I am blessed with wonderful friends.
Brad...who I met through Dave-IL...and who got us permission to hunt the haunted church a few weeks back...located a site for us on some property he owns. He told us it used to be a filling station...then had an area next to it where they used to have dances...and the place thrived from 1925 thru the late 40's.
I was excited about the research Brad had done...and that he had invited Dave and I to hunt...but didn't expect to find anything because it was in the middle of a cornfield.
It didn't matter though because it's all about the friendship and fun to me. If the finds come...SWEET. If they don't...who cares...'cause I'm having fun doing what I love.
Anyway Dave and I pulled in to Brad's farm and were ready to hunt.
I wanted to get a pic of "Hayseed Hank" and "Hillbilly Jim"
...errr I mean Brad and Dave... before we got started...so I snapped this shot.
[attachment 174053 fieldhunt2.jpg]
Brad said he had a couple of lose ends to tie up in the shed before we made the trek through the field to the site.
In the meantime I loaded our equipment in the truck while Dave was helping Brad with something.
About that time Dana pulled up and made a food/drink run for us and was going to meet us at the site.
It was then that I truly realized what a super nice guy Brad was.
He hopped on his backhoe and drove it to the site...where he scraped as much of the stalks off as he could .
He worked it for nearly 30 minutes...until Dave and I had a pretty clean shot at the ground.
[attachment 174055 fieldhunt4.jpg]
He cleared us off a good area the size of a gymnasium then hopped off the backhoe and showed us the detoriated concrete area where the gas pumps once stood.
Fellers'...Brad and Dana are just "good people"..plain and simple.
He researched the site...located it on his property...invited us to hunt...worked his backhoe for 30 minutes clearing a section for us...and in the meantime his wife went on a food run for us. What more could a guy ask for?
About the time Brad got us a spot cleared for huntin'...Dana arrived with the food. I told you fellers' that we like to hammer some pizza at every given opportunity.
In this case the excitement of a new site got the best of me so with only 2 hours of daylight left I decided to skip eating in favor of hunting. Not Dave and Brad though...man they were shoveling it in like there was no tomorrow.
[attachment 174056 fieldhunt5.jpg]
I began hunting...and trying to figure out where the boundary lines were to the old station. I could see where the old gas pumps were...then started to vizualize in my mind where most of the other activities took place. I started at the pumps and worked outward hoping to hit some coins.
Before long I found my first coin... a wheatie barely 2" deep...so I knew I was going to have to dig everything no mater what the depth was.
After another wheatie I got a sweet shallow, HIGH screamer so I stuck the Lesche in the ground to pop it out. Sure enough...a silver Washington popped up on edge right in the center of where the Lesche broke the ground. Man was it gray..as you can see it on edge right in the center of the digger.
[attachment 174057 fieldhunt9.jpg]
A few minutes later I popped out my third wheatie from about 6" at the most. I was now on cloud 9...3 wheaties and a silver washington...hey I'm thrilled.
It got better though...because about 15 minutes later I got another high screamer but this one was deeper. From about 8" came silver Washington #2...and it came out exactly the opposite as the first one. This one looked like it had been spit shined??
[attachment 174063 fieldhunt10.jpg]
Well it was now dark and the mosquitoes were hammering my shoulders and ankles...so I slowly made my way back towards the car.
On the way though...I gave the rocky area around the old gas pump foundation another quick checking out.
I had already been over this exact spot as had Dave...but there were a ton of crappy signals...iron...EMI from the power lines..etc...and I figured I'd give it another quick whirl.
With Brad following me...and smacking the mosquitoes off my back as I swung the coil
...I got a goofy, screaming hit with a high pitch to it. It whined...then nulled...then dropped to a pulltab sound??...then screamed again in a tiny window if a hit.
I remember telling Brad...and he and Dave will both verify this..."I think this is crap...but I'm gonna get it outta' the way"
I then dug a pretty deep plug in the sand/rock/dirt mix and began scraping and moving the rock around to get it out of the hole.
I had just raised my Lesche to give the hole one more good "stabbing" which I hoped would loosen the concrete like mix...when Brad said..."Hey I see something".
He had that excited and crazy look on his face...like he was gonna' snatch whatever he saw and start rubbing the snot out of it again
...so I knew it had to be something good.
