct POW compound where though it took a few years, he did capitalize on the info shared with him which were the very beginnings of magnetic audio tape that became a media recording standard around the entire world in years to come. My best to you in all you endeavor!
@@eddienichols209 absolutely fascinating! Thank you for taking the time to tell this story here! I'm so glad, that for whatever reason... and half through the night, I thought I'd check out the comments to this video, and ran into your sharing. Wish you both the best!
one time i was swimming in Lake Champlain Vermont, it was very shallow in the private section of the lake i was in and i found a Winchester rifle with all the wood there, the barrel was in two pieces but the water must have somehow preserved the wood through a hundred years, i gave it too my grandparents who live there.
I was studying the battle of Anzio, just walking the ground. Found some old foxholes. Moved some leaves and there, big as day, was an anti-personnel mine. Be careful, my friend.
Dude I'm so jealous, you found more amazing war stuff detecting in a day than I found in the past 3 months and I've been going detecting like every other day. I need to go detecting in Germany one day, Czechia where I live is way too looted by other detectorists 😄. But congratulations, these are genuinely incredible finds!
Well, its not like Germany isnt looted Haha. The past years many people started with the hobby and ww2 detectorists are most common. You gotta know secret spots like this one where no one has ever been. Other than that it's pretty moderate and frustrating as well ^^' Thanks for watching
@@MetalMaxWW2 How do you even find spots like that? Just look on maps for a place where there was fighting and just walk for kilometers and kilometers hoping to find something? I've been feeling pretty burned out the past few weeks as every place I go to in Czechia is either looted and only has ammo and bomb shrapnel or there's nothing at all on the spot almost as if there was no fighting there. And I can't believe you have so few subscribers, your videos are pretty awesome. I'll be binge watching them when I need some metal detecting content 😄
I personally have never detected a spot where there was fighting. Only surrender areas. Battlefields are highly illegal here most of the time and you can get in trouble. Plus shrapnel is annoying. You just gotta test new spots here and there and see if there are traces of the timeframe. Persistence is key!
@@MetalMaxWW2 Ah I had no idea it was illegal to detect on battlefields in Germany, but I guess it makes sense. I found 3 live sprenggranades, 1 mortar and 1 soviet F1 grenade just in the past month lol. I would love to detect surrender areas but almost all of them are in the western side of the country, since the Germans absolutely didn't want to be captured by the Soviets and most are like a 4 hour drive so battlefields are the only realistic option for me. But I guess could make it a small weekend trip and go search alongside one of the surrender roads 😀
The 'bayonet' you found beside the hole looked like a regular file, with the tang at the bottom. I'm convinced it was and I'm surprised you didn't notice that.
Dude !!! American here . . . I absolutely loved watching your video's !!!! My fav part "What is going on with this place" hahahaha. So good man !!! Keep up the good work, I wished I could explore those places as well. Great finds
It appears you've found a place where German Troops, dug holes to bury everything and anything that would be taken if captured, once the writing was on the wall that the end was near. I'd get a magnet fishing rig and fish that swamp near the camp for items that would have taken too long to bury, may have been just tossed in for a quick fix, bayonets rifles, crew served weapons, ammo, etc. I saw a video of a Tank they suggested was drove into the swamp and submerged so it wouldn't be captured . It came out in pretty good shape considering. Who knows maybe the stuff your finding, some were looking to come back and reclaim but never did. The belt you found, maybe try submerging it in clean motor oil for a time, oil should penetrate the pours of the leather and perhaps save it, worth a shot. If not maybe try saddle soap. Keep the videos coming, good stuff.
The first blade you found is definitly not of a K98 bayonet, if you compare it with the other example - on the K98k one the blade is one part with the butt, the seperate blade you found is more likely of a saber.
The porcelain you are messing with could also be radioactive. They use to use Uranium ore in the glaze of porcelain before they knew better. There is a youtuber that goes into antique stores and finds radioactive antique porcelain all the time.
WOW that was amazing how you were able to find so much. Good luck with your future digging of the WW11 woods. My first time watching 👀 Thanks for the fun of watching you.
The men were scouting around to find perfect places for them to dig in and for Battles before they started war. Pre-War eras.:) Awesome, Amazing how good the pieces are thru the years after wars. That big buckle is from the head guys that use the on uniforms like Generals, Lt Generals.
