Hey guys.. i dont post much but i thought i'd share this cross country road trip with my Explorer SE. I left Seattle with the detector in the back and headed west on I 90, and made it to South Dakota before I finally got the detector out. I was heading to a family reunion in Upstate NY and was trying to make good time. I stopped to look around town in Sturgis, SD, to see what it looks like before the big biker rally every year. Driving down Side streets, I see an old brick schoolhouse, and according to the sign over the door it was put on that location in 1908. I love it when you don't have to guess how old an area is in terms of people congregating there. The best part about it (I practically flew out of the car when I saw it) was it was being closed and renovated into county office buildings.. and the entire lawn was torn off. It was a true test of my newly learned "go all metal mode and discriminate your darn self" skills. It yielded a silver peace sign ring, a silver roosie and a nice 1906-S barber dime. I wish I would have spent more time there.. but July 4 on the folks homestead waits for no man.
Westward bound, until a little town just outside of Utica, NY.. the best park Ive searched in my 4+ detecting years. Living in Seattle, the newest corner of the country, doesnt give you quite the history as you have in New England and the east coast. This was a picturesque little park in the center of town, (Literally, as many small town parks are, I found out, on the corner of Main St. and Park St,) with early 1800s houses and churches all around. What caught my eye was a humongous oak at one end of the park. I got out and started at the end with the oak.. the park was about 25x100 square yards, and for the whole 3 hours I stayed on the end with the oak. Not 30 seconds into it I get a memorial hit at 4 inches, which was odd. I get it out and scrub off some green to see an 1889 indian head penny. We don't get those in Seattle. I knew I was going to be at this park awhile.. I was in New York and didn't have to be at the folks until the following afternoon. In those three hours, I pulled out 8 indian heads, 3 teens wheat pennies, 2 mercury dimes, and a silver roosie.
I also pulled out 3 buttons.. all three with the heraldic eagle thing going on. they all had bark markings.. one from American Button Company (1902-1920), one "HORSTMANN PHILA." marked button, which i'm thinking is from the 1820s, and 4 more plain or textured copper buttons. An old brass skeleton key and a large brass and wood crucifix were all found. Maybe 2 bucks in clad coins.
It was getting dark, and I got into that 'one more good hit' mindset, and what a hit it was. I searched over by the tree and got a good deep high hit, the kind you really like when you hear its tone and see its depth. At about 8 inches down I pull out what I initially thought was a large cent. After a bit of getting the dirt off, i knew i had a colonial copper... it turned out to be an 1787 Connecticut copper. Man did I do the happy dance in that park. One note of advice though.. if you're on a motherload park don't look too excited. When I cam e back to the park after the reunion the park was filled with poorly dug holes. Looks like the guy used a shovel. I was dismayed.. until I pulled up another indian cent and a few more silver dimes, right around where his holes were! Amateurs.
Anyway, the trip back was uneventful, as I had to get home to the pressing business of life. A few wheaties, another 2 indians. It sure takes the wind out of your sails when you get back to the land of memorials and pull tabs. Ive had some good finds in Seattle, the occasional silver, even a Peace dollar once, but nothing like that park. Almost makes me want to move east. A 5 day trip to the old towns of northern montana next week with the detector might liven up the spirits though. Here's some pics, sorry about the quality.. got better ones of the loot and some of the locations coming.
Sweep and Beep
Tum
Westward bound, until a little town just outside of Utica, NY.. the best park Ive searched in my 4+ detecting years. Living in Seattle, the newest corner of the country, doesnt give you quite the history as you have in New England and the east coast. This was a picturesque little park in the center of town, (Literally, as many small town parks are, I found out, on the corner of Main St. and Park St,) with early 1800s houses and churches all around. What caught my eye was a humongous oak at one end of the park. I got out and started at the end with the oak.. the park was about 25x100 square yards, and for the whole 3 hours I stayed on the end with the oak. Not 30 seconds into it I get a memorial hit at 4 inches, which was odd. I get it out and scrub off some green to see an 1889 indian head penny. We don't get those in Seattle. I knew I was going to be at this park awhile.. I was in New York and didn't have to be at the folks until the following afternoon. In those three hours, I pulled out 8 indian heads, 3 teens wheat pennies, 2 mercury dimes, and a silver roosie.
I also pulled out 3 buttons.. all three with the heraldic eagle thing going on. they all had bark markings.. one from American Button Company (1902-1920), one "HORSTMANN PHILA." marked button, which i'm thinking is from the 1820s, and 4 more plain or textured copper buttons. An old brass skeleton key and a large brass and wood crucifix were all found. Maybe 2 bucks in clad coins.
It was getting dark, and I got into that 'one more good hit' mindset, and what a hit it was. I searched over by the tree and got a good deep high hit, the kind you really like when you hear its tone and see its depth. At about 8 inches down I pull out what I initially thought was a large cent. After a bit of getting the dirt off, i knew i had a colonial copper... it turned out to be an 1787 Connecticut copper. Man did I do the happy dance in that park. One note of advice though.. if you're on a motherload park don't look too excited. When I cam e back to the park after the reunion the park was filled with poorly dug holes. Looks like the guy used a shovel. I was dismayed.. until I pulled up another indian cent and a few more silver dimes, right around where his holes were! Amateurs.
Anyway, the trip back was uneventful, as I had to get home to the pressing business of life. A few wheaties, another 2 indians. It sure takes the wind out of your sails when you get back to the land of memorials and pull tabs. Ive had some good finds in Seattle, the occasional silver, even a Peace dollar once, but nothing like that park. Almost makes me want to move east. A 5 day trip to the old towns of northern montana next week with the detector might liven up the spirits though. Here's some pics, sorry about the quality.. got better ones of the loot and some of the locations coming.
Sweep and Beep
Tum