I started scraping rock where Brad pointed with the flashlight and what I saw next shocked the crap outta' me.It was a THIRD big grayish silver disc.
I don't remember the last time I found 3 silver quarters in one hunt...but it got even better when I took a closer look. WINGS appeared on the back of the quarter
...and when I turned it over a DATE was clearly visible on the front.
What a shocker to see my FAVORITE coin of all time...a nice Standing Liberty Quarter...emerge from the dirt/rubble mix at a depth of about 8"
. I was absolutely in shock and my hands were trembling because I believe this is only my third or fourth SLQ in 36 years with a visible date.
[attachment 174059 fieldhunt8.jpg] [attachment 174077 fieldhunt6.jpg]
Brad let out a big congrats and high fived me...as did Dave. We were all excited and acting like 3 kids on a playground in the dark.
Brad asked me if he could buy it from me because of sentimental reasons...because he has a cool picture on his wall of how the site looked in 1925..the FIRST year it was open....and it was fate that this SLQ just happened to be of that first year of business...1925.
After giving it a little thought...I told him later...no you can't buy it...but you sure as heck can have it.
I found it...and that's all that matters to me. It belongs in a little display right below the picture of the site that Brad has hanging on his wall.
This truly was a hunt I expected to find absolutely nothing...and was only hoping to have some fun.
I was rewarded with the fun I wanted...and was shocked with 3 silver quarters.
[attachment 174060 fieldhunt7.jpg]
All of this was made possible by Dave and Brad.
Dave could have just as easily hunted the spot by himself and found what I did...but it was more important to him that we hunt it TOGETHER.
It is all about the trust and friendship for us. We don't care who finds what...or if we find anything at all...but we're huntin' it together.
As for Brad...again...you couldn't find a nicer guy...willing to do anything for you...as he showed with the backhoe work. I've already told him the next time we hunt...I'm bringing a detector he can use so he can get in on the fun and dig a deepie of his own.
This experience was a lot of fun...and a successful hunt before we even put our coils to the dirt. Brad, Dana, and Dave are just "good people"...and I'm proud to have them as friends.
[attachment 174061 fieldhunt.jpg]
Brad...who I met through Dave-IL...and who got us permission to hunt the haunted church a few weeks back...located a site for us on some property he owns. He told us it used to be a filling station...then had an area next to it where they used to have dances...and the place thrived from 1925 thru the late 40's.
I was excited about the research Brad had done...and that he had invited Dave and I to hunt...but didn't expect to find anything because it was in the middle of a cornfield.
It didn't matter though because it's all about the friendship and fun to me. If the finds come...SWEET. If they don't...who cares...'cause I'm having fun doing what I love.
Anyway Dave and I pulled in to Brad's farm and were ready to hunt.
I wanted to get a pic of "Hayseed Hank" and "Hillbilly Jim"
...errr I mean Brad and Dave... before we got started...so I snapped this shot.[attachment 174053 fieldhunt2.jpg]
Brad said he had a couple of lose ends to tie up in the shed before we made the trek through the field to the site.
In the meantime I loaded our equipment in the truck while Dave was helping Brad with something.
About that time Dana pulled up and made a food/drink run for us and was going to meet us at the site.
It was then that I truly realized what a super nice guy Brad was.
He hopped on his backhoe and drove it to the site...where he scraped as much of the stalks off as he could .
He worked it for nearly 30 minutes...until Dave and I had a pretty clean shot at the ground.
[attachment 174055 fieldhunt4.jpg]
He cleared us off a good area the size of a gymnasium then hopped off the backhoe and showed us the detoriated concrete area where the gas pumps once stood.
Fellers'...Brad and Dana are just "good people"..plain and simple.
He researched the site...located it on his property...invited us to hunt...worked his backhoe for 30 minutes clearing a section for us...and in the meantime his wife went on a food run for us. What more could a guy ask for?About the time Brad got us a spot cleared for huntin'...Dana arrived with the food. I told you fellers' that we like to hammer some pizza at every given opportunity.
In this case the excitement of a new site got the best of me so with only 2 hours of daylight left I decided to skip eating in favor of hunting. Not Dave and Brad though...man they were shoveling it in like there was no tomorrow.
