Met an old-timers grandson who shocked me!

[Ronstar]

So today starts out basically normal. I get a call from a friend up north who met a guy whose grandfather used to detect the university back in the late 70s and into the mid 80s. At that time the basic policy was no detecting as most detectorists were using big shovels and the detectors may not have been as accurate as todays. Anyways my friend knew I detected and the guy just wanted to make contact and see if I knew his grandpa.
Well I did! When I was a young city police officer my first assignment was Campus Division. One early morning I see this older man with a detector up on the main lawn area so I parked and walked out to meet him. Upon first contact he produced a letter signed by the University President allowing him to detect on the grounds. Ok, how ya doin?
He never said much and I wasnt into detecting yet. I did notice he was using a White’s detector and a fancy looking thin shovel. Turned out he had no warrants so I let him be. Over the next couple years I would see him at 4:30-5:00am and got to know him better and he finally started to show some of his finds. Old coins, rings, rifle cases, frat/sorority pins, etc. I didnt pay much attention to the coins or rings but I think the seed got planted about detecting. I know the coins were old silver but no idea the dates.
As it turns out the young man told me Grandpa had died a few years ago and had left his journal to him. Grandpa had removed nearly 1000 silver coins and 1200 pennies,
400+ rings and several hundred other jewelry/pins/etc, all in about 7-8 years! He was the only person detecting up there!!!!
I told him of some of the finds I had made recently and he wondered how much was still there and not found yet.
It was an interesting chat, the old guy had found several seated dimes, seated and Barber quarters, Buffalo and V nickels, IH pennies and wheats and mercs and newer silver. Most of the rings were 10k class rings and 925 ladies rings. Can you imagine all this???

I was just star struck learning about all this and was just glad to meet and talk to the kid.

 

[miserman]

Nearly 1000 silver coins found on an old university grounds is probably normal. What's unusual about this particular case is that they were found by one person. Looks like the old fella found a hot area and stuck with it. It seems a little unusual that his journal only listed 1200 pennies compared to 1000 silver coins.

 

[JCR TX]

That is a really neat connection.

 

[jkline]

Well, most of the low-hanging fruit is gone. That dirty SOB (lol), Ron, myself, and two other guys have pretty much cleaned it out, even of clad. Every now and then a pig finds a truffle, but he has to work for it. I haven't found silver in the last 5 outings. We have found a few rings and 1 gold sorority pin, but not to much in the AU dept.

It's a small, land grant univ, where most of the remaining coins are under post-silver buildings.

EMI is off the charts now. Yesterday half of what is detectable wasn't, with my etrac. Might have to spring for a Legend to somewhat tame the EMI. Only thing I miss from my Nox are low frequency settings.

 

[jim tn]

Nearly 1000 silver coins found on an old university grounds is probably normal.

Very interesting story, Ron.

Yeah, I agree about the 1000 silver coins probably being normal or at least possible. Back when I retired in 2006 I learned about a Navy housing site that had been demo'ed back in the middle 1980's and donated to the nearby town which turned it into a park. I was told it had yielded pockets full of silver when it was hunted back in the demo era days, but "is now pretty much hunted out." Five years later I had recovered over 550 silver coins from the spot along with several gold rings and numerous silver jewelry items. So, 1000 from a long standing spot is certainly feasible. HH jim tn

 

[MidTN]

Well, most of the low-hanging fruit is gone. That dirty SOB (lol), Ron, myself, and two other guys have pretty much cleaned it out, even of clad. Every now and then a pig finds a truffle, but he has to work for it. I haven't found silver in the last 5 outings. We have found a few rings and 1 gold sorority pin, but not to much in the AU dept.

It's a small, land grant univ, where most of the remaining coins are under post-silver buildings.

EMI is off the charts now. Yesterday half of what is detectable wasn't, with my etrac. Might have to spring for a Legend to somewhat tame the EMI. Only thing I miss from my Nox are low frequency settings.

jkline​

"Every now and then a pig finds a truffle, but he has to work for it."​

Man your hogs are living large. I don't know of any truffles in Tennessee. The only thing a blind hog in Tennesse finds is and acorn if they are lucky.

 

[Ronstar]

Jeff and I both think there has been other “unauthorized” people up there as well. Grandpa was from a town about 30 miles northwest of here and I seem to remember him on weekends at O’dark 30 in the morning until mid mornings in the summer. Campus police used to be augmented with Nightwatch personnel (who mainly did building checks with the old style punch clocks), police did traffic and calls for service. As I said for that period of time he was the only person who could do that.
Now days there are young people walking around with stadium jackets that say Security on it and a radio. Regular city police are up there but there no longer is a Campus Division, thus security is more lax as far as the grounds are concerned.

I think the next generation of detectors that can easily reach 15” may retrieve more goodies but not sure the U would allow that deep a plug.

 

[Odanscoils]

So today starts out basically normal. I get a call from a friend up north who met a guy whose grandfather used to detect the university back in the late 70s and into the mid 80s. At that time the basic policy was no detecting as most detectorists were using big shovels and the detectors may not have been as accurate as todays. Anyways my friend knew I detected and the guy just wanted to make contact and see if I knew his grandpa.
Well I did! When I was a young city police officer my first assignment was Campus Division. One early morning I see this older man with a detector up on the main lawn area so I parked and walked out to meet him. Upon first contact he produced a letter signed by the University President allowing him to detect on the grounds. Ok, how ya doin?
He never said much and I wasnt into detecting yet. I did notice he was using a White’s detector and a fancy looking thin shovel. Turned out he had no warrants so I let him be. Over the next couple years I would see him at 4:30-5:00am and got to know him better and he finally started to show some of his finds. Old coins, rings, rifle cases, frat/sorority pins, etc. I didnt pay much attention to the coins or rings but I think the seed got planted about detecting. I know the coins were old silver but no idea the dates.
As it turns out the young man told me Grandpa had died a few years ago and had left his journal to him. Grandpa had removed nearly 1000 silver coins and 1200 pennies,
400+ rings and several hundred other jewelry/pins/etc, all in about 7-8 years! He was the only person detecting up there!!!!
I told him of some of the finds I had made recently and he wondered how much was still there and not found yet.
It was an interesting chat, the old guy had found several seated dimes, seated and Barber quarters, Buffalo and V nickels, IH pennies and wheats and mercs and newer silver. Most of the rings were 10k class rings and 925 ladies rings. Can you imagine all this???

I was just star struck learning about all this and was just glad to meet and talk to the kid.

I would Love to read Gramps journal.
Any chance you'll get to read it ?

 

[Ronstar]

I do not have his info or any other way to get ahold of him. I’ve thought the same thing and wonder what he found that surpasses what we have. If I actually knew I might cry…….

 

[jim tn]

Maybe you've said in some of your posts, but what is the age of the college? Seated's and Barbers indicate some good age. HH Jim Tn

 

[Wild Willy]

Were you serious about checking this man for warrants? It was a good story though.

 

[Ronstar]

Founded 1889 but some activity before becoming a Land Grant institution. I know of two seated dimes being found recently but unknown prior to that.

Yes he was checked, its standard procedure to identify field contacts which in turn when you run an ID it automatically checks for both state wants/warrants and the National database. Still does today too.

 

[Confetrit]

Great story. Thanks for sharing it with us. Do you and Grandpa's Grandson ever plan on hunting together? That would be the makings for another cool story.

 

[Ronstar]

I have no contact info with him. This was somewhat two ships crossing paths in the dark. Unfortunately now I have a bunch of questions……..