Metal detector seeks to find medal’s owner

ENCINITAS – Her obsession with metal detecting has unearthed hundreds, if not thousands of items that people have lost, dropped or that time has forgotten.

Apart from the loose change and discarded soda can tabs, some of the items that Peggy Higgins has found over the years have captured her imagination.

One such item – a 14 karat gold St. Christopher medal she discovered about three weeks ago in Cottonwood Creek Park.

The medal features the figure of St. Christopher carrying the Christ child on his shoulders. In the background is an image of a large ship.

Higgins found the medal, which also had two keys attached to what was left of the golden necklace and clasp, in an hour’s worth sweep of her metal detector.

Ever since she found it, there’s been something nagging her about the medal. She knows it must have an owner because of an inscription on the back.

“It’s kind of a woman’s intuition,” Higgins said. “I feel like there’s more to this story, so I’d like to get it back to the owner.”

She found the medal and keys about three inches down in the ground. She thinks it’s been there for about six months.

“It’s definitely been worn,” she said. Higgins could tell by the wear patterns on the medal. “Because when you start wearing down gold, you know that means a lot to them.”

Higgins asked the park host if anyone had been looking for it, but she was told no one had come to ask about it.

If someone recognizes the medal or knows who the owner might be, contact Higgins at [email protected].