197 year old half dollar. Amazing condition. Gently rinsed and new pics

NJ Marty

Hero Member
Jun 7, 2008
658
410
NJ
Detector(s) used
Minelab Explorer XS Minelab E-trac
I havent found anything exiting to post in awhile but today I found probably the best coin of my detecting career. Today after finding 4 wheat pennies in 4 hours In a pounded park, but with alot of history I put my detector away and was done for the day. I went back to chat with the guys before leaving and got a few jabs about leaving. I said ok I wil give it another 30 min, am I glad I did. After a few more wheats I headed near the tennis courts, the area is loaded with tennis ball can caps but stuck with it. At about min 28 I got a crappy signal and dug a 5 inch deep plug, stuck my pinpointer in and got an equally crappy signal then took about 3 more inches and got a good signal. I then took some dirt out with my hand and saw the edge of a big silver, I thought it was an 8 real because i saw a little if the bust lady, called my 2 buds over and told them it was an 8 real. Yes. My freind pulled it out and said its no 8 reale its american as he was looking at the eagle., I snatched it out of his hands and my heart sank I thought it was modern silver. Then i realized what it was, my first bust coin and a half to boot. The condition is amazing allthough it has an old scratch throught the sheild its still in amazing condition.
I want to thank all of you for all the nice comments and for making the banner. I have looked at this coin for hours and am still on cloud 9. I took the advice of giving it a gentle rinse (NO BRUSH) and took a few pics, I can only dream of ever topping this find. It is a find of a lifetime. Again thank you all.
Marty
 

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Upvote 1
Re: 197 year old half dollar. Amazing condition

WOW! That's flippin' KILLER!!
WTG
Baggins
 

Re: 197 year old half dollar. Amazing condition

A coin like that is what makes us go out and swing and dig those wheaties! Great find! Congrats on the banner too. :thumbsup:


HH,

Dave
 

Re: 197 year old half dollar. Amazing condition

Marty, that a beauty :thumbsup:
Hope i one day find something that old.
Bill
 

Re: 197 year old half dollar. Amazing condition

That is outstanding, what a beautiful coin!
Congrats on the Banner!!!
 

Re: 197 year old half dollar. Amazing condition

I just sat and stared at the pictures of your coin for about ten minutes straight.

Simply awesome.

Joe
 

Re: 197 year old half dollar. Amazing condition

Congrats on such a beautiful coin!
 

Re: 197 year old half dollar. Amazing condition

Arguably the most beautiful coin the U.S ever minted. Wow. Speechless!

Golden Silver
 

Re: 197 year old half dollar. Amazing condition

Neil in West Jersey said:
Jeffro said:
Very, very nice- and if you so much as touch it with a brush half of us will wring your neck, LOL!

soak it, rinse it, whatever- just have someone professionally do the cleaning if it won't rinse off, please?

Spectacular find!

What he said...... DISTILLED WATER ONLY!!!

Marty,

What can I say that has not already been said? That is the find of a lifetime! I love it when I read about a "crappy signal". Some of the best finds posted are those deep, questionable signals. It makes you wonder if someone actually got the same, questionable signal from that coin and decided not to dig it!

To put things in perspective, when that coin was lost, I guarantee it did not go unnoticed for very long. That was a lot of money in those days. What could that buy? Here is what I found:

Cost of living in the 1800's - One bag of flour $1.80 - Small measure of potatoes daily at .17 per day = $1.19 - One quarter pound of tea .38 - One quart of milk .56 - One pound of cheap coffee .35 - Three and one half pounds Sugar $1.05 - One half ration of meats per week $3.50 - Four pounds of butter $1.60 - Two pounds of lard .38 - Dried apples for treats .25 - Vegetables .50 - Soap, starch, pepper, salt, vinegar, etc. $1.00 - 2 bushels of coal $1.36 - Kerosene .30 - Sundries .28 - Rent $4.00 week = Total $18.50



Congratulations on an amazing beauty of a coin, and a well deserved banner!
Thanks I soaked it gently and took a few pics, all the advice is appreciated
 

WTG...!!! What a beautiful coin. Looks like it was minted then dropped just for you to find... :) Congrats!!!
 

:icon_thumright: Good Lord what a gorgeous coin! Congratulations! :icon_thumleft:

It reminds me of my 1832 half I dug a few years ago, it was about an inch or two deep and I was expecting a modern quarter, it about gave me a heart attack right there, haha.

Steve
 

Since you already made the banner....the only thing I have to say is ....WOW :headbang:
 

I'm speechless, it's beautiful. Congratulations!!!!!!!


WOW!!!!!!
 

WOW!!! That coin is the closest to MINT that I have ever seen on this board. ANYONE here have any idea of value? I am thinking in the thousand dollar range.
 

Hey Marty, Dave here. I'm still on cloud 9 seeing you dig up that beautiful coin. (I was there when Marty dug it up, I'll never forget that moment.) He's a great guy, glad he found it. Dave
 

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