I was desperate to hunt this afternoon, but consider myself to be somewhat “out of good spots” to hunt. So, I decided to head down to one of my trusty old spots that has produced for me before.

The ground was full of junk. I mean, full of junk. But in a large clear area I noticed a rough circle of stones that was slightly elevated. So, I says to myself, “That looks like an old foundation or cellar hole.” So I slowed down and really started to hunt the spot.

The first thing I found was a gorgeous piece of monogrammed sterling silver jewelry … a hairpiece or something. I’ll have to get some help on identification later.

But about a half hour later I hit on a signal that my Garrett ID’d as a half-dollar at two inches. I dug, and out popped a Draped Bust Large Cent! Boys, the dance was ugly. It was my first U.S. large copper. I would learn later at home, under bright light and magnification, that it is an 1801!!!

Then … about a half-hour later, I hit another similar signal. This one, also at two inches, was an 1851 large cent! My heart jumped into my throat because I thought for a moment, when I saw the head, that it was a gold coin …

Anyhow … it was an awesome afternoon. Two large coppers on a single hunt (and until today I had never found one). I’m still shaking. And I almost forgot about the undated wheat penny I found, #99 for me this year!

Here are the front and back pics … the 1801 Draped Bust is on the left, and the 1851 is on the right …

What an awesome afternoon! Thanks for looking!

Geoff

So … I’m getting ready to leave town for a while. I have some doctoral seminars starting next Monday in Portland. And they say the weather is going to turn nasty on Saturday. So, I decided to make this an all-day MD marathon.

Since I needed to visit the jeweler in a nearby town to check out my (non)diamond from the other day, I went ahead and hit a couple of city park tot lots. Had some good digs.

80 coins for a total of $4.67 in clad.

But the real fun came this afternoon …

Yesterday, while talking to a woman at our local hospital, I found out about a place close to downtown Cadiz, right on the banks of the Little River. There were once several large, majestic homes along the old street that runs by the river. It is public land now, and part of it was altered when the new highway came through town. But the old sidewalk is still in place, and there are old walkways leading to the original home sites.

I drove to the spot yesterday and started foaming at the mouth … I had to get at it. But I thought that it most surely has been hunted before.

So I was most excited and anxious when I parked and began hunting this afternoon. I hadn’t been out of my truck five minutes, and had only walked about ten feet along the old sidewalk when I hit a loud quarter signal at four inches. I cut a plug, and saw this piece of sweetness staring at me from the bottom of it …

A 1916-D, in Fine condition (based upon the LIBERTY on the headband). A little silver tarnish/discoloration, but still a beautiful coin. My first Barber quarter!!! Needles to say, I did the happy dance.

But hunt as I might, that was the only piece of silver that I found this afternoon. But I was only able to hunt a portion of what used to be a front yard. I know there’s more there. But it is a HUGE piece of ground. It will take me weeks to hunt it well.

But in that one yard I found these 8 wheaties …

1916, 1925, 1927, 1930, 1945, 1950, 1952-D (x2)
Gets my Wheat count up to 30 so far in 2009.

I also found this completely awesome Rotary Medallion … a 50-year memorial given in 1955.

Altogether, it was an awesome, awesome day! My back hurts really bad, but it was worth it.

Thanks for looking!

Geoff

It was mighty cold today, but a beautiful sun-filled day. So I set out to hit a couple of tot lots in a nearby town. I’ve had my eye on them for a while, and I knew they would be easy digs after all of the heavy freezes we’ve been having.

Well, I had a GREAT day for me. I found 107 coins total, $6.01 in clad (including eight nickels, most ever for me). But I’m most excited about the extra stuff.

I found a live round, 9mm Luger. I also found a cool key pendant and an eagle pendant. I found one ring (strictly junk) with a black stone. And the star is pretty interesting … maybe a general was playing in the tot lot?!!

But the best stuff is at the bottom.

I found a small, smooth, round pendant stamped 925 MEX. Cool! Sterling!

But the earring is the one I’m holding my breath for. I can’t find any stamp on the mount, but it appears to be gold (the mount for the post is very soft, the metal allows it to move). I will be getting the stone checked out tomorrow. My wife says that it is not a real diamond. I asked her how she knew, and she said, “Because you found it on a playground.” I think there may be a flaw in her logic.