The small leather strap and the large buckle with leather attached I believe are from horses. Reins and pack straps. Might go along with the horse shoe.
Great job again my friend! I usually find pocket watch back parts too, most likely these were taken apart by soviet soldiers who looted them. Oh and those Reichsmark coins, I haven't found one yet, but bought one..they are some big fat silver coins😁
20:40 das war wahrscheinlich ein Feuerwehrgürtel, die sind so breit weil da bei moderneren eine fallsicherung und bei älteren halt eine art sicherungsseil dran ist und die also den Träger halten müssen und wenn der halt normalbreit wäre wäre er eventuell zu schwach und würde wahrscheinlich auch ziemlich einschneiden. Würde mit dem Feuerwehr Koppelaufsatz auch sinn machen.
Holy cow! Awesome finds Max. We can call you the coin master after this hunt! That was one great looking Luftwaffe buckle. Looking forward to the next one.
wow what amazing finds, Definity some history there, I would get a small pair if clippers to help get through the roots, they seem to be hindering your efforts. Looking forward to the next one.
@Metal Max bitte shoen. Your welcome. I found a cache of 3 Mauser rifles, 2 Stahlhelm a SA dagger, k98 bayonet, SA belt, insignias, buttons and about 150 bullets in my small town when I was living in Germany.
I love your channel absolutely.Love it you're enthusiasm every time you find something I would be the same way. I would. Love to have something like this With the German swash sticker. That would be awesome. What a historic find. I'm gonna spread this channel on my social media to get you some more followers my friend. Absolutely, phenomenal channel. One of your biggest fans USA GMC guy.❤❤❤❤
There is some leather conditioners on the market. I've found that a thicker conditioner, which takes longer to be exorbed, left for about a month or more, than wiped with a clean soft cloth followed by a leather sealer, should help. A good shoe store that carries men's leather boots, is most likely where you can find the conditioner. It should be about density of grease for bearings. I'm no expert in leather (in my opinion) but I have more than 55 years of working leather.
Clean the leather then put it in oil for two days. Maybe Walnut oil. This will be a good way to rehydrate it. After a couple of days, take it out and let it drip dry. Repeat this process again and then, when it's nice and flexible, give it a proper clean/scrub. Shine it up.
How viable would a grenade be still or a mine maybe? There are plenty of RUclips channels that would restore those weapons to like new perhaps the Karabiner 98.
Well first of all explosives are not to mess with so yeah... A relic K98 would probably go for like 50 bucks on the polish markets, but what do I know... never bought/sold anything and weapons/weapon parts are illegal to keep either way.
If memory serves you dont often find the innards with he watches because the innards are what was worth money, so people smashed them and took the mechanisms
This video saved me almost $500. I was seconds away from hitting "complete purchase" on Amazon when I decided to youtube "best metal detector finds". Literally NONE of them are from America, going back at least 5 years. If you want metal detecting for hobby, profit, or to scratch the history itch then you should really live on another continent. Thanks for putting out videos from places I could never go and thus saving me money, time, and frustration.
The holes in the coin you found was from someone trying to slowly stock up on silver from coins people used to also cut edges off of coins and that's another reason why they have ridges so that if it was cut they wouldn't have value outside of its weight in silver the coin itself would be "worthless". I'm meant back in the day nowadays I wouldn't care absolutely beautiful peice of history
This is an enjoyable outing... and I didn't even have to swat away the mosquitos. Its been 75 years since the war ended, makes me wonder what the terrain was before, since those pine trees are only 20 or less years old. I have not been in Deutchland for years, but it was always the cleanest and most civilized part of middle Europe, Spain is dirty and backward, France is weird with the people refusing to even sell you a loaf of bread if you don't squeeze out some French... I think they resent foreigners like Americans, can't say I blame them too much, so many of us are uncouth and stupid. I want to return to visit the places I have not visited yet, more places in Bavaria and onward to one of my favorite places, Switzerland. I may even spend a day or two trudging around in the woods with a folding trench shovel and detector.
Outstanding finds. I actuall y found a German 5 Reich Marc here in Texas this year at an old demoed house site.. Turns out there were German P.O.W. camps in the area back then and they were used to build houses and work the fields since most American men were off in the war. Very possible it was dropped by one of the P.O.W.s.
