112 Coins Today! A Great Start for 2009!

An all-round great day. My highest coin total ever, and some wheaties and silver to boot!

Here’s my story …

This morning I hunted a small section of ground outside the entrance of our local high school gymnasium. Here is a picture:

I hunted this small area (stayed inside the walkways) for 2 1/2 hours this morning and found 51 coins, all clad, totaling $4.13. I found a junker ring, too, but forgot to put it in the picture. Here are my finds:

This afternoon I hunted the front yard of one of my church members. The house was built in 1938, and I thought it should hold promise of silver and wheaties. Here is a picture:

Well … it didn’t disappoint …
I found 50 clads totaling $1.88. I also found 9 Wheat Pennies, including a 1927, 1946(2), 1946-D, 1947,1950-D, 1955-D(2), and a 1956-D. Interestingly, I found 22 pennies in one hole (a space approximately 12 x 12 inches).

I also struck silver on my first day out for the new year! I found a 1944 Merc in the hole with two wheaties. Then I found a 1946 Washington quarter as I was making my way to the truck to leave. Awesome!! I also dug a beautiful old brass skeleton key. Here is a picture of my finds, and a close-up of the silver, wheaties, and key.

Altogether for the day I dug 112 coins. $6.01 in clad, two silvers, and nine wheaties.

I’ll take that for a start to 2009!

Only My Best Day … EVER!

So I woke up this morning hankering to hunt, only I wasn’t sure where to go. I finally decided to hit this humble little yard one more time. (The sweetest little 85-year-old woman lives there, and she loves it when I stop by.)

This little yard has been good to me … it already gave me five silver coins and five wheaties. But I had never hunted it with my new Garrett GTP 1350, so I decided to try one more time. Boy, was I glad.

In a short three hours this yard gifted me with six new silver coins, four Mercury dimes (1919, 1941-D, 1941-S, 1942) and two Washington quarters (1942 & 1954). Unbelievably, the two 1941 Mercs and the 1942 Washington came out of the same hole! And the 1942 Merc and 1954 Washington came out of the same hole! The heavily-worn 1919 came out of its own hole. My Garrett found it even though it was lodged against a large root. The yard also gave me three good Wheat Pennies (1924, 1927, 1944) and another 51 cents in clad. Here is a picture of my finds:

The ring appears to be copper. The silver plated spoon was every bit of ten inches deep in the back yard. Here’s a close-up of the ring.

Altogether, this little yard has yielded eleven silver coins. Unbelievable!

Then, since I was on a “silver high,” I decided to go back out this afternoon. My youngest daughter went with me, and we chose to hunt the tot lot at our local city park (our only city park). The lot is sand, so it is super easy to dig. 29 coins, most of them pennies, and all of them “new” money. But we also found this rockin’ old Matchbox car, and two rings. Here’s a picture of our finds:

The gold-colored ring is not gold. It’s a gum machine quality kid’s ring. But, hey, it’s still a ring. The other one, however, is a beautiful sterling silver rope ring. My kid claimed that one. Here’s a close-up:

Altogether, my day produced 48 coins (six of them silver), three rings (one of them silver), and $1.81 in clad.

Makes me want to go swingin’ again tomorrow!

__________________
NOOB: Hunting Since 11.24.08 / Garrett GTP 1350 & Pro Pointer / Oldest Coin – 1912 Barber Dime / Silver Coins – 14 / Coin Count – 181/ Clad Total – $13.81 / Ring Count – 5

My First Merc!

It’s cloudy and cold in Western Kentucky. We still have a little sleet/snow on the ground, but everything is starting to melt. I caught temperatures around forty degrees, so I donned my coveralls and headed out to hunt a new site.

I spent about 2 1/2 working the yard of this house. It lies on Main Street in my hometown. It’s actually owned by the school system and used for one of their office buildings. I’m not sure of the year of construction, but it looks to me like maybe the 1920’s, if not sooner.

I was getting a bit frustrated with all clad. I was sure that this yard should be holding some silver. Then I hit a good signal along the near side (photo) of the walkway. I did the happy dance when I pulled my first Mercury Dime (1940-S) out of the ground. A short time later I found a 1944 Washington Quarter near a large tree (left side of photo). Here’s the silver.

And here is my overall take, including $1.58 in clad and a brand new torch lighter.

I’m not sure what the four thingies at the top of the picture are.

Altogether an AWESOME 2 1/2 hours … despite the snow, mud, and cold. Can’t think of anything else I’d rather do.

New Machine on the Way!

I’ve gotten the go-ahead from the wife to use my Christmas bonus cash to buy me an upgrade … which is a huge deal, considering I’ve only been swinging for about a month with my little Bounty Hunter.

