Old treasure in an unexpected place...

[marcomo]

OK, not exactly big treasure, but a nice old coin.

I prefer older sites and usually only go to tot lots when my 9 year old niece is with me.

You expect to find new coins and, if you're lucky, jewelry at tot lots.

Imagine her surprise a few weeks ago when she dug up an indian under the chips at about 4-5 inches.

She was really excited and I was even more so. She had found a wheatie before but that was her first really old find.

After doing some research since then, I found out the tot lot was the site of a small farm property until the 1960's.

The Indian popped up right about where the farmhouse driveway would have been.

 

[TN Girl]

I bet your neice was soooo excited! Congrats to her!

 

[Beale]

Well a big congrats to her!! That is an awesome find for sure! I know she was very happy, Beale.

 

[flash5153]

Its amazing what a penny will do for you, good job.

Be carefull though,, its real easy to get hooked on this hobby,lol

 

[JOHNMARKHAM]

Great job !!
Hope she finds many more !
Good luck
John

 

[TURNMASTER]

I don't mind digging pennies. Just not zinc pennies.

HH
Jeff

 

[silversmith]

More than likely marcomo, that Indian head, came from some kid's father's collection. Little boys grab unusual goodies around the house to take and play "pirate" with. I think that's where most valuable jewelry comes from in tot lots. I don't think mom or dad loose as much stuff as they're given credit for although they do lose some. I think little boys grab rings, coins (especially strange looking ones) necklaces, anything that passes for pirate booty and bury the stuff playing, then forget exactly where it was when the bell rang or mom yelled "it's time to go home." Just my opinion, but many years ago, when my oldest son was about 6, and I was testing my new Judge 2 in the back yard, I found most of the contents of my treasure test buried out there!

 

[Harry Kilmer]

Great Find!!! But who gets to keep the penny??

 

[marcomo]

Harry, the penny is hers, she's filling up a nice little box with her finds!

Silversmith, I'm 99.9% certain the Indian was not a recent drop. First of all it was green and corroded like it had been in the ground a long time. I'm sure you know that look. We got it better with boiling peroxide, but it still needs some work. It was about 4-5 inches deep, below the wood chips in the dirt.

Secondly, my research showed that there was an old farmhouse before it was torn down for the interstate in the 1960's and the coin was found approximately where the driveway would have been.

The funny thing is, she likes metal detecting but it isn't her favorite activity by any means. But that day she was really insistant she wanted to go dirt fishing. And the place we found it was our second choice to go to because the first was packed with people.

The date of the coin was 1886, she seemed particularly impressed that the coin was 123 years old.

 

[wayne_etc]

Had a similar thing happen to me once. I was jonesing for some oldies so I hit a really old school. Got skunked. On the way home I decided I couldn't come home empty handed so I stopped at an older school and hit the new but heavily used playground. First signal was an early wheatie.

So I gotta ask - have you pounded the playground since you learned it was old property? Anything else turn up?


w

 

[Elton]

n/t