Best of 10 outings: Draped Cents x 4, Dandy Heaven, and a visit from the Deus Wizard

Z.K.

Bronze Member
Jun 16, 2015
1,011
1,412
The Grants
Detector(s) used
Etrac
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Howdy folks

It's been a fun couple of months, with a good find or two popping up with each hunt. I'm pleased with two 1798 draped cents and my first federal issue Canadian large cent, but I love the beautiful bell. Got my first full set of cufflinks, too! And I always like a few more buckles, an ox knob, and scythe handle part.
DSC_0200.JPGDSC_0197.JPG
DSC_0165.JPG
DSC_0206.JPG
1798 better.JPG

A visit last weekend from Aureus/Anton was fun and instructive on a number of levels, and will change the way I approach some of the hobby. This was also the first experience I've had with a true comparison of my etrac with the deus in what for me was an iron infested mess. And I couldn't believe how the deus could hear cent-size and smaller conductive targets on the same ground that my etrac was completely nulling out. I'll have another steep learning curve, but I clearly need that tool in my kit!
In addition to the technical education and camaraderie, it was some great time deep in the abandoned woods; I'd set down everything periodically just to hear the birds and streams, and remember why I really love this hobby: in what other avocation can we combine hiking, exploring, discovery, history, and the peace of the natural world?

The group of dandy buttons below makes me really happy. I'll take a nicely designed one of these over a large cent at this point. We pulled a combined 15 dandies at one site; the fact that 7/8 of mine had designs comforted me in my coinless state whilst The Detecting Wizard of the North found a flying eagle after being on American soil less than 24 hours.
DSC_0173.JPG

Speaking of dandies, I'm edging closer to investing time into creating some kind of shared resource for these (like a Dandy Wiki?), as they are such a cool but unstudied chapter in late 18th century material culture. Perhaps we could start to match up our designs by state and county, which would give at least some data towards a census and distribution? I welcome your thoughts and feedback...all 6 of you who have read this far and like such an idea! :tongue3:

Lastly, an unusual but interesting collection of early 1900s Hood Dairy copper milk can labels from a rare yard hunt. These would be affixed to the necks of 10 gallon cans in which milk was shipped up until the 1930s, when refrigeration began to change the industry (and American life). I enjoy digging things that teach me something, or encourage me to see it in a new way.
DSC_0160.JPG
milk production.JPG

Finds Anton kindly left for me to add to my collection, out of my love of buttons and buckles.
DSC_0188.JPG

An example of an nice little button with a wheat bushel motif that my etrac couldn't hear at all through a field of nails, but which the Deus (and its operator) did.
DSC_0209.JPG

Omitted from the pics are a few mercs, IHPs, and wheat pennies that I gave to landowners. Turns out I gave away a white gold ring, too. Thought it was silver. Ah well, it wasn't colonial or anything : )

Wishing you all good history, and a safe and fun remainder of the summer.
 

Upvote 44
great post, sounds like you may have new hope for other iron places as well. guys like me can only hope for one of those Dandys to somehow show up around here. sounded like a great time in both learning and friendship. congrats

Thanks so much, dirtlooter, what a nice response. I try to be a good steward to the history here, as I know how lucky I am to be detecting in new England (came from Texas 6 years ago, before I picked up the hobby).

Hope a dandy or two found its way down there anyhow, and that you get your coil over 'em. :icon_thumleft:
 

I don't need a wiki page to tell me you scored a bunch of 18th century dandies. Very nice selection and I'd argue the owner had some means, so keep digging. There's silver in that thar site! Lol.

Very excellent hunt bruddah!!

Thanks, Steve. I'm hopeful for more good finds from the site. I've been noticing signs of advancing Spanish silver withdrawal (involuntary arm sweeping, making stupid "reale" puns, impersonating Mel Fisher, etc), so I do think an infusion of Carlos III is in order!
 

Well done on all the oldies but goodies , lol I imagine the built in "Automatic Extractor Digging Device " :laughing7: is an option somewhere in the future .
 

Amazing finds I would make a great display case and start a club for collecting those. Great post. The only thing I find old where I hunt is me!!!!!!

Ha! Thanks A2, a collecting club for dandy buttons is about my speed at this point (a *very* exciting life I lead!). Say, you've been super supportive of folks in this community as of late. Hats off to you...
 

How cool is it to dig that many dandy buttons from one site! That place was active during a great period for coins, buttons and other relics. You might pull a GW out of there.
 

Amazing recoveries and post my friend. Great you and that "Canuck" got together for a fabulous time of exploration, relaxation, and fellowship. Dream-state like finds and makes a person just a bit envious of your time shared together. This has to be THE greatest sport in the world. More than a hobby to me as there is so much involved in research, hiking, exploring, etc. Thanks for sharing and articulating your adventure so eloquently. Peace out bro'.:headbang:
 

What an awesome group of finds! Big congratulations Ken. Really enjoyed our hunts and the conversations. Glad to have been able to share some of my Hogwarts detecting school wizardry. :laughing7:
 

Love those Dandy buttons as well,and your spot on when you say that this hobby combines hiking,exploring,history,education and the beauty of Nature.
Oh and your right too about Calling Anton the Deus Wizard,except I've always referred to
Him as the Magician.

Lol. The only magic trick I do perfectly is getting occasional interesting finds while successfully avoiding the banners. :laughing7:
 

Last edited:
Spot on with all points... Well said my friend, I couldn't agree more. Looks like you and Anton had a great time. I need to talk to him about NOT revealing all the secrets of the Deus to the world :laughing7:. It really is a deadly machine in the iron and it's a ton of fun to squeak something out from between the nails. I really like the bell too and congrats on your links man. I like the dandy resource wiki/database idea.

