206 yr old, BIG!, foreign, SILVER in Northern California!!

JackalopeZL1

Bronze Member
Nov 22, 2014
1,721
2,893
Tennessee And California
Detector(s) used
CTX 3030, Deus 2, Soon to be manticore
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Good Evening folks, Let me start off by saying I am freaking out right now, Literally, shaking and I never do that.:tongue3: So on to the story, I was at my friends house today hanging out like I have done for the last 20 years and he has about 10 acres of land. We are in a area that was a huge area during the gold rush here in Ca. I have always wondered about his pasture that the horses feed in. A few times over the years I have walked in the field and thought I should detect this sometime. The way the land lays I have always thought this would be a great spot for a old house. Right up the road is what is left of a rock building that was a stage stop on his neighbors property so that further made me think I should detect it. Not sure why it took me so long to do it?? lol

So today I told my buddy I was going to detect in the pasture and he said go for it. That was in the morning and I had my detectors but not my shovel and the ground was already hard even with all the rain we have had. I went home for a while, Watched my supercross races and went back in the evening with my trusty digging tool :) The grass is getting pretty tall in most of the field since the horses are not out there right now so I figured I would detect in the lower grass areas. About 45 minutes into the hunt of digging square nails I got a very scratchy sounding one way 97 on the Deus. I figured it was a can and almost did not dig. Matter a fact I started to keep going, got a couple feet past it and decided to go back and investigate again. The signal sucked but I decided to dig

I started to dig the hole flipped out a 4" deep plug, I immediately found a square nail and I swore under my breath like I normally do if I get fooled by iron. For the heck of it I put my pin pointer in the hole and found another nail or part of the original one. Pulled it out and checked with the pinpointer again. this time I was getting a slow beep in the bottom of the hole. At this point I stood up and used the dues to scan the hole again. But this time I was getting a banging 97 in all directions

I did not know what to think, I figured there was a big hunk of iron sounding off. I re-dug the plug this time going down about 8 to 10 inches and flipped the dirt out and when I did I saw what looked like a far rim in a dirt/rock clod.. Picked it up and saw a big rim with writing on one little section that was exposed. At this point I was thinking some kind of big old token? But figured it might be old so I put the hole clod in my pocket and walked to the house to clean it up..

I got to the sink and started hitting it with the water and quickly saw a unfamiliar face on the coin and saw 5 francs on the back. Rinsed a little further and saw 1811 and instantly starting shaking. this coin was heavy!!! It is a 1811 5 francs with a little wear so I figure it was dropped in the gold rush time!!

I am still freaking out that I found a monster OLD foreign silver in Northern Ca!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am very Bummed I did not video but frankly It never crossed my mind while digging this to video.. I hope you guys enjoy this!!! And I am super happy I used the Deus today. I have a pretty good assumption the ctx would have nulled over this with the Iron in the hole :)















 

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Upvote 57
Great chunk of silver you dug, especially in northern California. Just bought the Deus and going over a few sites that I've hit with the Minelabs and I'm smiling with the amounts of missed targets it's getting. Though the iron bucket(s) are getting heavier.
 

Huge CONGRATS on the Huge silver!

-- Jeff --
 

Hi; CONGRATULATIONS. THAT is a Banner coin for sure. The odds of that being found are Astronomical.!!! Some poor guy back then was surely hurting when he found that coin gone. THAT coin is easily a weeks pay for those guys back then. I hereby Vote Banner.!! What say ye Folks ?? Vote Banner ?? PEACE:RONB
 

WOW!!! Really nice coin!! Great find, congrats and HH
 

Considerng it came out of California, it is an exceedingly rare find. Consider that there were very few white/ European people here during that date line. As was mentioned befroe maybe a french fur trapper, but I was not aware they came out this far west. Another option would be the Russians or Spaniards. The traveled a lot and were in this area then. Sweet find and it is is in terrific condition!
 

Very awesome find!!! Congrats on an oldie! :occasion14:
 

That's a big one! I think the edge is so cool, and that coin is a major piece of silver.
 

Congratulations on your find!

The coin might have arrived during the California Gold Rush and circulated along with the other foreign coins at the time.

The novelty of a "silver dollar" with Napoleon on it might have enhanced it's value in California.

:)
 

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Very nice silver, congratulations!

Steve
 

Congratulations Jackalope!

That's an awesome find. Brad sent me pics the other day, I was stoked for you.
 

Thanks everyone.. still on cloud 9 showing all my co-workers today. It is fun everyone speculating where it has been and the journey it has taken.. It Is amazing how a chunk of silver can spark so many people's interest..
 

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The print around The edge says

French
dieu protege la france
English
God protect the France
 

Great story with some good lessons as well. Congrats!

strick
 

I do know what you are feeling.
I recovered an 1836 5 Franc in February.
Very sweet find,, congratulations
20170502_155925.jpg
 

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