Tin but no clue?

[Fortune Seeker]

Found this the other day down 24" with the 7000. From what I can gather, it's from Bow Lane Cheapside London. Tobacco? Pills? Lollies? anything else?
Any help will be greatly appreciated

 

[silver]

What was in it FS,... just the dust from broken down 10 pound notes ? let's hope not,... if it wasn't full of coins, let's hope that the next one is for you, interesting tin all the same though.

 

[stoyve]

Wow, love the tin but I guess it was a double disappointment ,
1. You dig 2ft only to find a tin box.
2.You find a tin box 2ft deep and it's not a hidden stash.
But hey, 7000 is going to pay off big tme I'm sure.
Good luck fortune seeker.
Cheers Steve

 

[stoyve]

Haa, you just beat me to it silver

 

[Fortune Seeker]

It was full of 150 year old air! Not even the dirt had got in. When I saw it still stuck in the clay at the bottom of the hole I did say to myself, hope it's full of little nuggets or sovereigns. I do get a kick out of finding little bits of history, even if they have no monetary value. Then I get a headache wondering what the story is attached to such finds :/

 

[cairnspom]

Cant tell from the photo....can you make out any of the name?

 

[gcause]

Hi Fortune,

Heres some background info on Bows Lane:

Bow Lane ran north-south between Cheapside and Old Fish Street in the ward of Cordwainer Street. At Watling Street, it became Cordwainer Street, and at Old Fish Street it became Garlick Hill. Garlick Hill-Bow Lane was built in the 890s to provide access from the port of Queenhithe to the great market of Cheapside (Sheppard 7071). The name "Bow Lane" was given to the street some time after the church of St. Mary-le-Bow was built on the south-west corner of Bow Lane and Cheapside; the crypt of this church was built ca. 1070-1090, and the church, originally given the name of St. Mary de Arcubus, was being called St. Mary-le-Bow by c. 1270 (Richardson 11).
Bow Lane was the dividing line between Cordwainer Street Ward and Cheap Ward.

http://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/BOWL1.htm

If you can work out that name at the top:

Something & Roark by the look of it.

That may give a clue as to what it contained.

Cheers,

Grant

 

[casper]

maybe it contained wax vestas?

casper

 

[gcause]

Could well be Matches Casper but if it were the tin would have some marks on the bottom or side of it which were used as a striker for the matches.

 

[cairnspom]

also be good if youcan give some sizes

 

[Fortune Seeker]

70x40x23mm The name at the top looks to be 2 words of 5 letters each. Perhaps starting with a B, H, N or an R and the second word ending with a K. It's very difficult to work out any of the letters clearly.

 

[lucky streak]

Well its from London maybe from the convicts back in the 1800

 

[Sandta]

My guess would be biscuits ... Possibly toffee's, but doubt there would have been too many 'toffs' around at that time :lol:

 

[gcause]

Hi Fortune,

Is there a photo of the bottom of the tin?

If its a matches tin there would normally be a small rectangular indent with dimples on it to act as a striker. Sometimes it is on the side of the tin.

Cheers,

Grant

 

[Wally69]

Definitely a tin manufacturing company by the name of Stark operating about 1850s from Bow Lane, Cheapside.

if it is Stark, it could be a generic box for provisions or a box filled by one of his neighbours who packaged art supplies and haberdashery. Am thinking the size may suit a sewing kit and based on the amount of buttons and thimbles I have found on the goldfield, may not be a bad guess either. Why it is not filled with gold or coins is the real mystery.

A soak in olive oil may help clean the top line up enough to get a better indication of the company name.

 

[Fortune Seeker]

Thanks everyone for the input. The bottom and sides of the tin is smooth apart from the corrosion. It looks all the world like it is gold plated. I'll try the oil trick and see if anything further turns up.