Promise, I'll try to keep low profile :laughing7:
 

Terrific hunting Z.K. That 's a lovely collection of old coppers and dandy buttons. I've never found a dandy...hopefully one day. The bell...well...I have a thing for bells. Yours is a beauty! Congrats!!
I totally have a thing for bells, too! I even thought about making a youtube video for this thread just to capture the beautiful tone of this bell. Then I thought, "Surely that would be going too far." : )

Thanks as always, Silvermonkey

Really nice finds!! I must say that bell is cool!! Congrats and HH
Thanks DD! It is a personal favorite. I gave away my only other really nice bell to a land owner, so I'm going to keep this one.

What an absolutely amazing hunt! That 1798 DBLC is fantastic- Congrats!
-- Jeff --
Thanks a bunch, Jeff!
 

Love those Dandy buttons as well,and your spot on when you say that this hobby combines hiking,exploring,history,education and the beauty of Nature.
Oh and your right too about Calling Anton the Deus Wizard,except I've always referred to Him as the Magician.
Thanks so much, Tony. I'm pretty sure that 10sols you saved from the ravages of time counts as magic, if not darn near wizardry. :notworthy:

Killer finds! :notworthy:
Thanks as always, Prof!

Looks like you found a hunney hole! Congrats!
It's a tough but beautiful spot. Hopefully with persistence they'll be lots more history to unearth there. Thanks trdking.
 

Spot on with all points... Well said my friend, I couldn't agree more. Looks like you and Anton had a great time. I need to talk to him about NOT revealing all the secrets of the Deus to the world :laughing7:. It really is a deadly machine in the iron and it's a ton of fun to squeak something out from between the nails. I really like the bell too and congrats on your links man. I like the dandy resource wiki/database idea.

Well, my Deus should arrive by Friday. I can't wait! Of course I'm presuming that with the complexity of the frequencies and such learning the Deus is going to be a bit like becoming a freemason. Handshakes and lingo and whatnot. :laughing7:

Thanks for the kind words and encouragement about the dandy resource. We'll see what happens!
 

Well, my Deus should arrive by Friday. I can't wait! Of course I'm presuming that with the complexity of the frequencies and such learning the Deus is going to be a bit like becoming a freemason. Handshakes and lingo and whatnot. :laughing7:

Thanks for the kind words and encouragement about the dandy resource. We'll see what happens!

I think you're going to find its much easier than you might think. Of course everyone is going to have their favorite settings that their ears are tuned to... I tried using friends programs that they swore by, but in the end... my favorite program is #3 Deus Fast! I love the sound of it and I can hear the faintest of 'clicks' (signals so deep they wont beep)... My typical frequency is 18, but lately I've gotten an ear for 12. But its all personal preference. There's only a few settings that affect performance drastically and everything else is just what you prefer. Head over to the Deus section on here... we have some great members over there and some really informative posts.

I got mine nearly 2 years ago and this is what happened on my first time out... http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/t...le-springfield-1810-bayonet-1819-lc-more.html Before that hunt, I had already spent 6 months there with my v3i and t2, both great machines. I had planned on taking my T2 along for the first few hunts with the Deus because I knew the T2 and loved it... but the Deus was so simple right from the start, so I felt comfortable with it. I think you're going to really like it.
 

Well, my Deus should arrive by Friday. I can't wait! Of course I'm presuming that with the complexity of the frequencies and such learning the Deus is going to be a bit like becoming a freemason. Handshakes and lingo and whatnot. :laughing7:

Thanks for the kind words and encouragement about the dandy resource. We'll see what happens!

Congrats on the great hunt with top notch finds, very impressive!

And you're getting a Deus, you're in for some fun for sure. I agree with OutdoorAdv the Deus Fast program is fantastic right out of the box. Go back to your trashiest yet productive site and I'll bet you find more goods. Then when you're convinced you got it all, get a good full tones program and prepare to have your mind blown!
 

Well, my Deus should arrive by Friday. I can't wait! Of course I'm presuming that with the complexity of the frequencies and such learning the Deus is going to be a bit like becoming a freemason. Handshakes and lingo and whatnot. :laughing7:

Man....you're gonna have fun with the new machine. Prepare to be blown away and see a huge difference in iron infested grounds.
 

I think you're going to find its much easier than you might think. Of course everyone is going to have their favorite settings that their ears are tuned to... I tried using friends programs that they swore by, but in the end... my favorite program is #3 Deus Fast! I love the sound of it and I can hear the faintest of 'clicks' (signals so deep they wont beep)... My typical frequency is 18, but lately I've gotten an ear for 12. But its all personal preference. There's only a few settings that affect performance drastically and everything else is just what you prefer. Head over to the Deus section on here... we have some great members over there and some really informative posts.

I got mine nearly 2 years ago and this is what happened on my first time out... http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/t...le-springfield-1810-bayonet-1819-lc-more.html Before that hunt, I had already spent 6 months there with my v3i and t2, both great machines. I had planned on taking my T2 along for the first few hunts with the Deus because I knew the T2 and loved it... but the Deus was so simple right from the start, so I felt comfortable with it. I think you're going to really like it.

I agree, Deus Fast out of the box is a program you can comfortably hunt with for a few years. It's amazing on iron infested sites, rocky soils, under water,freshly plowed fields. But than, Deus is such a unique machine you will be able to adjust it to each site through the expert settings.
 

fantastic finds!
You have a LOT of really great history in those relics. But I have a soft spot for the colonial cufflinks. I remember the time I found one and it's still one of my favorite and oldest finds.
Also love the bell, love the buttons.
Great post, lots of info. Congrats and can't wait to see more. HH
 

Last edited:

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Latest Discussions

Back
Top