This past Friday a friend of mine and I got together to drive to a seeded/Civil War hunt. We decided to take back roads along the way to possibly find a house or two to detect. On one house I was able to get permission on, the homeowner was super nice and walked me around the property and even told me about the history. He also told me it had been detected before and that I probably wouldn’t find much.
We started in the front of the house. I immediately dug a no date Buffalo nickel. Next target was a wheat cent which was only 2-3 inches deep. No big deal, but although with it being green I knew it was old. Usually I will pass wheats to a bigger pocket along with clad but I decided to place them in a plastic box because I had it on me. Hour later I found an Indian head cent 1 inch down. All the signals were mostly low and all over the place on my Equinox 600. In hindsight I tend to think this is probably why they missed them. I ended up with 4 wheats a Buff and a IH. My buddy ended up with 12 wheats and a 1917 Mercury dime but he moves faster than me. Lol- Later on when we got to the hotel I decided to check the dates. 1913-S, great date and a first for me. Then I noticed 1909-S, well great! and also my first “S” and only second 1909. I told him “what are the chances?”. I recently started having problems seeing up close so I used a magnifying glass. I flipped the coin over and what do I see? V.D.B. !!! Holy cow!
My buddy didn’t know what it meant while I was in shock. I always stay very calm but my heart was flipping. I called my dad who used to avidly collect wheats by the thousands until he went almost totally blind 2 years ago. I told him but I’m not sure if he believed me. I’m still a bit in disbelief.
I know it is an over-used saying but I can only say “they are still out there somewhere”, and “keep digging”. Even if we never find a key date or anything of consequence I think we are blessed to be able to do what we do. I’m 46 with tremendous back issues (I was physically sick with pain that day), and feel my digging days may be numbered so I’m thankful for every dig. Also for a guy who has never found a key or semi-key anything I feel extra blessed!
We started in the front of the house. I immediately dug a no date Buffalo nickel. Next target was a wheat cent which was only 2-3 inches deep. No big deal, but although with it being green I knew it was old. Usually I will pass wheats to a bigger pocket along with clad but I decided to place them in a plastic box because I had it on me. Hour later I found an Indian head cent 1 inch down. All the signals were mostly low and all over the place on my Equinox 600. In hindsight I tend to think this is probably why they missed them. I ended up with 4 wheats a Buff and a IH. My buddy ended up with 12 wheats and a 1917 Mercury dime but he moves faster than me. Lol- Later on when we got to the hotel I decided to check the dates. 1913-S, great date and a first for me. Then I noticed 1909-S, well great! and also my first “S” and only second 1909. I told him “what are the chances?”. I recently started having problems seeing up close so I used a magnifying glass. I flipped the coin over and what do I see? V.D.B. !!! Holy cow!
My buddy didn’t know what it meant while I was in shock. I always stay very calm but my heart was flipping. I called my dad who used to avidly collect wheats by the thousands until he went almost totally blind 2 years ago. I told him but I’m not sure if he believed me. I’m still a bit in disbelief.
I know it is an over-used saying but I can only say “they are still out there somewhere”, and “keep digging”. Even if we never find a key date or anything of consequence I think we are blessed to be able to do what we do. I’m 46 with tremendous back issues (I was physically sick with pain that day), and feel my digging days may be numbered so I’m thankful for every dig. Also for a guy who has never found a key or semi-key anything I feel extra blessed!
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Congrats on a very rare coin & dig! (& banner)
at least to Me
