***1864 "L" Indian Head ***DOUBLE DIE*** My oldest & rarest coin yet

[ModernMiner]

***1864 "L" Indian Head ***DOUBLE DIE*** My oldest & rarest coin yet

O.K. Folks, I'm having a serious silver slump here in good old NC. Last weeks mid-1800's house looked like a dream, but not one silver coin. Not even a Rosie.
Today I started another house down the road a bit. This one was built in 1843, sits in a wealthy area, and was built by a doctor.
Right off the bat I dug two IH's. One was an 1880, and the other an 1864 (semi key date & my oldest so far).
Again, NO SILVER!!! If these old IH's were still there, I would think the property has never been detected.
The dark black soil is soft as butter and you can literally push your digger a foot deep in areas with no problem.
I dug lots of rusty iron, nails, pull tabs, clad quarters, dimes, and nickels.
I was started having second thoughts about my machine, but if I'm digging deep clad and other relics, so I would think if there was silver to be had I would find it.
If my Tesoro found a tiny half dime in a field, then certainly it should be able to find silver in a yard.
My only thoughts are: (1) the silver is too deep, or (2) the cold temps are not allowing the machine to operate properly.
WHAT DO YOU FOLKS THINK Any input?
After watching Captn Dan constantly dig up deep silver I'm starting to wonder if I should get me a Minelab SE.
This was my first attempt and I still have lots to cover, so we'll see what happens. It's not easy getting permission to detect these old houses, and maybe I get my hopes up too high with visions of sugar plums silver dancing in my head.
Now that I got my crying done, here's my finds:

*1864 and 1880 IH's.

*Wheats- 1912, 30 , 35 (x2) , 40, 51, 52.

*Railroad nail/spike with a large "G" and "36" on the head. Is that 1936?

*Tootsietoy Jeep & Hotwheels "Sand Drifter" (1974)

*Tiny cast metal toys- Tophat , plane, train.

*Asst'd lantern parts, pocket knife, keys, etc.

Thanks for looking,
MM

 

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[vanoldschool]

Re: Who sucked up all the silver in the Raleigh area 1864 IH - my oldest!!!

nice finds, I cannot wait to get into a place like that, the yellow buggy is a hotwheel from 1974-75!!

 

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[ModernMiner]

Re: Who sucked up all the silver in the Raleigh area 1864 IH - my oldest!!!

Nice finds MM,
Those sites you hunt are beautiful. I can feel your pain about the silver. I've talked to alot of old timers. And it was like this. Back in the day maybe 25 yrs ago you would receive permission to hunt a yard just like you did.
People back in the day trusted people more. Well next thing you know the neighbor would come out and offer to let you hunt there yard also. Next thing you knew you hunted the whole block.
They would silver pick them over. Leave the iron to the penny range disc out. Your unit is in the range where the silver is. If your getting indians and wheats you'll find the silver to. It's just been picked over yard. You may find a stragler here and there.Keep up the good work. I'm dieying to go out and hunt. I got some really great sites through research I wanna go check. I hope they pan out. I found a pre 1850 ghost town on a map from 1876. Still there and intact. Had 18 homesteads down in the woods. I think this may be a overlooked ghost town. No research on the town any where.
Can't wait till spring
HH Jer

Jer,
Thanks so much for the info and ego lift. I'm glad it's not my machine as I really couldn't afford a Minelab right now.
-MM-

Hey Modern Miner , You remind me of me , back a few months ago I was getting a bad case of
"detector envy" after reading an endless stream of posts from Silverfreak and the Captain , and
they were scoring deep and old and multiple Barbers and Indians. Well I was just about ready
to turn in my MXT and get a high end "down under" detector and then some mature detectorists
reminded me that the aforementioned dudes have been in the game for over 30 years . By the
way , those Tesoros have a reputation for going deep ! And we all recently saw Kuger's post
where his MXT scored those beautiful seated liberty halves and the 10 dollar gold piece ! So
I'm content to get cozy with my MXT and just go slow and enjoy the ride . Peace, Argentium.