Growing up in Nuremberg Germany, as a child I can remember finding war materials in the woods all the time where we lived. I think all the time what is still there under the soil. I remember when I was 7 years old i brought a grenade into the house and my father having an explosive temper tantrum about it. We all moved to the USA when I was 9 and that was over 50 years ago. There are so many items still buried , oh, and I can remember the hidden tunnels out in the woods. My father took the tractor out and buried the entrance with dirt and wood to hide it from me. LOL. There were so many items in those tunnels. All concrete and so cool to play in as a child. Those are GREAT finds.... LOVE the wooded area.
I live nearby (:
Can you remember where? I can look it up for you and keep you updated (:
it is amazing what was actually lost when you lost real silver coins in the past. A few silver coins could easily approach 20-30 dollars. Or when someone finds a gold coin? they're not just finding a gold coin, they're finding the remnants of someone's REALLY BAD DAY.
Yeah crazy to think about how much value a small coin was back then ^^ Sucks if you lost it...
We had silver 1 $, 50, 25 and 10 cents in Canada until 1969. I have a 5 gallons full of them. I don't know how much they worth but it's heavy. I also have few of what was called "napoleon d'or" those are French 20 franc gold coins. I think I have around of them, and few French ecus who date back to the 17 century. They're silver coins, and have old French Kings on it, Louis 14 and Louis 16. I don't even know what they're worth, but it's funny to have.
@@MarvinHartmann452 You definitely have a small fortune. there are coin melt value calculators online. You should sort them and count them, you'll probably be in for a treat. However, that doesn't even consider the potential numismatic value to coin collectors.
😂hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahaha
1 ounce silver coin = 30-90 dollars
Danggit, I just swatted at my ear sitting in my own living room, not a mosquito in sight. Goes to show you how bad those things bug you…
Oh yeah haha, its a pest. Even with repellent, after some minutes they're relentlessly attacking ._.
@@MetalMaxWW2 You really need to get some 3M Ultrathon waterproof insect repellent, it will not sweat off. And it works.
Crazy to think there was a war being fought in such a beautiful woodland. It truly is a testament that nature DOES NOT give a single f*ck and moves right on. Awesome video!!
Luckily there was no fighting in this area. Thanks for watching
Those woods are absolutely beautiful. What an adventure, searching around for ww2 relics with the sun beaming through the trees!
I like how this guy freaks out about everything he finds,that’s actually a lesson to be happy about everything
The video is cool on its own but it makes it more fun to watch seeing how passionate you are about this kind of stuff.
Very much appreciated mate :)
It’s been a year and this dude is still replying to comments. Respect my dude.
Of course ;)
Love the feedback and interaction with the viewers!
It's good to still care to late viewers giving feedback, that is a good trait to have, MetalMax.
my parents friend is an archaeologist and during his gap year he did some extra and went to Germany, found a almost complete BF-109, it was only missing a part of the left part of the tail fin, otherwise pristine
Where?
@@user-vt1cd7yh3u North Africa, im not exactly a nerd but I heard them say BF-109, lost intrest pretty quick cuz I was like 9.
@@darkstormww7479Nerd!!
Your enthusiasm is contagious! What I wouldn’t give to be there.
Amazing and I love your enthusiasm. I am an American from Texas and my grandfather fought in WW1. I have done some relic hunting in France for WW1 relics. It is very adicting!
Geile Stelle.
Das eine Ding ist eine Feile kein Bajonett.
Für Leder musst du immer einen Gefrierbeutel dabeihaben, den man zu zippen kann, da machst du dann das Leder rein und gießt etwas Wasser hinzu, damit es nicht austrocknet. Wenn das Leder einmal ausgetrocknet ist, ist es zu spät. Zuhause säuberst du das Leder im Waschbecken, dabei lässt du es warm volllaufen und gibst Spüli hinzu. Im Spülwasser schön sauber machen. Danach schön trocken tupfen aber nicht trocknen. Zuvor musst du dir am besten Sattelöl vom Pferdeausstatter holen, oder ganz einfach online bestellen. Kein Olivenöl oder so benutzen. Du gibst das Leder wieder in einen Gefrierbeutel und reibst es dort mit dem Öl ein, gieß ruhig etwas Öl hinein und lass das Leder im Öl ein paar Tage stehen. Das kann sich ruhig schön vollsaugen. Danach holst du das Leder wieder raus und tupfst es mit Zewa papier wieder ab. Danach kannst du das Leder nochmal mit Schuhledercreme einreiben zum konservieren. Wenn du das alles gemacht hast wird das Leder wieder super geschmeidig.
