A
Anonymous
Guest
Well, Laurie didn't know that I had Sunday off. I took off like I had to be at work by 11 am. But, I headed off to a favorite beach of mine. When I got there, the swimming area was practically deserted, as there were only two girls swimming. I figured I would try to search as much of the swimming area as I could, as normally I only get an hour, or less, so I just hit the "hot area". I started by going out as deep as I can, and working a pattern parallel to the beach, moving shallower with each pass. I wish I was taller, as I can't get out to the outer buoy. I know that's got to have a lot of targets.
Anyway, I thought I wasn't going to get squat. Targets were few and far between. Odds are, someone else hit this place recently. I was picking up a few coins here and there. I even started recovering some of the Iron hits, first to clean the beach, secondly, to see what they were. I was getting a lot of different targets like this, including one small 3/4 hoop earring that might be silver. I'll have to find it again (I think it's in my shorts pocket), and go over it really good.
Finally, when I was in about waist-deep water, I got a huge signal that gave a strong mid-tone. I was hoping for a large gold ring, expecting a pulltab, when I saw this in my scoop:
<center> <img src=http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/207/20060813silverchainps8.jpg> </center> <p>
Holy Cow! It's HUGE! 31 1/2" long, almost 3/8" wide, 1/16" thick, and masses 116 grams! That's about a quarter pound of sterling silver! Needless to say, I about had an accident in my swimming trunks right there! To bad it wasn't gold. Even cheap 10K would make it an expensive piece.
After over 3 hours in the water at that beach, I went to get some lunch, then off to a different lake. Right off the bat, I found this:
<center> <img src=http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/5729/20060813silverringxk2.jpg> </center> <p>
A fairly wide silver band. To bad it's thin and hollow on the inside. I'll still take it. What's really weird, is that I have another ring, almost exactly like this, but it's unmarked, and I'm not sure if it's silver or not.
After my little jaunt to a couple local lakes, I ended up at a land site before I went home. I wasn't getting much, just a few shallow pennies here and there, until I recovered this:
<center> <img src=http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/8443/20060813merccd6.jpg> </center> <p>
When I found it, the obverse was free and clear of dirt, while the reverse was packed. Since I knew it was an nice early year, and looked to be in great condition, I didn't want to risk damaging the coin by prying off the dirt to see the reverse. When I got home, I soaked it in some water, which revealed that it was an "S" mint, and was a little more worn that I had hoped for. It's still a nice dime. I only have one other 1917, and it's a "P" mint, that I found this year. Looks like I'm going to have quite a few dimes to add to the collection this year.
Of course, after spending all day out in the sun, with a recent haircut, my neck got rather tanned and/or burned. Laurie noticed it. I'm not quite sure if she believes that I got out from work around 5 pm or not.
Note: the picture(s) might not show up due to bandwidth limitations. If the picture(s) are not there, check back at a later time.
HH from Allen in MI
Anyway, I thought I wasn't going to get squat. Targets were few and far between. Odds are, someone else hit this place recently. I was picking up a few coins here and there. I even started recovering some of the Iron hits, first to clean the beach, secondly, to see what they were. I was getting a lot of different targets like this, including one small 3/4 hoop earring that might be silver. I'll have to find it again (I think it's in my shorts pocket), and go over it really good.
Finally, when I was in about waist-deep water, I got a huge signal that gave a strong mid-tone. I was hoping for a large gold ring, expecting a pulltab, when I saw this in my scoop:
<center> <img src=http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/207/20060813silverchainps8.jpg> </center> <p>
Holy Cow! It's HUGE! 31 1/2" long, almost 3/8" wide, 1/16" thick, and masses 116 grams! That's about a quarter pound of sterling silver! Needless to say, I about had an accident in my swimming trunks right there! To bad it wasn't gold. Even cheap 10K would make it an expensive piece.
After over 3 hours in the water at that beach, I went to get some lunch, then off to a different lake. Right off the bat, I found this:
<center> <img src=http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/5729/20060813silverringxk2.jpg> </center> <p>
A fairly wide silver band. To bad it's thin and hollow on the inside. I'll still take it. What's really weird, is that I have another ring, almost exactly like this, but it's unmarked, and I'm not sure if it's silver or not.
After my little jaunt to a couple local lakes, I ended up at a land site before I went home. I wasn't getting much, just a few shallow pennies here and there, until I recovered this:
<center> <img src=http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/8443/20060813merccd6.jpg> </center> <p>
When I found it, the obverse was free and clear of dirt, while the reverse was packed. Since I knew it was an nice early year, and looked to be in great condition, I didn't want to risk damaging the coin by prying off the dirt to see the reverse. When I got home, I soaked it in some water, which revealed that it was an "S" mint, and was a little more worn that I had hoped for. It's still a nice dime. I only have one other 1917, and it's a "P" mint, that I found this year. Looks like I'm going to have quite a few dimes to add to the collection this year.
Of course, after spending all day out in the sun, with a recent haircut, my neck got rather tanned and/or burned. Laurie noticed it. I'm not quite sure if she believes that I got out from work around 5 pm or not.
Note: the picture(s) might not show up due to bandwidth limitations. If the picture(s) are not there, check back at a later time.
HH from Allen in MI
