PikesPeakCharlie
Bronze Member
- Nov 19, 2008
- 1,798
- 1,527
- Detector(s) used
- Garrett Gti 2500, Garrett Gta 350, Garrett Pro-Pointer -- Whites IDX Pro, AutoMax V2 Pinpointer
- Primary Interest:
- All Treasure Hunting
Hi everybody ! This story took place in 1997,but wanted to share : Fade in: A cool sunny May morning in Colorado,my phone rings waking me up.My friend who runs an excavating business is on the other end, "You might want to get over here,we started digging the foundation this morning,and there are bottles everywhere !". Now let me back up just a touch,It is a fantastic privellage to know an excavator in an old mining town,He always calls me when a new job is started,and wont let anyone in but us 
just cant ask for too much more ! Ok back to the dig. Well it took all of about 10 mins to wake up my brother get dressed shove some food down,throw the shovels in the truck & we were gone,by the way did I mention that as I ran out the door,I grabbed the old bounty hunter detector,this would prove to be one of those second hand actions that makes the difference between boom and bust 
. We Arrive at the job site,the Frontend loader and Trackhoe are a flury of activity,a Large hole had already been dug. I get out of the truck and there is a pile of bottles that my friend had put there for me & there were some nice ones 
After talking with the guys,gathering some info from them ,we head to the other side of the job,and walk into old bottle heaven 
,they were lying on the ground,on top of piles of dirt,sticking out of the bank,needless to say we had boxes on top of boxes,on top of boxes of bottles at the end of the day. I decided to take a break from the bottle diggin ,& get out the detector,started hunting a strip that my friend had come over & dragged with the frontend loader for me,& almost immediatly found a couple of round white disc's the size of coins 
(later determined these to be lead cheater slugs for the old slot machines from the late 1890s or early 1900s.) I detected along the length of the strip,at the very end ,right up against the bank,I recieved a good signal,and dug up this clump of green metal,partially wrapped in cloth,then found 2 more smaller clumps.Well sitting there trying to figure out what these clumps were,I started breaking off the lose dirt,then realized they were some sort of coins stuck together 
,first thought I'd found a clump of pennies,upon closer examination,I see the name of a Colorado town then realized I had a clump of turn of the century Merchant Trade tokens 
,I stand up,look at the bank,& right at eye level is another clump of tokens sitting in a coffee can that had been broken open by the frontend loader,this can had been thrown in a trash pit and was 6' from the surface. After a long day,we had found 100's of bottles & almost 200 Trade Tokens from Denver,Leadville,Cripple Creek,Victor,Goldfield etc,etc,,,Chicago,& even one fron San Luis Obisbo Calif.Also In the can were a large caliber bullet,& a key. I think it was obvious that someone wanted to destroy these tokens,Thankfully They didnt destroy them completely,a few were unreadable,but most cleaned up quite nice. Enjoy the pic's sorry there is not more.It was many years before I had a digital camera,my apologies for the scans. PPC
just cant ask for too much more ! Ok back to the dig. Well it took all of about 10 mins to wake up my brother get dressed shove some food down,throw the shovels in the truck & we were gone,by the way did I mention that as I ran out the door,I grabbed the old bounty hunter detector,this would prove to be one of those second hand actions that makes the difference between boom and bust . We Arrive at the job site,the Frontend loader and Trackhoe are a flury of activity,a Large hole had already been dug. I get out of the truck and there is a pile of bottles that my friend had put there for me & there were some nice ones After talking with the guys,gathering some info from them ,we head to the other side of the job,and walk into old bottle heaven ,they were lying on the ground,on top of piles of dirt,sticking out of the bank,needless to say we had boxes on top of boxes,on top of boxes of bottles at the end of the day. I decided to take a break from the bottle diggin ,& get out the detector,started hunting a strip that my friend had come over & dragged with the frontend loader for me,& almost immediatly found a couple of round white disc's the size of coins (later determined these to be lead cheater slugs for the old slot machines from the late 1890s or early 1900s.) I detected along the length of the strip,at the very end ,right up against the bank,I recieved a good signal,and dug up this clump of green metal,partially wrapped in cloth,then found 2 more smaller clumps.Well sitting there trying to figure out what these clumps were,I started breaking off the lose dirt,then realized they were some sort of coins stuck together ,first thought I'd found a clump of pennies,upon closer examination,I see the name of a Colorado town then realized I had a clump of turn of the century Merchant Trade tokens ,I stand up,look at the bank,& right at eye level is another clump of tokens sitting in a coffee can that had been broken open by the frontend loader,this can had been thrown in a trash pit and was 6' from the surface. After a long day,we had found 100's of bottles & almost 200 Trade Tokens from Denver,Leadville,Cripple Creek,Victor,Goldfield etc,etc,,,Chicago,& even one fron San Luis Obisbo Calif.Also In the can were a large caliber bullet,& a key. I think it was obvious that someone wanted to destroy these tokens,Thankfully They didnt destroy them completely,a few were unreadable,but most cleaned up quite nice. Enjoy the pic's sorry there is not more.It was many years before I had a digital camera,my apologies for the scans. PPC
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