[attachment 174056 fieldhunt5.jpg]
I began hunting...and trying to figure out where the boundary lines were to the old station. I could see where the old gas pumps were...then started to vizualize in my mind where most of the other activities took place. I started at the pumps and worked outward hoping to hit some coins.
Before long I found my first coin... a wheatie barely 2" deep...so I knew I was going to have to dig everything no mater what the depth was.
After another wheatie I got a sweet shallow, HIGH screamer so I stuck the Lesche in the ground to pop it out. Sure enough...a silver Washington popped up on edge right in the center of where the Lesche broke the ground. Man was it gray..as you can see it on edge right in the center of the digger.
[attachment 174057 fieldhunt9.jpg]
A few minutes later I popped out my third wheatie from about 6" at the most. I was now on cloud 9...3 wheaties and a silver washington...hey I'm thrilled.
It got better though...because about 15 minutes later I got another high screamer but this one was deeper. From about 8" came silver Washington #2...and it came out exactly the opposite as the first one. This one looked like it had been spit shined??
[attachment 174063 fieldhunt10.jpg]
Well it was now dark and the mosquitoes were hammering my shoulders and ankles...so I slowly made my way back towards the car.
On the way though...I gave the rocky area around the old gas pump foundation another quick checking out.
I had already been over this exact spot as had Dave...but there were a ton of crappy signals...iron...EMI from the power lines..etc...and I figured I'd give it another quick whirl.
With Brad following me...and smacking the mosquitoes off my back as I swung the coil
...I got a goofy, screaming hit with a high pitch to it. It whined...then nulled...then dropped to a pulltab sound??...then screamed again in a tiny window if a hit.I remember telling Brad...and he and Dave will both verify this..."I think this is crap...but I'm gonna get it outta' the way"
I then dug a pretty deep plug in the sand/rock/dirt mix and began scraping and moving the rock around to get it out of the hole.
I had just raised my Lesche to give the hole one more good "stabbing" which I hoped would loosen the concrete like mix...when Brad said..."Hey I see something".
He had that excited and crazy look on his face
...like he was gonna' snatch whatever he saw and start rubbing the snot out of it again...so I knew it had to be something good.I started scraping rock where Brad pointed with the flashlight and what I saw next shocked the crap outta' me.It was a THIRD big grayish silver disc.
I don't remember the last time I found 3 silver quarters in one hunt...but it got even better when I took a closer look. WINGS appeared on the back of the quarter...and when I turned it over a DATE was clearly visible on the front. What a shocker to see my FAVORITE coin of all time...a nice Standing Liberty Quarter...emerge from the dirt/rubble mix at a depth of about 8". I was absolutely in shock and my hands were trembling because I believe this is only my third or fourth SLQ in 36 years with a visible date.[attachment 174059 fieldhunt8.jpg] [attachment 174077 fieldhunt6.jpg]
Brad let out a big congrats and high fived me...as did Dave. We were all excited and acting like 3 kids on a playground in the dark.
Brad asked me if he could buy it from me because of sentimental reasons...because he has a cool picture on his wall of how the site looked in 1925..the FIRST year it was open....and it was fate that this SLQ just happened to be of that first year of business...1925.
After giving it a little thought...I told him later...no you can't buy it...but you sure as heck can have it.
I found it...and that's all that matters to me. It belongs in a little display right below the picture of the site that Brad has hanging on his wall.
This truly was a hunt I expected to find absolutely nothing...and was only hoping to have some fun.
I was rewarded with the fun I wanted...and was shocked with 3 silver quarters.
[attachment 174060 fieldhunt7.jpg]
All of this was made possible by Dave and Brad.
Dave could have just as easily hunted the spot by himself and found what I did...but it was more important to him that we hunt it TOGETHER.
It is all about the trust and friendship for us. We don't care who finds what...or if we find anything at all...but we're huntin' it together.
As for Brad...again...you couldn't find a nicer guy...willing to do anything for you
...as he showed with the backhoe work. I've already told him the next time we hunt...I'm bringing a detector he can use so he can get in on the fun and dig a deepie of his own.This experience was a lot of fun...and a successful hunt before we even put our coils to the dirt. Brad, Dana, and Dave are just "good people"...and I'm proud to have them as friends.
[attachment 174061 fieldhunt.jpg]
with envy. Congrats.
Awesome finds and good friends. What more could you ask for?