sgoss66
Well-known member
Well, I'm happy to say that I reached my goal! As many of you know (because I keep posting about it! 
), I set a goal (back in April when I got my Explorer) to find 25 silver coins for the rest of 2011. Well, I surpassed that goal (back in August, I believe), so I re-set the goal for 50 thinking that I'd have a shot if I stayed on the same pace.
Two nights ago, sitting at 48 silvers for the year, I hit a park for about an hour -- one that I had my eye on because although it is not an "old" park, it sits on a property where a very old (pre-1900) home used to sit. Turns out it was SUPER trashy, and has obviously had alot of dirt work done on it, so I cut the hunt short and went across the street to a curb strip where a 1900-built home sits. With about a half hour left, I did manage #49 -- a 1947 Rosie (along with a 1-mil tax token).
So -- last night, needing one silver to reach the goal, I started in an old park that I hunt frequently, but which has been basically scoured out by hunters over the years. I managed 2 wheats in about four hours, along with a little deep clad. I then switched locations, deciding to hit the small front yard of a 1930 building downtown where I have pulled a few wheats in the past, but didn't find anything old. With only an hour to go, and determined to reach my goal, I decided to spend the last hour of the hunt trying the curb strip of a trio of adjacent vacant lots. These lots are in the old part of town, on which old homes used to stand, but the lots have since been leveled and cleared of trees, presumably for new construction. I decided to hunt along the 4' wide strip where the sidewalk used to be. My first signal was a very shallow high tone -- which I almost passed on -- but decided to go ahead and dig it. I dug down an inch, and out popped a chunk of rusty iron. I thought "surely that wasn't what I heard," so I checked again with my pinpointer and sure enough there was another adjacent target, within 1/2" of where the chunk of iron was -- and almost on the surface. So, I popped it out, and to my surprise it was a Merc -- #50, from about 1/2" deep!
Of course, I was quite happy to have reached my goal, but then things became even more interesting. I rubbed a bit of dirt off the bottom of the coin, and saw "1916." I thought, "no way," so I flipped it over to check for a mint mark -- and there WAS one! So now, I was REALLY excited! I couldn't make out the mintmark, and wasn't sure I should try to remove any more dirt -- but, since the coin was pretty well worn and thus not likely to be "damaged" much further, and since the suspense was KILLING me, I very carefully removed a bit more dirt, and STILL couldn't tell! Finally, though, with the help of a magnifying glass, I could see it was an "S" and not a "D". SO close!
So, number 50 was memorable in its own way -- though it could have been REALLY something! A few minutes later and just a few feet away, I managed #51 -- a '29 Merc, but time was winding down on this hunt and so that's how it ended.
Thanks to everyone who encouraged me along the way, and for reading all of the posts I've made during the "chase for 50."
Thanks for reading!
Steve
), I set a goal (back in April when I got my Explorer) to find 25 silver coins for the rest of 2011. Well, I surpassed that goal (back in August, I believe), so I re-set the goal for 50 thinking that I'd have a shot if I stayed on the same pace.Two nights ago, sitting at 48 silvers for the year, I hit a park for about an hour -- one that I had my eye on because although it is not an "old" park, it sits on a property where a very old (pre-1900) home used to sit. Turns out it was SUPER trashy, and has obviously had alot of dirt work done on it, so I cut the hunt short and went across the street to a curb strip where a 1900-built home sits. With about a half hour left, I did manage #49 -- a 1947 Rosie (along with a 1-mil tax token).
So -- last night, needing one silver to reach the goal, I started in an old park that I hunt frequently, but which has been basically scoured out by hunters over the years. I managed 2 wheats in about four hours, along with a little deep clad. I then switched locations, deciding to hit the small front yard of a 1930 building downtown where I have pulled a few wheats in the past, but didn't find anything old. With only an hour to go, and determined to reach my goal, I decided to spend the last hour of the hunt trying the curb strip of a trio of adjacent vacant lots. These lots are in the old part of town, on which old homes used to stand, but the lots have since been leveled and cleared of trees, presumably for new construction. I decided to hunt along the 4' wide strip where the sidewalk used to be. My first signal was a very shallow high tone -- which I almost passed on -- but decided to go ahead and dig it. I dug down an inch, and out popped a chunk of rusty iron. I thought "surely that wasn't what I heard," so I checked again with my pinpointer and sure enough there was another adjacent target, within 1/2" of where the chunk of iron was -- and almost on the surface. So, I popped it out, and to my surprise it was a Merc -- #50, from about 1/2" deep!
Of course, I was quite happy to have reached my goal, but then things became even more interesting. I rubbed a bit of dirt off the bottom of the coin, and saw "1916." I thought, "no way," so I flipped it over to check for a mint mark -- and there WAS one! So now, I was REALLY excited! I couldn't make out the mintmark, and wasn't sure I should try to remove any more dirt -- but, since the coin was pretty well worn and thus not likely to be "damaged" much further, and since the suspense was KILLING me, I very carefully removed a bit more dirt, and STILL couldn't tell! Finally, though, with the help of a magnifying glass, I could see it was an "S" and not a "D". SO close!
So, number 50 was memorable in its own way -- though it could have been REALLY something! A few minutes later and just a few feet away, I managed #51 -- a '29 Merc, but time was winding down on this hunt and so that's how it ended.
Thanks to everyone who encouraged me along the way, and for reading all of the posts I've made during the "chase for 50."
Thanks for reading!
Steve
Here is a toast to you Sir............
Congrats on hitting your goal.