I’m working on the assumption that it is not a real diamond. But if it is … it is HUGE. (I’ve included a dime for reference.)

Here are my pictures. Thanks for looking. It was GREAT to get out today!

***UPDATE — The diamond is a fake.  Oh, well …

I hunted for three hours this afternoon at a new location. It is a house built around 1900, and it is located next door to the house where I found my oldest coin. It is a rather large property, so it will take me several visits to hunt it thoroughly. I only finished a small portion of the front yard today.

The main difficulty is that there is lots of junk. I dug eight carcasses of matchbox cars (or matchbox knock-offs). I only managed a few cents in clad. Interestingly, I found four copper Lincolns neatly stacked upon one another in one hole. They all have a beautiful green copper patina. But I got skunked on old coinage and silver. None to be found.

But the prize-winner for my hunt today is this interesting whatzit. It measures approximately one and a half inches square, and appears to have had an encounter with a lawn mower.

It appears to be some form of jewelry with holes near each corner. One still has a ring attached. When I pulled it out of the hole, I thought, “Cool … Incan treasure.” Indeed, the face looks like the Incan warriors I have seen portrayed on pottery and art in Peru.

But when I turned it over I discovered that I really did find a piece of Incan treasure … a little .925 Peruvian silver!

Maybe I’ll discover some older coins tomorrow.

It’s been over two weeks since I’ve been able to do any MDing. Extreme cold, compounded by an ice storm, put the clamps on my swinging. But today we had sunshine and 61 degrees in Western Kentucky. Glory!!

So I got out for two hours at the end of the day. I hit a site where an early 20th century farmhouse has recently been torn down. It was tough hunting. Lots of junk, and lots of limbs and debris on the ground everywhere. But I found a few cool things in my short two hours.

I found an old pocketwatch (small) that had a little glass on it, but it crumbled and fell off as I lifted it from the ground. Also found 47 cents in clad, a brass thimble from a Monopoly game, a small metal ball that read as a penny on my Garrett, and a medal. Here’s a picture.

The coolest item of all is the medal. It appears to be copper, based on the red oxidation on the front and a small amount of green copper patina on the back. Interestingly, the entire medal apparently was electroplated with 14k gold (you can still see the gold on the details of the face). The back is stamped, “Guaranteed 14K Gold Plated.” I’m not sure what the medal was for. I tried to locate another one like it online, but was unsuccessful. Here’s a close-up.

Thanks for looking. It was great to finally get out after a two-week hiatus. But I’ll be hitting the ground hard tomorrow!!

I spent six hours today hunting this house.

It is the Futrell House Bed and Breakfast, located on historic Main Street in Cadiz, Kentucky. The owner is a friend of mine, Gary Polete.

The house was built sometime in the 1870’s by a town physician. His twin brother, also a doctor, owned the house next door (to the left). I went there today with high expectations of silver … but it was not to be.
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I managed to scrape 4 Wheat Pennies out of the ground – 1914, 1920, 1929, & 1958-D (a crying shame that 1914 didn’t have a “D” on it ), along with 15 other Lincoln memorials and two clad dimes (a grand total of 35 cents clad).

I was starting to think that the place has been hunted before, but as the day progressed and I began to find the Wheats, I started to wonder.

Then the cool relics started to appear.

First was this flat button. It still has green gilt over half the front. It measures 19 mm and reads, “EXTRA RICH GILT” on the back. It’s my first-ever flat button. I did the happy dance.

Then about an hour later I dug this button. I almost had an out-of-body experience. It is a 22mm uniform button with the state crest of Ohio on it. How did it come to be in this front yard? I have not a clue. I’m not quite sure of the period it came from, or what kind of uniform. I’ll post it in the identification section.

Then about a half-hour before dark I dug this little baby. It is an oxidized slug, single-groove, 9mm in diameter and 14mm in length. I’ve never seen one so small before.

SO, not a lot of coins, but plenty of awesome stuff. Enough to make me go back. I still have lots of yard to hit there. And Gary introduced me to the neighbors who own the other old doctor’s house. They gave me permission to hunt their property, too.

Here’s a picture of all my finds, including a copper-ish “whatsit.” Thanks for reading.

Geoff