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My best hunt thus far... :)

sgoss66

sgoss66

Well-known member
Hi all!

I'm "back home" in western Pennsylvania right now -- and did alot of research before this trip, hoping to have a shot at some coins older than what would typically be possible in Oklahoma.

So, on Saturday, I hit one of the spots I had researched -- an old church that was built in 1857, but is long gone; the only thing remaining is the old cemetery. I had a general idea where the church building should have been, so I took a short hike through the woods to find it. I arrived at where I guessed the church would have stood -- and it looked like this:

[attachment 270719 7-20-13ZChurchCemetery.JPG]

So, I started swinging. After about a half hour, I had dug a couple of old shotgun shells, and then got a solid, shallow penny-type signal. Certain that I had a penny dropped recently by a hunter, I dug a four-inch deep plug, and saw a coin drop from the dirt clod back into the hole. I thought I saw a silver rim...

Well, I was so shocked at this find (which I had been sure was a penny), that I forgot to take a picture. You'll see it at the end. I called my wife, and once I stopped shaking, I continued. Two feet away, I hit a classic silver dime signal, about 5-6" deep. Knowing what I had just dug, NOW I was excited! Here's what came out of the plug...

[attachment 270721 7-20-13SeatedDimeindirt.JPG]

SILVER!

I cleaned it off just a tad, very gently, with some water I carried in, and here it was...

[attachment 270723 7-20-13SeatedDimeindirtcleaned.JPG]

An 1853 Seated Dime! (with arrows)

After some more shaking, and another call to my wife, I started to hunt again. Within 10 feet, I got another hit; I was so excited this time, that I didn't even pay attention to the numbers. It was a lower tone than a silver dime, but at this point, ANY coin was possible, so I dug it.

SILVER AGAIN! After washing off a bit of the dirt, here it was:

[attachment 270725 7-20-13SeatedHalfDimeindirtcleaned.JPG]

An 1853 Seated HALF Dime! (with arrows)

I made another call to my wife, as I was now in shock! After composing myself, I hunted another hour and a half or so, with no more luck (except a bunch of square nails). I will be going back, but even if I find NOTHING else, this spot will go down as my best ever! A very lucky day for me, one I will likely never top -- and for ONCE my research actually paid off!

OH...about that first coin... Here's a look at the finds after cleaning. None of the three were rare or particularly valuable after checking them out at a couple of coin sites online (roughly $50 to $75 or so), so I went ahead and did some light cleaning with water and baking soda...

The obverses...

[attachment 270727 7-20-13FindsObverse.JPG]

And the reverses...

[attachment 270728 7-20-13FindsReverse.JPG]

That other coin was, unbelievably, an 1830 Capped Bust dime! I NEVER thought I'd dig one of those, and had no thoughts of it being even possible at this spot (with the church built in 1857). Clearly, this one was in circulation for a long time, and I'm thinking all three coins were dropped by the same person at the same time, given their proximity. Given the nice condition of the two Seated coins, I'd expect them to have been dropped right about the time the church was built -- almost definitely before the Civil War began...just thinking about that is mind-boggling for me, and is why this is such an AWESOME hobby!

Thanks all for looking!

Steve
 
way to go can't wait to find one let alone three
diggervance
 
I do believe you found where the church was! Super, super, (did I mention super? lol ) nice finds!!! I hope you can get back there with your silver machine and find some more!
 
Congratulations Steve.
I would go over that whole wooded area really well. They very could have had revivals also somewhere yeilding even more oldies.
Between Eddies last hunt and now your double seated day with a capped bust its been a good week for some good finds.
Not your average hunts when you get a jar of coins let alone what you found.
Congrats again. :thumbup:
 
Thanks all for the very kind words everyone! Sharing successes (and failures) with fellow Explorer users is always a good thing.

earthlypotluck and MikeO -- I'm going to give it another shot before I have to head back home, for sure... :)

Bryce -- you KNOW I thought of you when I was digging those... :) You were here, helping me out very patiently when I first got my Explorer; you commented on my very first silver coin day ever -- and in that post you assured me there would be more to come...I could never have guessed at that time that you would be THIS correct... :)

P.S. I still use your "settings" religiously; aside from running my gain a bit lower than you, the only other thing I ever change is the sensitivity, up and down as conditions permit...thanks for all your help over the last few years, my friend...

Steve
 
Steve, AWESOME !! What a rush !! I've never found a capped silver and it's on my wish list.
Congrats, Bruce
ps - pound that area as much as you can
 
This is the kind of post I like to see. Great finds!!! You did your research and it paid off...I wish I could find some coins like that soon and I will be doing more research around my area as well in hopes of finding something like this.
 
Oh I know. Ive done a lot of research and it hasnt paid off but every once and a while it does. But the point is that you do and if any else you at least learn a little history in the process.

sgoss66 said:
Saltshaker --

Many times, your research won't pan out...but sometimes... :)

It's out there; if you have the patience and persistence, you will put some goodies in your pouch as well!

Steve
Click to expand...
 
n/t
 
Those are some very nice coins there Steve.:clapping: Just don't find those Capped Bust coins out here. Would you adopt me so I can come live with you.:rofl: Great finds and pictures. Hope you get some more cool coins. HH.

Eddie
 
excellent finds, Steve. Love those bust coins but haven't found one yet. Congrats.
 
dedicated to this sport, so its nice to see you had a memorable day with some awesome finds! :clapping:
Mud
 
Thanks very much, all!

Mudpuppy -- thank you; I tend to be a passionate person by nature, and that passion has definitely carried over to this hobby. I can remember very clearly finding my first coin (a penny) years ago, and even more clearly I recall how long it took to find my first silver coin. Never, though, did I expect to someday dig some of the coins I've been fortunate enough to dig over the past couple of years. I still shake my head in amazement sometimes, that such coins are out there, and able to be located by hunters...what an incredible hobby! :)

An update...

I went back to the spot again yesterday; though I didn't manage any more silver after a couple of hours of searching, I did dig two more old coins -- 1888 and 1903 Indian Head pennies. I bet there are a few more oldies hidden there... :)

Steve
 
Way to go Steve .. would be pretty hard to top that. :please: But that's why we keep going back out looking for more .. :detecting:
 
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