Wow danke für die umfangreiche Beschreibung! Das werde ich definitiv mal mit dem nächsten Lederfund probieren, bisher nie Erfolg bei der Konservierung gehabt.
@@MetalMaxWW2 Ja das ganze ist leider eine schmierige Angelegenheit, am besten ziehst du dir dafür diese Einweggummihandschuhe an, so mach ich das immer.
Very exciting. I metal detect here in the states and may I suggest carrying some handheld pruning shears in your kit. Great for the roots, just cut at each end of the hole.
The pistol that is unknown is a Spanish Ruby 7.65/.32, the wood grips rotted away. The circular slide gripping serrations are the giveaway.
Thanks a lot, surely is!
@@MetalMaxWW2 Certainly a spanish Ruby seized to the french army after June 1940. The Ruby was a regulatory pistol in the french army since WW1.
i grew up on an ex German POW camp in Scotland (named Cultybraggan) as my Grandfather was Commandant. I clicked on this thinking you might be detecting there but loved your enthusiasm so much ive subbed, thanks for the great video!
Nice finds! Love the genuine excitement in your voice!
Absolutely was hooked at watching! I kept trying to swat the mosquitos away for you! looking forward to seeing more!
Fascinating video! Thank you for sharing a bit of history...
The mosquitoes 🦟 ugh! Good job Amazing stuff
Did my best to fight through them, thanks ^^
You need ANTIBRUMM FORTE!!!! The best for Mosquitos!
Great video. I love watching your stuff!
Thank you :)
This is the first of your videos that i have found,,,you won me over by your enthusiastic reaction to the things you have found,,very cool things
This man is so exited and i love it
Excellent finds, the coins and buckles are great, would love to metal detect those woods and find such great finds.
What an adrenaline rush! Kudos to you for having already done the research/study to recognize and name many of those historical military relics as they came out of the ground. 👍
Sure was! Always an amazing feeling being the first one to take a special relic out of the ground...
Thanks, but it wasnt always like that ^^ But some years of detecting makes you familiar with most things :)
@@MetalMaxWW2I began swinging a machine in 1998 and though have spent thousands of hours digging in the dirt unearthing innumerable metal targets of treasure and junk alike here in the Southern US, at no point have I had opportunity to hunt virgin ground so abundant with military relics. You my young friend are living the dream, make no mistake about that! 👏👌I appreciate the vicarious rush experience because even that was intense. Our paths have crossed, yeah I know it's just on this digital social media platform, but nonetheless, I want to share with you a little bit of my history for an unusually relevant perspective and possibly some info of interest. You'll understand I am sure.
Twenty years or so ago I spent a year working for the Museum of East Alabama in Opelika, Alabama. My zest for metal detecting inspired the Curator to create a "Research and Recovery Team" that he so graciously appointed me to oversee. I can't remember ever being told no by anyone locally upon permission requests to detect. Alongside my two other team members, we successfully located and recovered many locally significant relics, lending a tactile enrichment to the community historical records and having a blast in the process.
Now let's step even further back in time, locally to the 1940's. During WWII, a large POW camp compound was erected not too far outside the Opelika city limits. I learned much about the imprisoned German military men of that time through the Museum held writings of the prisoners themselves and the US military men stationed as guards of the prisoners. The Museum also housed an impressive collection of complete German military uniforms, weapons, and a wide assortment of accoutrements including a humongous 50 foot wide hand sewn together out of bed sheets by many German women 'banner' swastika flag that was so big it had to draped over the side of a large building. German soldiers transported it in advance to pre designated locations of display just prior to the Fuhrer's parade style celebrated arrival for morale and photography staging purposes and it was taken down before he left and on to the next and on and on so this banner flag was moved. I saw this flag, my hands touched the flag, but I never saw it completely unfurled, just color pictures taken of it on full display in many Germany towns/cities by German military photographers. The Museum held so many German WWII items that only a third or so were displayed at a time with the entire display rotating to another set every 4 to 6 months (which was quite an undertaking as I learned firsthand twice).
