1801 Draped Bust LC

[Ocean7]

1801 Draped Bust LC? found!

well Sat. was nothing to rave about. We started out be being thwarted at
our first site by a field we thought was plowed. It was full of crops and
unhuntable. So we went to another site and got skunked as far as good finds.
Found this rag-tag throwback from the 60's:

And ended the day with these - imagine getting back to your car and
reaching into your pocket. Now that must have been a bad day for this
guy - esp. if he was a hunter pulling a buck out of the woods. You have
no car keys, house keys, etc.

Sun. was much different. I went for a two hour hunt and the first thing I
dug was a 1801 Draped Bust Large Cent (in my first 5 minutes of hunting)!
These don't come out of the ground looking very good but it's still 203 years old!
Here's the front:

Back:

Then I got a good signal by a large rock at the base where a tree had fallen.
Had to move the rock which was decent sized and dug out two 1964 silver
dimes in same hole. One was at like 1 inch and the other was at 5 inches deep.
They were lost almost new.

back:

Sunday made up for Sat. and proved you just can't give up!? ?

pics deleted by O7

 

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[True_Metal]

Great find! You beat out my oldest LC by one year. Looks just like mine,. Its too bad they dont fare better in the ground.

 

[Ocean7]

well it's not my oldest LC but yeah the soil in PA just ruins the heck out of them.

 

[True_Metal]

Yep, just like the nasty soil here in NY. A shame it is.

 

[Moonshadow]

Great Work Ocean7! Sorry that I can't see your pics though

Go find some more and tell us about it!

HH,
Moon

 

[Gold Digg3r]

Hey, Ocean7 we can't see ur pics, are they too lardge? or somtghing? well the coin SOUNDS like a very good find, keep it up O7 Good Luck on ur next hunt! HH GoldD

 

[Ocean7]

guess I can't embed in text and then unclick attachment boxes at bottom? Oh well - hope they stay this time!

 

[Gold Digg3r]

Those pics cofermed my my excitment, only wish i could find somthing like that , my oldest coin as u might already know is from 1857 , well keep up the good work, oh by the way what state do u live in? and what brand and model of detector are u using? HH GoldD

 

[Ocean7]

Gold Digg3r - live in PA (a very old colonial area). Basically you have to hunt in a colonial area to find Colonial period coins. The odds of finding them elsewhere are very high.
Use a Minelab Explorer II detector.

 

[Gold Digg3r]

AAA!! i am trying to get one of those! are they really good? i certainly think they are. but their certainly exspensive dont u think so? well ty for answering my qeuestan oops u know what i mean,HH GoldD

 

[richg]

I live in Schuylkill County, PA and have yet to find even 1 silver coin not counting war nickels of which I found 2 today, a 43 S and 43 P. Anyway nice finds, keep up the good work!! HH!
Rich

 

[Moonshadow]

Now we're in business.......nice photos! Definitely a good weekend for you. Great Job!

HH,

Moon

 

[lab rat]

I'm still looking for my first decent war nickel-- I've got one badly corroded one found sniping on a beach... Large Cents are something I can only dream about! Good going!

 

[True_Metal]

Ocean7: You have some of the oldest coin finds on here that i have seen so far. Can you give me any tips on finding locations for colonial era coins. I'm right next to you here in NY and any tips you can give would apply here as well. I assume you are not hitting the pounded parks or other obvious places. Thanks 8)

 

[Ocean7]

look where it is not OBVIOUS!!!!! Hunt where it is difficult to hunt!!! But don't overlook the obvious that everyone else has overlooked!!!

That old farm with those cornfields that dates back to 1700's or earlier. Where to hunt - cornfields.
They may not let you detect around the house but who cares about the cornfields

Talk to old-timers and guys who used to metal detect (if you can find any) but are retired and cannot hunt anymore. Where did they find colonial coins There's more to be found. Old detectors could not detect to depths that our state-of-the-art detectors do today.

Research history of your area - what were the earliest settlements in your area? What's there today?
Could you hunt there? Think outside of the box and you will be surprised at what sometimes falls into your lap. Join the historical society in your area.

Join a detecting club and network with guys who know what they are doing. Are they looking for a partner to go metal detecting with? Get someone to show you exactly where to hunt or tell you where exactly to hunt. Maybe they'll offer up a place they feel is hunted out by themselves.

Methodical hard work and patience. Never giving up - helps quite a bit. Can you hunt all day and dig nothing but junk? Good - you've got what it takes to find some old coins. Is it easy - NO! Not until you find the right sites to hunt and you unearth that first colonial coin.

How long did it take me? Long time partner - many pulltabs and many frustrating days of dead ends,
bad guesses, and bad choices of places to hunt. Don't be lazy - research pays off.
Now reread my first line until it sinks in... good luck! HH!

site for some research tools: in '2003 this guy was a doomsday machine with a Minelab in his hands.
He's one of my heros! *s*
http://www.mikesweather.metsite.com/detectin/html/research.html

 

[richg]

Just curious as to how deep this coin was found? I dont mind digging junk but what does irritate me is getting a silver signal on the gti-1500 at 12+ so I dig and I dig only to find a rusted piece of pipe or an old rusty hammer. I am just curious as to how deep alot of these older coins are. I understand that it depends alot on the soil and environment and all that other stuff. HH!! Keep up the good work!!

 

[Ocean7]

was 3" from a fallen tree and 7" deep. The Double D coil on Minelab has a |_| shaped signal instead of the V shaped signal on many other coils. The depth is the same on all areas of the coil and not a cone shaped area requiring over-lapping of coil. A V shaped coil field probably could not get close enough to truck to pickup this coin IMO.

This could be why I hit this coin and no one else did. Or maybe I'm just lucky... somehow I doubt that!

But the good news is this - most colonial coins are 5-8" deep although I've dug them at 1 foot. And yes iron is very frustrating to deal with in the field. With EX II, I can go by tone. Coins sound much different than iron but I do get fooled by large pieces of iron.

 

[rhedden]

Nice find. I love digging the old coppers. My oldest to date is a 1794 Liberty Cap (no date, but head of 1794) found in Frederick Co., MD. It was in a wooded area that was difficult to access, not obvious, and untouched. Only 1.5" deep. Coin was totally worn out, but was barely corroded. If only it had been sharper!

 

[True_Metal]

Thanks Ocean7. Alot of what you said i have already began to use in my hunting, particulary the research. Old timers seem to be the most rewarding as the info they have has passed down to them from their families/friends. Around here it seems that fires have taken their toll on many old records that were burned up and lost forever. I think you hit it on the head that woods hunting is the key, or at least a big part of it as i just told Bergie a few days ago i think that is where the oldest finds for coins or relics would likely be found. In this area there does not seem to be alot of crop fields, and the ones from the colonial area are now most likely developed. Not to say that many are not developed and have woods on them now, but as you said research is the way to go, and i will just have to locate them. I'm optimistic and so far it has paid off to an extent as i was able to find out there was an old carriage road that went thru my girlfriends property, and i knew the area had history. The resulting search turned up an 1802 LC, so at least it's a start.
Thanks again 8)

 

[DFX DAVE in M.D.]

I think the two 64 rosie dimes were lost by the hippie in 60s who also lost his peace sign necklace emblem.What was that hippie doing there losing his stuff was he partying to hard or trying to sneak a few kisses with his girlfriend.Only kidding awsome finds you made.