Menu
What's new
Find's Treasure Forums

Welcome to Find's Treasure Forums, Guests!

You are viewing this forums as a guest which limits you to read only status.

Only registered members may post stories, questions, classifieds, reply to other posts, contact other members using built in messaging and use many other features found on these forums.

Why not register and join us today? It's free! (We don't share your email addresses with anyone.) We keep email addresses of our users to protect them and others from bad people posting things they shouldn't.

Click here to register!

Need Support Help?

Cannot log in?, click here to have new password emailed to you

Changed email? Forgot to update your account with new email address? Need assistance with something else?, click here to go to Find's Support Form and fill out the form.

what was your first silver coin find? mine was a...

G

GRAY GHOST

New member
1943 p mercury dime. i had found several wheats previously and just knew a little more time and determination would bag me a coveted dime or quarter. i guess it was sometime in 1981, and found an old trashpit full of blackened batteries and sheet metal from long ago. i still have that dime, its in almost uncirculated condition. the hoped for quarter was next, an 1873p in poor shape, i misplaced or lost it long ago, i would be interested to hear your replies,hh
 
(Hmm... my last post didn't go, apparently- hope this doesn't end up being a double post.)

My first silver coin was found in the early 1980s. It was a dateless Standing Liberty quarter. My records got lost when I went off to college in 1984, and I quit detecting from 1984-92.

When I resumed detecting in '92, my first silver coin that fall was a lovely AU 1956 Washington quarter with nice luster. That is where my silver count officially begins, since it marks where I started keeping count again. I have kept the tally running until today. It's up to 185 now. That's not a lot compared to some people's count, but I don't get out as often as I used to. My best in one day was five in one hole.

Your first being a 1943 Mercury dime is not at all surprising. I suspect that a Merc dime from the 1930s or 1940s is the first silver for many, many detectorists.

As a matter of fact, I am hosting a "first silver betting pool" (giveaway) on another forum, in honor of a member there who hasn't found his first silver coin yet. Basically, whoever guesses the closest to whatever his first silver coin ends up being will win a bronze medal from me.

He's getting tantalizingly close- the signs are there that it's just around the corner for him... he has an 1899 Indian cent now, and some older relics. If I wasn't the one hosting the giveaway, my prediction would be for him to find a Merc dime from the 1940s.

That just statistically makes the most sense. I think the Mercury dimes are the most common silver coins out there in the ground. Some will argue that silver Roosevelt dimes are more common. Certainly the silver Roosevelt is also common, but I find more Mercs, fortunately. For a while the totals of each were neck and neck, but Mercs finally took the lead and held it.

The Mint struck Mercury dimes for 29 years, versus only 18 for the silver Roosevelts, so the Mercs had longer to circulate and get lost.

Of course, some folks start out with something wild. That's one great thing about this hobby... you never can tell WHAT will come up!
 
I can't remember. It was about 24 years ago.

I quit metal detecting and didn't take it back up until 6 months ago.

Six months ago I I found a 1947 dime. That would be the first one after I started again.

It was in the most hunted out park in the state. I found it with a Bounty Hunter Quick Draw II, and by looking where others probably wouldn't think to look.

HH,
 
Mine was also a Merc. back in 1972 with a Jetco detector that had 2" of depth at best. I don't recall the date as there were actually 3 Merc. dimes in the plug. Although I have recovered hundreds of silver coins since those first 3, my heart still skips a beat whenever I see the glint of silver down in the hole or in the clod. HH jim tn
 
The first silver coin I found with a detector was also the first coin I ever found with one. A 1902 Barber dime, found in my yard just as the sun was coming up with a Treasure Finder BFO kit detector I had sat up all night soldering together. Two feet away another coin, a 1906 indian head penny. Both coins were barely over an inch deep and had to be hauled in with fill dirt when my house was built. That was in 1969 and the kit BFO was exactly like the one as in the photo, except I paid $34.50 plus tax at an electronic store.
[attachment 78738 bfokit.jpg]​
 
I can't give you a date on my first silver coin, as it was around 1972 when I found it. I can tell you it was a barber and I found plenty more. It was an amusement park and we were the first ones to have permission to detect it. Found hundreds of Indians and about 100 silver barbers (some merc's). Not many quarters though (about :geek:. Some seated and a gazillion pull tabs. Most of this was without discrimination, since it was not invented (or barely) yet. How I long for those days where you could find silver nearly every time you went out.:cry:
 
The first silver coin I remember digging (dad swung the detector,I dug) was in the early 70's,
and it was a benjamin half (probably still have it with all the coins I've saved). I dont remember
the year,but I remember Dad's face and the happiness I felt showing it to him :happy:. Im
sure the old man knew exaclty what was in that hole.
When I started swing again this past summer my first silver was a 1884 seated liberty dime.
I had the same feeling and missed the old man not being there to show,so I called him.
After jumping up and down a few times of course :crazy:.

Terri
 
n/t
 
[quote echostar61]When I started swing again this past summer my first silver was a 1884 seated liberty dime.
I had the same feeling and missed the old man not being there to show,so I called him.
After jumping up and down a few times of course :crazy:.

Terri[/quote]

I did my share of jumping up and down when I found my 1884, too. :)

It was the first Seated dime I'd dug, and came relatively soon after I restarted the hobby.

1076979913415_DDcoin16.jpg
 
First was a '59 Rosie, my birth year. Next was a '44 Wasington quarter about an inch down. All the rest--except for a 17x7 half reale and my first (undated) SLQ a week ago--have all been '40s Mercs and Rosies. Still don't know why I find so many '40s coins, although I have some theories.
 
Nice group of coins. I think you find so many 40's coins because the country had just recovered from the 1930's recession and then got hit by WW2. After that was over there was a great joy and awakening and money was becoming abundant due to the new jobs created along with reasonable prices. This led to new things to do like automobile rides and picnics again. Lots of big band concerts and canoeing at lakesides. You get the picture. People were happy again and had lots of loose change. You can see it in the numbers of coins produced by our mint during the 1941-46 years. I wish that happened in the early 1800's. That would have been nice!!! :cool:
 
Nice "fishscale", Dave! Are you in Canada, or the northern US?

Nice sestertius in your avatar picture, too.
 
[quote lordmarcovan]Nice "fishscale", Dave! Are you in Canada, or the northern US?

Nice sestertius in your avatar picture, too.[/quote]

I'm in northern Ontario Canada. Collecting Flavian sesterces is my other pasion.

Dave
 
Believe it or not, mine was a 1949 Canadian Quarter (in Pennsylvania) with my first detector, one of those $50.00 Radio Shack jobs. Also found my first and only Standing Liberty Quarter (no date) the same day.
 
[quote Ancient Dave][quote lordmarcovan]Nice "fishscale", Dave! Are you in Canada, or the northern US?

Nice sestertius in your avatar picture, too.[/quote]

I'm in northern Ontario Canada. Collecting Flavian sesterces is my other pasion.

Dave[/quote]

I'm doing the whole Imperial run, as far as I can get.

Here's my Galba.

RS012-Galba.jpg


It would appear we have more than one thing in common. :thumbup:

(Edit to add, for those reading- the rather scarce-ish 69 AD Galba sestertius I posted above is obviously a dug coin, but I wasn't the one who dug it- I bought it. I do hope to put the coil to the soil on the other side of the pond one day, though!)
 
What is the origin of the 69 AD Galba sestertius? Approximate value?:shrug:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top