During the time I was with the Museum, I scoured the internet for items being sold that were made by the German military prisoners while in the camp. The handcrafted items were usually a wooden bowl or wooden cup or something another and OPELIKA POW CAMP would be burned into or painted on the item. The internet was still a new thing, it really was, back when Alta Vista was the best internet search engine. I was a computer hardware engineer with established yahoo and ebay accounts as well so one of my many responsibilities was to locate anything historical Opelika for sale and the Curator would determine yea or nay on purchase specifics. The Museum's collection of POW crafted items more than doubled during my time there.
I do apologize for such a long comment that goes on and on. Humor me but one deep dive and of this I'll speak no more.
I read much that was available concerning the day to day living conditions of those soldiers and officers during their confinement here in the US as prisoners of war. There was not a uniformity of accommodations or prescribed procedural mannerisms. It was war. What I can say with 99.999% certainty is that those German sons and fathers, brothers and friends fighting for the Fatherland were, as happens in war, defeated, transported to the US, and for the duration of the war imprisoned in the Opelika, Alabama POW Camp where they were treated humanely and with civility the entirety of their stay and the proof of such a bold proclamation will become damn near undeniable by the time this comment of mine does actually end.
Why in the world would a country as well water small east central alabama town of many residents being just farmers, whose growth was in no small part thanks to the cotton mills industry and during that time be just a blip on the map receive a POW camp compound? There were too many farms that weren't being tended to properly because the man of the household had gone off to war and was overseas somewhere fighting the Germans. Irony! Irony that these German POWs would be daily transported by wagon to help work the fields, harvest crops, slaughter pigs, milk cows, mend fences and countless other farming tasks a normal day in the life consisted of back then. It's my understanding that the Germans were overwhelmingly appreciated, were fed all the home cooked food they could eat, cold water was made available to them at all times and in copious quantities, and were given cash money regularly (that was overlooked by their transporting guards) and were allowed to spend that money in town for food/toiletries/clothes/whatever at regular intervals. In turn because the Germans felt so appreciated and needed, they never complained of their predicament, they worked their asses off helping these primarily women farmers stave off loss, foreclosure, structure deterioration and outright utter ruination from any number of reasons. A 360 win situation arose out of such dire circumstances for all involved parties. Amazing stories of compassion and dignity were told of those times! I listened to recordings of recollections told with respect and admiration by the local resident men and women who were there and lived through it day to day, interacting with the Germans, thankful to tears for the resiliency and resolve of these men who's speech they only partially understood could rise above it all and be the man who saved the day for many folks in Opelika and the tiny satellite communities around the area. I often wondered why a studio movie was never made in commemoration.
The day did eventually arrive when the hostilities were done, the war was over, and the US returned those men held within those POW work compounds to their native homelands. An engineer and guard at the Opelika camp named John Herbert Orr was taken aback with surprise when the very last night before the scheduled departure of the Camp and return home to native Germany a couple of engineering officers under his responsibility wished to express their appreciation of the entirety of their stay that he took very good care of them and so spoke with him throughout the night divulging very detailed specifics of magnetic tape recording, a technology known in Germany for many years but to no one else in the world. They knew the specifics because they were the lead engineers of this technology. They knew that Germany would take years to rebuild to the advanced state necessary to continue on with it and rather than see it forever flounder, he could begin a successful and prosperous life and insure their life's work live on. Shortly after, the camp was closed and Mr. Orr purchased some of the empty buildings within the now defunct POW compound where though it took a few years, he did capitalize on the info shared with him which were the very beginnings of magnetic audio tape that became a media recording standard around the entire world in years to come.
My best to you in all you endeavor!
@@eddienichols209 absolutely fascinating! Thank you for taking the time to tell this story here! I'm so glad, that for whatever reason... and half through the night, I thought I'd check out the comments to this video, and ran into your sharing.
Wish you both the best!
@@SherSpirit Your comment is very much appreciated.👍
your enthusiasm is so adorable to watch haha, really interesting video!
I love hearing your excitement when you find things,
So jealous!!!! Terrific finds 👏
Hi what a really interesting video and informative the woods are beautiful many thanks for sharing your video with us
Very hyped to watch this! Thanks Max!
My pleasure :)
one time i was swimming in Lake Champlain Vermont, it was very shallow in the private section of the lake i was in and i found a Winchester rifle with all the wood there, the barrel was in two pieces but the water must have somehow preserved the wood through a hundred years, i gave it too my grandparents who live there.
