I found an old wheel while metal detecting......?

Question

i found an old wheel while metal detecting and i was curious to see what you guys thought as to how old it might be. the wheel looks like it's iron maybe and has slotted notches on the inside of the it like it was a gear wheel or something. it was made by "great states" corp. and they have been in business since 1893 and they manufacture lawn/ farm equipment. i found another piece similiar to the one i have in question and it said richmond ind. on it but both have s8 on it or something to that nature. the ground it was found in is basically flat. there might be a slight slope but not much of one at all. how long do you think it would take for the earth to cover up something like that in about 5 inches of hard packed dirt? in your opinion how old do you think it might be in accordance to the information i've given you? just curious to see what you guys have to say. thanks

Answer 1

Really hard to say. It would likely be 50 years or so.

They are still making push type reel mowers, and what you are describing is a drive wheel from one.

The problem with trying to guess age by depth of burial on something like that is that I have no idea if it was in fill, left on the surface or deliberately covered up.

I also have no idea what the soil is like for being hard or soft.

There is also no way of knowing how old it was before getting thrown away.

Maybe if you look through old parts and product catalogues it can be identified. One thing that might help is if you can figure out if it ever had a rubber tore on it.

That might help you date when it was made a bit.