CZconnoisseur
Active member
Last week leading up to the Fourth of July we've been busy moving...finally got the majority of that mess in the rear-view mirror, and yesterday was the first time to get out in about a week.
Last hunt I bagged a VG-ish 1902 S Barber dime, and Mike had found two earlier "S" mint Barber dimes from the same little area on previous hunts. We've been going low and slow and taking our time here, and have both been rewarded with period coins mainly from the 1890-1920 timeframe.
So yesterday I picked up just a few feet from that last Barber, looking for the little peeps and squeaks that are often deep keepers. About 20 minutes into the hunt I got a tiny, desperate signal and from about 8" comes a handsome 1893 Indian cent. Next few targets were deep nails and a couple square nails, but that's usual for here so no big deal....
I wandered over into a slightly trashier area and got a shallow nickel hit, and lo and behold...from 5" came a 1981 Jefferson nickel How it's escaped both Mike and I remain a mystery after all these hunts, but if we've missed that shallow nickel...what else have we missed Dug a few pieces of foil and small aluminum, just as we always do, and then I remember getting a "50/50" hit - one that could go either way, but it's DEEP so it bears recovery....
Much to my surprise I saw a small silver coin which was a 1917 Merc...looked for the requisite "S" mintmark but this one was a Philly variety - there goes the "S" mint streak I thought to myself....there was a bent square nail about 4 inches from the Merc almost in the same hole - got that out expecting to hear more coins - but this hole was dry....
Had a brief lull and then got a fairly shallow 7-inch deep 1905 Indian cent just a little offset to where we've been hunting - an area that has lots of buried small trash but Mike and I are slowly pulling "everything that beeps" one target at a time - but the rewards are well worth it...
The next signal I decided to dig didn't have any magic tonal properties - it sounded like a deep beavertail, but those also can sound like coins...I remember being able to get a non-VDI hit in 4khz - it was steady from all sides and didn't crackle or sound clipped; and in 12kHz I actually got a 94-96 VDI but not on every sweep....just one of those signals that are worth digging, but you don't have too high hopes for. Saw a nickel in the dirt pile and then the 1896 date made my day! I could see the stars on the obverse, and for some reason it looked funny...didn't think too much of it and started to fill the hole when the Carrot went nuts on something deeper in the dirt pile. I saw the back side of a Wheat cent, and thought for a second "Oh, just a Wheat?!"
Turned it over and saw it still had some detail - then saw the date...1909. There was (and still is) some corrosion on both sides of the Wheat, but under the date I thought I saw a mintmark - and then immediately turned it over to look for the VDB. No VDB but still - after some tumbling the "S" mintmark became very clear and I couldn't believe it!
Honestly though - for being stuck next to a V nickel for probably more than 100 years this Wheat is in remarkable shape! The pictures show the corrosion patterns on the V nickel and Wheat cent - hard to believe what the world has come to since those coins were dropped...
Last hunt I bagged a VG-ish 1902 S Barber dime, and Mike had found two earlier "S" mint Barber dimes from the same little area on previous hunts. We've been going low and slow and taking our time here, and have both been rewarded with period coins mainly from the 1890-1920 timeframe.
So yesterday I picked up just a few feet from that last Barber, looking for the little peeps and squeaks that are often deep keepers. About 20 minutes into the hunt I got a tiny, desperate signal and from about 8" comes a handsome 1893 Indian cent. Next few targets were deep nails and a couple square nails, but that's usual for here so no big deal....
I wandered over into a slightly trashier area and got a shallow nickel hit, and lo and behold...from 5" came a 1981 Jefferson nickel How it's escaped both Mike and I remain a mystery after all these hunts, but if we've missed that shallow nickel...what else have we missed Dug a few pieces of foil and small aluminum, just as we always do, and then I remember getting a "50/50" hit - one that could go either way, but it's DEEP so it bears recovery....
Much to my surprise I saw a small silver coin which was a 1917 Merc...looked for the requisite "S" mintmark but this one was a Philly variety - there goes the "S" mint streak I thought to myself....there was a bent square nail about 4 inches from the Merc almost in the same hole - got that out expecting to hear more coins - but this hole was dry....
Had a brief lull and then got a fairly shallow 7-inch deep 1905 Indian cent just a little offset to where we've been hunting - an area that has lots of buried small trash but Mike and I are slowly pulling "everything that beeps" one target at a time - but the rewards are well worth it...
The next signal I decided to dig didn't have any magic tonal properties - it sounded like a deep beavertail, but those also can sound like coins...I remember being able to get a non-VDI hit in 4khz - it was steady from all sides and didn't crackle or sound clipped; and in 12kHz I actually got a 94-96 VDI but not on every sweep....just one of those signals that are worth digging, but you don't have too high hopes for. Saw a nickel in the dirt pile and then the 1896 date made my day! I could see the stars on the obverse, and for some reason it looked funny...didn't think too much of it and started to fill the hole when the Carrot went nuts on something deeper in the dirt pile. I saw the back side of a Wheat cent, and thought for a second "Oh, just a Wheat?!"
Turned it over and saw it still had some detail - then saw the date...1909. There was (and still is) some corrosion on both sides of the Wheat, but under the date I thought I saw a mintmark - and then immediately turned it over to look for the VDB. No VDB but still - after some tumbling the "S" mintmark became very clear and I couldn't believe it!
Honestly though - for being stuck next to a V nickel for probably more than 100 years this Wheat is in remarkable shape! The pictures show the corrosion patterns on the V nickel and Wheat cent - hard to believe what the world has come to since those coins were dropped...