I was studying the battle of Anzio, just walking the ground. Found some old foxholes. Moved some leaves and there, big as day, was an anti-personnel mine. Be careful, my friend.
Great finds! I wish that you did more frequent videos... 🤠🌵🌵🌵🍺
Dude I'm so jealous, you found more amazing war stuff detecting in a day than I found in the past 3 months and I've been going detecting like every other day. I need to go detecting in Germany one day, Czechia where I live is way too looted by other detectorists 😄. But congratulations, these are genuinely incredible finds!
Well, its not like Germany isnt looted Haha. The past years many people started with the hobby and ww2 detectorists are most common. You gotta know secret spots like this one where no one has ever been. Other than that it's pretty moderate and frustrating as well ^^'
Thanks for watching
@@MetalMaxWW2 How do you even find spots like that? Just look on maps for a place where there was fighting and just walk for kilometers and kilometers hoping to find something? I've been feeling pretty burned out the past few weeks as every place I go to in Czechia is either looted and only has ammo and bomb shrapnel or there's nothing at all on the spot almost as if there was no fighting there.
And I can't believe you have so few subscribers, your videos are pretty awesome. I'll be binge watching them when I need some metal detecting content 😄
I personally have never detected a spot where there was fighting. Only surrender areas. Battlefields are highly illegal here most of the time and you can get in trouble. Plus shrapnel is annoying.
You just gotta test new spots here and there and see if there are traces of the timeframe. Persistence is key!
@@MetalMaxWW2 Ah I had no idea it was illegal to detect on battlefields in Germany, but I guess it makes sense. I found 3 live sprenggranades, 1 mortar and 1 soviet F1 grenade just in the past month lol.
I would love to detect surrender areas but almost all of them are in the western side of the country, since the Germans absolutely didn't want to be captured by the Soviets and most are like a 4 hour drive so battlefields are the only realistic option for me. But I guess could make it a small weekend trip and go search alongside one of the surrender roads 😀
Haha sure, give it a shot ^^
Or some random woods close to you, you never know!
Fascinating video, now a subscriber, just love your enthusiasm. Mike in the U.K.
This guy needs more subs man, entertaining content!
i doscovered your chanell just yesterday and i have been addicted to your videos ever since. love your content!
Thanks a lot!
Wow cool finds !! Thanks for sharing.
This is a very good video nice👍
The 'bayonet' you found beside the hole looked like a regular file, with the tang at the bottom. I'm convinced it was and I'm surprised you didn't notice that.
I have found K98 Bayonet blades or just regular bayonet blades that looked exactly like that when the grip was missing... that's why I thought it was
thank you for doing your videos they are so cool and entertaining.
thak you can i metal detect with you one day 🥹
Dude !!! American here . . . I absolutely loved watching your video's !!!! My fav part "What is going on with this place" hahahaha. So good man !!! Keep up the good work, I wished I could explore those places as well. Great finds
Thank you so much for the kind words, motivates me to make more :)
Cheers from Germany
It appears you've found a place where German Troops, dug holes to bury everything and anything that would be taken if captured, once the writing was on the wall that the end was near. I'd get a magnet fishing rig and fish that swamp near the camp for items that would have taken too long to bury, may have been just tossed in for a quick fix, bayonets rifles, crew served weapons, ammo, etc. I saw a video of a Tank they suggested was drove into the swamp and submerged so it wouldn't be captured . It came out in pretty good shape considering. Who knows maybe the stuff your finding, some were looking to come back and reclaim but never did. The belt you found, maybe try submerging it in clean motor oil for a time, oil should penetrate the pours of the leather and perhaps save it, worth a shot. If not maybe try saddle soap. Keep the videos coming, good stuff.
Awesome I am happy for you. Keep up the great searching
NJ Chuck
😜
So glad you’re back. If only RUclips allowed me to comment on videos again.
Well you did comment now, thanks for watching!
The first blade you found is definitly not of a K98 bayonet, if you compare it with the other example - on the K98k one the blade is one part with the butt, the seperate blade you found is more likely of a saber.
Looks like a file to me.and since it was on top, it is probably way newer than the 40s.
That first coin being in the dirt for what, 60-70 years, and looking that good is amazing! 🤯💪💪
Vielen dank :) war sehr schon dein abenteuer irgendiwie mit zu erleben, Viele guesse aus Kanada :)
Thanks, greetings from Germany :)
Awesome finds, imagine what that place would have looked like right after the war.