Thanks Arg.
Believe it or not, I feel a lot better now knowing someone may have been there before me, rather than it being my machine.
I'm not giving up though. I WILL find at least one silver coin at this property.
-MM-

My Bad,
Did more research and came up with this on the page I posted earlier.. ( was late).
http://fantasticprices.com/DateNail/Railroad.htm#faq
I guess no monograms or railroads ever put their name on the nail.
You can find it in here I don't have a copy

Date Nails and Railroad Tie Preservation
By Jeff Oaks
Published by s.n., 1999
559 pages

DDM,
Great link. Thank you.
I just e-mail Jeff to see if he had any info on that "G36" nail.
-MM-

Those are some nice finds Doug. Congrats on that 1864 injun.

Thanks Bryce.

Nice couple of hunts and finds! Date nail is nice, I haven't seen any with a letter on them. HH from frozen hard Germany, Mike

Thank you Mike. That date nail is my first.
-Doug-

no one has mentioned the L have ya looked yet? im talking about the 1864. willy.

Willy,
Where would that "L" be located?
Thanks,
MM

look at you go doug! keep persistant there is lots land lots of silver here in our neck of the woods!

Thanks Mike.

Nice finds. The houses were probably hunted back in the 70's is my guess. I hunted a lot of houses in the 60' and 70's and other people are hunting them now and are wondering where all the silver is. Back then when I got most the silver I moved on to another yard.
Dman

So YOU are the dirty bird that took all the silver!!!! I didn't realize that was going on back then. Darn it, I'll have to settle for pennies & nickels then.
-MM-

 

[ModernMiner]

Re: Who sucked up all the silver in the Raleigh area 1864 IH - my oldest!!!

Nice finds Miner. Those two Injuns sure are pretty! I'm in a silver slump too, it will come. I've been hunting a 1800s site alot recently, finding lots of relics and buttons but no real good coins yet. GL man

Thanks CM.
I'm very happy with that 64' IH.
-MM-

I confess. I did it.

MM, the reason you aren't finding silver in the yards could be that they were cherrypicked during the silver boom years ago. Stick to the fields and you'll find 'em.
Best Wishes,
Buckles

Thanks BB.
You must have been hanging out with Dman back in the 70's raiding everyones yards.
Now that you mention it, I found that tiny silver capped bust half dime in a field.
-Doug-

Modern Miner,
I agree that a lot of the yards may have been cherry-picked long ago. I had the opportunity to hunt a great 1892 home on a corner lot last summer, it looked as promising as ever. However, the only old coins I dug were wheats- about 10 of them, including two 1909's. However, I did dig a silver money clip- I guess some people just didn't drop silver coins. It's highly unlikely, but it's not unheard of. Good luck in your hunts, I won't be out for a long time yet!
Joe

Thanks for the encouragement Joe. At least it's not just me the silver is avoiding.
MM-

nice finds, I cannot wait to get into a place like that, the yellow buggy is a hotwheel from 1974-75!!

Thanks Van.
I actually found the base of another Hotwheel that was dated 1969.
-MM-

 

[crazyjarhead]

Re: Who sucked up all the silver in the Raleigh area 1864 IH - my oldest!!!

Hey Doug, That 1837 house I dug in all summer only produced 1 merc. Lot's of IH's....... cannot tel you.

 

[Ed-NH]

Re: Who sucked up all the silver in the Raleigh area 1864 IH - my oldest!!!

Your finds are great. I love those old site finds including the lamp pieces and all. The nail is great, I learn something new on the forum all the time! So the 1864 IH must be a fatty right? I found two of them myself they are great to add to a collection especially being CW era congrats on your hunt 8)

 

[ModernMiner]

Re: Who sucked up all the silver in the Raleigh area 1864 IH - my oldest!!!

Hey Doug, That 1837 house I dug in all summer only produced 1 merc. Lot's of IH's....... cannot tel you.

Ron,
I'm feeling a whole lot better now. I started thinking my Tesoro was actually repelling the silver.
Thanks buddy.
-MM-

Your finds are great. I love those old site finds including the lamp pieces and all. The nail is great, I learn something new on the forum all the time! So the 1864 IH must be a fatty right? I found two of them myself they are great to add to a collection especially being CW era congrats on your hunt 8)

Thanks Ed.
Are the fatties thicker than the normal IH? I think mine went on a diet because it looks like the thin (regular sized) version.
I'm very excited to finally find a CW era coin.
-MM-

 

[ModernMiner]

Re: Who sucked up all the silver in the Raleigh area 1864 IH - my oldest!!!

