My find of a lifetime

[Tom_in_CA]

I've got 12 so far. Although I've been md'ing since the late 1970s, they've all been found from 1996 to the present. All individual fumble fingers losses (ie.: none in a cache)

Two $20's
One $10
Six $5's
One $2.50
Two $1's

And if I count jewelry, I guess I've got 13: a dos peso made into an earing. Also, one of the $1s was a love token. However, that was a practice done in the late 1800's (as opposed to a modern jewelry loss), so I've always counted that in my coin category, not jewelry category

Locations: Beach storm erosion, Stage stop, demolition sites, relicky sites, and 1 from park turf. Anywhere coins from pre-turn-of-century can be found, a gold coin can be found at. Even though they were minted till as late as the 1930s, yet it's rare to find one past the 1910s. The reason is that paper money, and check-writing started taking the place of larger denomination amt's by then.

And also: For some reason, gold coins are found more frequently out west. I know of guys here who have 1, 2, 5, etc.... But back east, there are hard-core veterans, who have scores of busts, seateds, colonials, etc... yet have zero, or perhaps 1 gold coin at most. So for some reason, they're found out here in larger #'s.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Bill, you're right: They were "taken out" for purposes of larger purchases. Ie.: when a person got ready to buy a horse, or put a down-payment on a house, etc... I mean ..... go figure: $5.00 or $10.00 was a month's pay to a laborer in the late 1800's. So ...... loosing $5 or $10, would be like loosing $500 or $1000 today, I guess. Thus, it was sort of like someone's paycheck is today: You go cash it, and only carry around change, and small bills. Same for back then, all inflation adjusted.

So while not impossible, it's very rare to find a gold coin. They tended to taken out only when you got ready to travel, or go to buy a key/major purpose, etc....

 

[fowlercharles]

I've been digging steady since July 1969 and have yet to find a gold coin. Dug a good bit of old silver, some Spanish Reals, and a pretty good collection of military(really older)buttons. I have dug very little jewelry.Most Sites I dig are pretty old and from the time period when no US coins were being minted. That was a time when any coin of any nation that could be of value was put into use. Those were some hard times in these backwoods and those coins in use were well used and abused even, in any way needed to get the most from them. Holes for sewing them in garments, and the need of cutting them to have more of them in play. If they had gold , they did not advertize it and they hung on to it literally with their lives. They even counterfeited it in some cases and I did have a digging buddy a few feet from me find a counterfeit gold coin. It was a really good job too but a true fake and it had us fooled for awhile but the years in the dirt had peeled away most of the gold. We are pretty sure it is one likely made by a well known outlaw, murderer, and counterfeiter who was famous in the area in the 1830-40's.In a way that coin was every much as good a find as had it been true gold. HH, Charlie

 

[dixiedigger57]

was with a friend who found a $10 gold piece on the outskirts of a dump circa 1880-1917. and his now ex took it before the divorce. easy come easy go!

 

[dgerst]

I don't personally know anyone who has found one. Around here they seem to be about as easy to find as a virtuous politician.

 

[IDXit]

Yep, a gold coin would be the find of a life time... One of the Holy Grail finds of a life time....JMHO... You just never know what will turn up next....I wish you well and happy hunting out there.

 

[ByroninTn]

My find of a lifetime is the broad axe I found the middle of December. I have been looking for a broad axe for 35+ years.

I found this one at an old log house site dating from around 1819.

Many of these items displayed, were made at the blacksmith shop that was on the farm.

I thought I had found a cache of coins the other day. I got a very good reading under a large rock. it probably weighed 100 pounds. I moved it but there was another rock under it about the same size. I moved it then located the target, but it was only a large piece of iron. Oh well, maybe next time it will be my gold coin stash.

 

[mike80]

Just curious about how a gold coin might register as

 

[Larry (IL)]

That depends on the size of the coin and what detector do you have. There is a big spread from a $1 coin up to a $20 coin.