Another great video Max I always enjoy watching you discover historical relics.
GOOD FINDS Hunter!!!! May ALL of your finds be full of history
I believe that was a file you found before the broken bayonet.
That place is amazing! So much good stuff there. Maybe the big buckle was for a horse saddle?
Mega Funde! Bei den ganzen Mücken hab ich instant Juckreiz bekommen 😅
Oh ja, die nächsten Tage waren absolut unerträglich ._.
@@MetalMaxWW2 das war es wert👍
Amazingly interesting finds Max 🎉🎉🎉
Thanks :)
The porcelain you are messing with could also be radioactive. They use to use Uranium ore in the glaze of porcelain before they knew better. There is a youtuber that goes into antique stores and finds radioactive antique porcelain all the time.
WOW that was amazing how you were able to find so much. Good luck with your future digging of the WW11 woods. My first time watching 👀 Thanks for the fun of watching you.
Thanks for watching and commenting!
The men were scouting around to find perfect places for them to dig in and for Battles before they started war. Pre-War eras.:) Awesome, Amazing how good the pieces are thru the years after wars. That big buckle is from the head guys that use the on uniforms like Generals, Lt Generals.
Love these channels. Hope to one day metal detect out in the woods of Europe.
so glad i found your channel this was so interesting ..... subscribed!
The small leather strap and the large buckle with leather attached I believe are from horses. Reins and pack straps. Might go along with the horse shoe.
I know I'm not the only one who reflexively looked around for mosquitos when they were buzzing around him, haha!
breathtaking finds my friend! thank you for sharing this with us. Glad I found your channel, subscribed with the bell!
Great job again my friend! I usually find pocket watch back parts too, most likely these were taken apart by soviet soldiers who looted them. Oh and those Reichsmark coins, I haven't found one yet, but bought one..they are some big fat silver coins😁
Haha yeah they're tough to find, but some of the most beautiful coins :)
Big fat Paul
Those mosquitos buzzing around you gives me anxiety lol.
I'm a mosquito magnet.
Great finds!
Schönes Video!
Die Koppeln sind klasse💪🏻
20:40 das war wahrscheinlich ein Feuerwehrgürtel, die sind so breit weil da bei moderneren eine fallsicherung und bei älteren halt eine art sicherungsseil dran ist und die also den Träger halten müssen und wenn der halt normalbreit wäre wäre er eventuell zu schwach und würde wahrscheinlich auch ziemlich einschneiden. Würde mit dem Feuerwehr Koppelaufsatz auch sinn machen.
Holy cow! Awesome finds Max. We can call you the coin master after this hunt! That was one great looking Luftwaffe buckle. Looking forward to the next one.
Haha certainly :)
Smol Reichsmark hoard, there where even more!
Grinded buckles are better than no buckles!
For sure!
Well done Max!
Thanks Ross :)
@@MetalMaxWW2 👍🏻
wow what amazing finds, Definity some history there,
I would get a small pair if clippers to help get through the roots, they seem to be hindering your efforts.
Looking forward to the next one.
Not a bad idea! I do have a digging knife with a saw-blade which I usually use for those occasions, but I forget it everytime Haha
Thanks for watching
@@MetalMaxWW2 I have a ratcheting clipper I use. It will go through a 3/4 in (US) branch in a few clicks.
Try vegetable oil/olive oil for preserving leather. I know it really works well on old baseball gloves.
Hmm sounds intresting, could give it a try!
Great hunt and excellent video.
The mystery pipe is a hull of an Thermometer which would fit on an engine,
So schoen wie viel freude das suchen dir gibt und uch kann mir nur vorstellen wenn du so was selteness findest!
Great video.Fantastic finds.
haha coole Funde was du hier gefunden hast. Gehe auch oft und finde es auch immer wieder sehr spannend was noch alles im Boden liegt :)
glg
recommend a painters scraper, has become my go to in the trench.
You react just like our detectors in the U.S.! So funny! And salute to you for braving those mosquitos!
Love your channel ❤
Note:
1. ground off (grind, ground, ground)
2. The buckle has the 'military insignia' stamped on it.
Since you asked 😊
Thanks a lot for the correction, learning something new everyday ^^
Was cool.
Love your work mate
Great finds!
That huge belt buckle should have been for a horse saddle. Fur pferde schnaller.