My Bad,
Did more research and came up with this on the page I posted earlier.. ( was late).
http://fantasticprices.com/DateNail/Railroad.htm#faq
I guess no monograms or railroads ever put their name on the nail.
You can find it in here I don't have a copy

Date Nails and Railroad Tie Preservation
By Jeff Oaks
Published by s.n., 1999
559 pages

DDM,
Thanks again for the link & info.
As I said above, I e-mailed to Jeff and already received a reply within an hour!
Here's what he said about my nail:

Hi Doug,
If your nail shows a big "G", and inside the letter is the "36", then it is a nail driven into a timber (such as a utility pole) treated by Gulf States Creosoting Co. The 36 does stand for 1936. As far as I know, these nails are only found in NC. Gulf States used copper nails from 1928 to 1937. Sometimes they used older nails by restriking a new date on top of the old date.

---Jeff

 

[MUD(S.W.A.T)]

Re: Who sucked up all the silver in the Raleigh area 1864 IH - my oldest!!!

IH are just as good as a Rossie, Merc, and maybe a Barber but not a seated. Ummm.... If you did not find silver maybe your working to fast and your coil skipped it. Keep in mind, the signal looks like this \/ so you have just a pinpoint area that hits the coin sooo.... If your working to fast you can skip a lot... Try and think of the area's with the most foot traffic, playing and activity. Then search those areas real slow and deep. You should pull a silver or two... I can't remember how many times I have been over an area and then found silver later in that same area. Lots of times...

Keep @ it and HH!!

 

[Ed-NH]

Re: Who sucked up all the silver in the Raleigh area 1864 IH - my oldest!!!

Hey Doug, That 1837 house I dug in all summer only produced 1 merc. Lot's of IH's....... cannot tel you.

Ron,
I'm feeling a whole lot better now. I started thinking my Tesoro was actually repelling the silver.
Thanks buddy.
-MM-

Your finds are great. I love those old site finds including the lamp pieces and all. The nail is great, I learn something new on the forum all the time! So the 1864 IH must be a fatty right? I found two of them myself they are great to add to a collection especially being CW era congrats on your hunt 8)

Thanks Ed.
Are the fatties thicker than the normal IH? I think mine went on a diet because it looks like the thin (regular sized) version.
I'm very excited to finally find a CW era coin.
-MM-

Hi MM, the fattys were almost twice as thick as the regular ones. They were 1962-64 (I think). I have 1862 & 1864 and both are fattys.

 

[ModernMiner]

Re: Who sucked up all the silver in the Raleigh area 1864 IH - my oldest!!!

IH are just as good as a Rossie, Merc, and maybe a Barber but not a seated. Ummm.... If you did not find silver maybe your working to fast and your coil skipped it. Keep in mind, the signal looks like this \/ so you have just a pinpoint area that hits the coin sooo.... If your working to fast you can skip a lot... Try and think of the area's with the most foot traffic, playing and activity. Then search those areas real slow and deep. You should pull a silver or two... I can't remember how many times I have been over an area and then found silver later in that same area. Lots of times...

Keep @ it and HH!!

MUDS,
That may be a factor too, as it was cold & windy and I was working the ront yard somewhat quickly. Now that I have a lot of the junk out of the way, I'll go back and hit it at 90 degrees from the first attempt. What I thought was neat was I was digging wheats too up on the grass strip next to the road. I may work my way down the street once I get caught up.
I'm happy with the IH's. The IH's & Mercs are my favorite coin designs.
-MM-

Hey Doug, That 1837 house I dug in all summer only produced 1 merc. Lot's of IH's....... cannot tel you.

Ron,
I'm feeling a whole lot better now. I started thinking my Tesoro was actually repelling the silver.
Thanks buddy.
-MM-

Your finds are great. I love those old site finds including the lamp pieces and all. The nail is great, I learn something new on the forum all the time! So the 1864 IH must be a fatty right? I found two of them myself they are great to add to a collection especially being CW era congrats on your hunt 8)

Thanks Ed.
Are the fatties thicker than the normal IH? I think mine went on a diet because it looks like the thin (regular sized) version.
I'm very excited to finally find a CW era coin.
-MM-

Hi MM, the fattys were almost twice as thick as the regular ones. They were 1962-64 (I think). I have 1862 & 1864 and both are fattys.