But as soon as she gave affirmation, I was on the phone. Found this sweet deal from Kellyco, with lots of extras. It’s a Garrett GTP 1350.  Hope to have it under my tree by Christmas.

Keeping Up With Statistics

Hunting Since 11.24.08 / Bounty Hunter Quicksilver / Oldest Coin – 1912 Barber Dime / Silver Coins – 6 / Coin Count – 73 / Clad Total – $6.51 / Ring Count – 2

I have these statistics on my signature over at the Friendly Metal Detector Forum.  I’ve decided to add this “signature” to the beginning of each of my posts.  With each hunt I will update my totals.  This will allow me to track finds over time.

Something New – The School Grounds

I hit a new spot for me today. One of my friends who works in the local school system showed me the location of the original football field and bleachers. I started working the location at about 1:45 this afternoon. I dug for about an hour and found a few clad coins, but nothing old.  I did find a ring.  It’s nothing special … just some costume jewelry.  But, hey … it’s a ring … and it counts!

I only had about another 45 minutes to hunt before an afternoon meeting at church, so I walked over to the middle school playground, set my detector to shallow, and started working it.

I have a backache from bending over so much. No actual silver, but I picked up 25 coins today … my most ever in a single outing, totaling $3.45 in clad … and most of it is in good shape. I’m going to hit that playground once every couple of months from now on.

Gotta love those wood chips! But bring your pinpointer …

Here’s a pic …

Little Yards Still Producing

I have pretty much spent all of my time these last three weeks in two very small yards in an older part of my hometown. Here is a picture of the humble little yards.

They are truly very small – only about a 20 x 30 piece of ground on each side of the front door walkways. The far house is actually smaller. Yet, despite their diminutive sizes, they have yielded about twenty coins … five of them silver … prior to today.

So I decided to hit them one more time. I caught temps around 45, grabbed my stuff, and took off. I hunted for about three hours this afternoon. Less than five minutes after I arrived I hit another good signal beside the sidewalk. I had to dig deep, and actually had to angle underneath the sidewalk a bit. But I finally found my target – a beautiful 1947 Roosevelt dime. Another silver coin! That makes four outings in a row (not counting the couple of hours I tried at the old house owned by the school) that I have struck silver. (Still having a bit of an “out of body” experience. )

After about an hour I hit another good signal behind the foreground house … then another … and then another. I dug three clad quarters within five minutes, all of them within this tiny spot between the driveway and two walkways.

Two are 1965’s (the year of my birth) and the other is a 1983 (the year I graduated high school). Pretty cool.

So … all in all another great silver-yielding day. The weathermen are saying that we’re in for an ice storm over the next few days, so it may be a while before I can hunt again.

Here are my finds from today …

BTW … the Lesche Digger is awesome!

My Oldest Coin Ever!

It was a day of firsts for me …

This afternoon I stole away for a couple of hours to hunt the property next door to where I made my first silver finds. it is another WWII era home. Definitely virgin ground – signals all over the place.

I wasn’t there five minutes when I found my first coin – a 1946 wheatie. About ten minutes later I caught a whisper of a coin signal and dug deep. I finally made contact with my pinpointer and felt my heart jump into my throat when I rolled over a silver dime with that beautiful Barber head on it. A 1912! My oldest coin in my three-week MDing career.  My first Barber.

I also found my first Buffalo Nickel – I believe it’s a 1920, but it’s going into the olive oil for a while just to be sure.

And I found my first-ever half-dollar. A 1971-D Kennedy. Clad, but hey – it’s worth 50 cents!

I finished out the day with a ho-hum 1977-D penny. And I finally gave up. Two hours in the 35 degree weater and wind were all I could take.

Here is a pic of my finds today. Enjoy!

Hunted Old House Owned by School System

Our local school system owns an old house on Main Street, right across from the High School.  It’s probably 1920’s construction.  The building was used as the “bus barn” offices for several years.  The front yard was altered by adding on a big concrete slab.  Also, there is no sidewalk in front of it.  I was hoping to find some silver, but could find nothing old.  Only 60 cents in clad, mainly along the driveway and near the back door.  I think all of the coins were employee drops over the years.

Oh, well … gave it a try.  Something different.  I think I’ll go back to the house where I hit silver.  Also, one of my church members owns the house next door – built around the same time.  I’ll see if I can get permission to hunt that one, too.

New Lesche Digger

I’ve about worn a hole in my hand with the little digger that came with my metal detector.  So I did a little research and ordered a Lesche Digger.  It finally arrived, an it is a BEAST of a digger.  Can’t wait to put it to use…