Likely what it is, thank you!
@Metal Max bitte shoen. Your welcome. I found a cache of 3 Mauser rifles, 2 Stahlhelm a SA dagger, k98 bayonet, SA belt, insignias, buttons and about 150 bullets in my small town when I was living in Germany.
Bonsoir bravo 👏 pour tes découvertes et bonne fête
I love your channel absolutely.Love it you're enthusiasm every time you find something I would be the same way. I would.
Love to have something like this With the German swash sticker. That would be awesome. What a historic find. I'm gonna spread this channel on my social media to get you some more followers my friend. Absolutely, phenomenal channel. One of your biggest fans USA GMC guy.❤❤❤❤
Thanks a lot for the kind words, appreciate your support :)
@MetalMaxWW2 ANY time Bro WE CANT WAIT FOR OTHER VIDEO UPLOAD FROM YOUR CHANNEL. CANT WAIT WE HOPE YOU DO ONE SOON . MUCH LOVE FROM THE STATES ❤️🤍💙
Can’t believe you only have 12k subs! Top notch video and I’ve made sure to subscribe
Thanks a lot!
There is some leather conditioners on the market. I've found that a thicker conditioner, which takes longer to be exorbed, left for about a month or more, than wiped with a clean soft cloth followed by a leather sealer, should help. A good shoe store that carries men's leather boots, is most likely where you can find the conditioner. It should be about density of grease for bearings.
I'm no expert in leather (in my opinion) but I have more than 55 years of working leather.
Awesome finds! I really enjoyed your video.
@Metal Max That last pistol is a Colt 1911, american made standard sidearm
Clean the leather then put it in oil for two days. Maybe Walnut oil. This will be a good way to rehydrate it. After a couple of days, take it out and let it drip dry. Repeat this process again and then, when it's nice and flexible, give it a proper clean/scrub. Shine it up.
How viable would a grenade be still or a mine maybe? There are plenty of RUclips channels that would restore those weapons to like new perhaps the Karabiner 98.
Well first of all explosives are not to mess with so yeah...
A relic K98 would probably go for like 50 bucks on the polish markets, but what do I know... never bought/sold anything and weapons/weapon parts are illegal to keep either way.
23:15 that is not a bayonet that is a metal file. Probably used by engineers and support crew to fix tanks and equipment.
If memory serves you dont often find the innards with he watches because the innards are what was worth money, so people smashed them and took the mechanisms
This video saved me almost $500. I was seconds away from hitting "complete purchase" on Amazon when I decided to youtube "best metal detector finds". Literally NONE of them are from America, going back at least 5 years. If you want metal detecting for hobby, profit, or to scratch the history itch then you should really live on another continent. Thanks for putting out videos from places I could never go and thus saving me money, time, and frustration.
There is a huge amount of detectorists in america. Look on the r/metaldetecting reddit. Great stuff can be found over there too...
Ordentlich abgeräumt 👍👍👍
Glückwunsch 🙏
The holes in the coin you found was from someone trying to slowly stock up on silver from coins people used to also cut edges off of coins and that's another reason why they have ridges so that if it was cut they wouldn't have value outside of its weight in silver the coin itself would be "worthless". I'm meant back in the day nowadays I wouldn't care absolutely beautiful peice of history
This is an enjoyable outing... and I didn't even have to swat away the mosquitos. Its been 75 years since the war ended, makes me wonder what the terrain was before, since those pine trees are only 20 or less years old. I have not been in Deutchland for years, but it was always the cleanest and most civilized part of middle Europe, Spain is dirty and backward, France is weird with the people refusing to even sell you a loaf of bread if you don't squeeze out some French... I think they resent foreigners like Americans, can't say I blame them too much, so many of us are uncouth and stupid. I want to return to visit the places I have not visited yet, more places in Bavaria and onward to one of my favorite places, Switzerland. I may even spend a day or two trudging around in the woods with a folding trench shovel and detector.
Outstanding finds. I actuall y found a German 5 Reich Marc here in Texas this year at an old demoed house site.. Turns out there were German P.O.W. camps in the area back then and they were used to build houses and work the fields since most American men were off in the war. Very possible it was dropped by one of the P.O.W.s.
Nice items from WW2, you speak english very well , greetings from Puerto Rico ( US possesion)!
Yeah that one thing is definitely a metal file.
Amazing stuff. Love it.