Thanks Ed.
I would love to find a fatty other than the one I see in the mirror.
It was mentioned above about looking for an "L" on my 1864 IH. Any idea where that is located?
Thanks,
MM

 

[kdismuke1]

Re: Who sucked up all the silver in the Raleigh area 1864 IH - my oldest!!!

SUPER FINDS THE SILVER WILL COME.

 

[NGE]

Re: Who sucked up all the silver in the Raleigh area 1864 IH - my oldest!!!

Nice finds..... There is a very old park in Endicott, New York that is the same way, tons of wheats and I.H.'s. No silver. I think someone has cherry picked it.....NGE

 

[mlw67]

Re: Who sucked up all the silver in the Raleigh area 1864 IH - my oldest!!!

It was mentioned above about looking for an "L" on my 1864 IH. Any idea where that is located?

 

[dave-enc]

Re: Who sucked up all the silver in the Raleigh area 1864 IH - my oldest!!!

wtg on the nice batch of finds doug, there still may be some silver there is so Im sure you will find it
hh
dave+bobbie

 

[tomharris76]

Re: Who sucked up all the silver in the Raleigh area 1864 IH - my oldest!!!

Cool finds even though no silver. However, I was having the same problem as you with thinking silver is some mythical metal. I purchased a minelab explorer se about 7-8 months ago. It was slow going at first, only found 2 silver coins through December. Then here in January I'm getting the hang of the machine and I've dug 5 silver coins this month alone. It's a great tool and once you really get to know how to use it silver is not make beleive.

 

[TXDIRTFISHER]

Re: Who sucked up all the silver in the Raleigh area 1864 IH - my oldest!!!

if silver was there you'd find it. Keep looking.

 

[Michiganne]

Re: Who sucked up all the silver in the Raleigh area 1864 IH - my oldest!!!

Looks like a great hunt to me, Doug. Sweet IH's and relics.

The dark black soil is soft as butter and you can literally push your digger a foot deep in areas with no problem.
This line alone makes me want to cry, looking out on the foot of snow and frozen tundra here.

HH

 

[Detectingfreak]

Re: Who sucked up all the silver in the Raleigh area 1864 IH - my oldest!!!

nice job on the 1864 semi key date indian head penny!!!!!

 

[ModernMiner]

Re: Who sucked up all the silver in the Raleigh area 1864 IH - my oldest!!!

It was mentioned above about looking for an "L" on my 1864 IH. Any idea where that is located?

Thanks for that picture MLW. Unfortunately I'm not seeing that "L".
-MM-

wtg on the nice batch of finds doug, there still may be some silver there is so Im sure you will find it
hh
dave+bobbie

Thanks D & B.
-MM-

Cool finds even though no silver. However, I was having the same problem as you with thinking silver is some mythical metal. I purchased a minelab explorer se about 7-8 months ago. It was slow going at first, only found 2 silver coins through December. Then here in January I'm getting the hang of the machine and I've dug 5 silver coins this month alone. It's a great tool and once you really get to know how to use it silver is not make beleive.

Thanks Tom, and congrats on the silver.
After seeing all the non-silver horror stories above, I'm pretty sure it's a matter of the silver not being there rather than my machine.
-MM-

if silver was there you'd find it. Keep looking.

Thanks TX.
I'm bringing explosives in next time.
-MM-

Looks like a great hunt to me, Doug. Sweet IH's and relics.

The dark black soil is soft as butter and you can literally push your digger a foot deep in areas with no problem.
This line alone makes me want to cry, looking out on the foot of snow and frozen tundra here.

HH

I hate it for ya Mich. Today was in the 60's but we're heading back into the 30's in a few days. That won't keep me away though.
Thanks,
MM
P.S. I can send you a bucket of black dirt to dig in if you want to keep in practice over the winter.

nice job on the 1864 semi key date indian head penny!!!!!

Thanks DF & thanks for the PM. You made my day.
-MM-

 

[lairmo]

Re: Who sucked up all the silver in the Raleigh area 1864 IH - my oldest!!!

Well, silver (and gold) are heavier...I vote deeper!! Just keep goin' back if possible!!! Nice finds for now though. HH!!!