I went camping this weekend with my father and 'The Chase' to a remote, long forgotten ghost town, nestled away in the mountains of NorCal.
This is a site that The Chase and I have been hitting once a year for the past four years, and although the first few years were fairly unproductive with not a single old coin, we enjoyed going there enough to keep the annual Hell Hunt tradition going. This place is the poster child for iron infestation, with seas of square nails iron pipes everywhere, and other iron scattered about. Last year we finally made progress, each coming home with some older coins, a 1903 V nickle, a 1917 buffalo nickle, and IIRC the Chase got a 1912 wheatie. Nothing earth shattering, but it proved there were still old coins to be found there. This year we had our annual Hell Hunt in April, and we explored a new area away from the "main" area that not only has the iron issues, but has been hammered hard, as is apparent by many new dig holes every time we've visited, and the lack of old coins in a site that was probably loaded with old coins in the past given its history. This time The Chase blew away our expectations that old coins were still present, finding an 1891S double eagle - 2012 Annual Hell Hunt finds $20 Gold
Although I did finally find a silver coin on that hunt, a 1950 washington quarter wasn't exactly what we were after
We decided to do a camping trip this weekend to continue exploring the area. Three things on my bucket list that I've never found, a seated quarter, half dollar, or a CC seated. Saturday turned out to be my day. We hunted a new area that looked promising, but didn't result in anything interesting. We ended up walking to the field where The Chase got the double eagle, and immediately I got a wheatie. OK, not a bad sign. We continued hunting, getting lots of the normal things you find in a ghost town environment - BULLETS and FLAT IRON
We wonder around the field (it's huge, probably the length of 4-5 football fields) and I finally get a super text book quarter signal. I dig the target, and out comes an 1877 CC seated quarter
I couldn't believe it, after five years of trying to get a seated quarter, I finally land one, and a Carson City minted one to boot! Now everyone is charged up, looking for their own! Not five minutes later I get another banging quarter signal. I call my father over to let him listen to it, and tell him that it sounds exactly the same as the seated quarter I just dug, and said I bet it's another one. I dig up the hole, and there it is, I cannot believe my eyes. In the dirt is not a seated quarter, but a seated half dollar 
OK, now I'm excited :thumber: After a little rinse with some bottled water, the date reveals itself, it's an 1858-O. Unfortunately no other silver coins were found over the weekend (not for a lack of trying), but I did get a couple of wheaties and a few clad, some period do-dads, and a whole lot of leaverights. Even though the heat was torturous, fun was had by all.
Thanks for looking,
Brian
This is a site that The Chase and I have been hitting once a year for the past four years, and although the first few years were fairly unproductive with not a single old coin, we enjoyed going there enough to keep the annual Hell Hunt tradition going. This place is the poster child for iron infestation, with seas of square nails iron pipes everywhere, and other iron scattered about. Last year we finally made progress, each coming home with some older coins, a 1903 V nickle, a 1917 buffalo nickle, and IIRC the Chase got a 1912 wheatie. Nothing earth shattering, but it proved there were still old coins to be found there. This year we had our annual Hell Hunt in April, and we explored a new area away from the "main" area that not only has the iron issues, but has been hammered hard, as is apparent by many new dig holes every time we've visited, and the lack of old coins in a site that was probably loaded with old coins in the past given its history. This time The Chase blew away our expectations that old coins were still present, finding an 1891S double eagle - 2012 Annual Hell Hunt finds $20 Gold
Although I did finally find a silver coin on that hunt, a 1950 washington quarter wasn't exactly what we were after
We decided to do a camping trip this weekend to continue exploring the area. Three things on my bucket list that I've never found, a seated quarter, half dollar, or a CC seated. Saturday turned out to be my day. We hunted a new area that looked promising, but didn't result in anything interesting. We ended up walking to the field where The Chase got the double eagle, and immediately I got a wheatie. OK, not a bad sign. We continued hunting, getting lots of the normal things you find in a ghost town environment - BULLETS and FLAT IRON
We wonder around the field (it's huge, probably the length of 4-5 football fields) and I finally get a super text book quarter signal. I dig the target, and out comes an 1877 CC seated quarter
I couldn't believe it, after five years of trying to get a seated quarter, I finally land one, and a Carson City minted one to boot! Now everyone is charged up, looking for their own! Not five minutes later I get another banging quarter signal. I call my father over to let him listen to it, and tell him that it sounds exactly the same as the seated quarter I just dug, and said I bet it's another one. I dig up the hole, and there it is, I cannot believe my eyes. In the dirt is not a seated quarter, but a seated half dollar OK, now I'm excited :thumber: After a little rinse with some bottled water, the date reveals itself, it's an 1858-O. Unfortunately no other silver coins were found over the weekend (not for a lack of trying), but I did get a couple of wheaties and a few clad, some period do-dads, and a whole lot of leaverights. Even though the heat was torturous, fun was had by all.
Thanks for looking,
Brian
