Big Barber … A surface find story

lenmac65

Silver Member
Jul 28, 2009
2,776
8,938
Massachusetts
🥇 Banner finds
3
Detector(s) used
Garrett AT Pro, Equinox 800 (as of 10/2019)
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
My kid had my car and my Equinox was unavailable, so I grabbed my trusty old AT Pro and walked to a town project near my house, which involved truckloads of fill. The spot never had houses, farms, or a road, but I was hoping that maybe the fill was surplus from a sidewalk or road project, and that perhaps there was a coin or two in the mix. I was detecting for only about five minutes when I got a screaming 88 high tone on the AT Pro. I prepared to dig, when I saw the half sitting right on the surface of the hard packed dirt. I wish I thought to take a picture of it on the ground, but I was too excited to think straight. The reverse was caked in dirt, but the obverse looked good, as shown in the photo. This is my first silver surface find ever. There were lots of other signals, but I only dug a Lincoln penny and some scrap. I’ll probably try it again soon. Happy hunting!
 

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Upvote 34
My kid had my car and my Equinox was unavailable, so I grabbed my trusty old AT Pro and walked to a town project near my house, which involved truckloads of fill. The spot never had houses, farms, or a road, but I was hoping that maybe the fill was surplus from a sidewalk or road project, and that perhaps there was a coin or two in the mix. I was detecting for only about five minutes when I got a screaming 88 high tone on the AT Pro. I prepared to dig, when I saw the half sitting right on the surface of the hard packed dirt. I wish I thought to take a picture of it on the ground, but I was too excited to think straight. The reverse was caked in dirt, but the obverse looked good, as shown in the photo. This is my first silver surface find ever. There were lots of other signals, but I only dug a Lincoln penny and some scrap. I’ll probably try it again soon. Happy hunting!
Very Nice!!!! Congrats!!!
 

My kid had my car and my Equinox was unavailable, so I grabbed my trusty old AT Pro and walked to a town project near my house, which involved truckloads of fill. The spot never had houses, farms, or a road, but I was hoping that maybe the fill was surplus from a sidewalk or road project, and that perhaps there was a coin or two in the mix. I was detecting for only about five minutes when I got a screaming 88 high tone on the AT Pro. I prepared to dig, when I saw the half sitting right on the surface of the hard packed dirt. I wish I thought to take a picture of it on the ground, but I was too excited to think straight. The reverse was caked in dirt, but the obverse looked good, as shown in the photo. This is my first silver surface find ever. There were lots of other signals, but I only dug a Lincoln penny and some scrap. I’ll probably try it again soon. Happy hunting!
Congratulations on your major accomplishment
It’s beautiful
 

My kid had my car and my Equinox was unavailable, so I grabbed my trusty old AT Pro and walked to a town project near my house, which involved truckloads of fill. The spot never had houses, farms, or a road, but I was hoping that maybe the fill was surplus from a sidewalk or road project, and that perhaps there was a coin or two in the mix. I was detecting for only about five minutes when I got a screaming 88 high tone on the AT Pro. I prepared to dig, when I saw the half sitting right on the surface of the hard packed dirt. I wish I thought to take a picture of it on the ground, but I was too excited to think straight. The reverse was caked in dirt, but the obverse looked good, as shown in the photo. This is my first silver surface find ever. There were lots of other signals, but I only dug a Lincoln penny and some scrap. I’ll probably try it again soon. Happy hunting!
Congratulations on that half. I’ve always thought it’s on of the most beautiful coins produced.
 

1905-S, great snag. What I find is weird is 90% of the barber coins I find in Massachusetts have mint marks and not the Philly variety. Of the 3 barber half’s ive found, 1 was a San Francisco, 1 New Orleans and one philly, of the 6 quarters I’ve found only one philly. I wonder why…….. great find!!!
 

Such a beautiful coin and exciting experience! I had a similar experience but my coin was a badly scratched 1918 Canadian half. You and I won't forget these experiences.
I have never found a Canadian half - nice! I got lucky with the condition on this one, as the front end loaders were going back and forth leveling the ground. It was a longshot finding it at all, but especially in this shape. I definitely won't forget this one any time soon.
 

Sweet Save!!! Great example of thinking out of the box to find Treasure:icon_thumleft:
Thanks! Now that my good spots are drying up, I am forced to get creative. I really did luck out on this one though, as this coin was definitely out of place. Might have to see if there are any more fill sites around now.
 

1905-S, great snag. What I find is weird is 90% of the barber coins I find in Massachusetts have mint marks and not the Philly variety. Of the 3 barber half’s ive found, 1 was a San Francisco, 1 New Orleans and one philly, of the 6 quarters I’ve found only one philly. I wonder why…….. great find!!!
Thanks. That is a bit weird with the mint marks on your coins. For my 1905S, I think it has a lot to do with the mint numbers, as San Francisco easily accounted for the most half dollar coins that year. Still a long way from home though.
 

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