🥇 BANNER Is Mercury the Detecting God? :) First Ace 250 hunt! LOL

Iron Patch

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Sep 28, 2007
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Out today with Ironhorse, didn't think I would be as my Explorer has major issues and will have to hit the repair center. I decided I was done, but as the week went on I decided not to quit and borrow back a Garrett Ace I bought for a friend to use. So not only was this a kind or strange and lucky day, it almost never happened! Interestingly enough, the other 17mm version of this button find I currently have was also dug on a day I probably shouldn't have been out, but plans changed, I got the call, and out the door I went. That coincidence just hit me as I'm writing, but it's actually another connection I'll choose to write about, since I already filled in the subject line. :laughing7:


So IH and I get to a new field to try, him as usual with the Explorer, and me with my Ace. In a stupid way I was almost thinking I hope this is not the day we find a great site feeling that I was heavily outgunned, but those thoughts never stick because I would much rather see good stuff come out regardless of who gets it, then both of us go home with nothing. So we walk around this large field not getting much but some modern trash and the occasional old sign. I then see IH making his way to the other end, so I start to head that way and about half way there I get the famous Garrett belltone, like in the old days when I first started hunting.... dug it up and it was my first Merc dime. 13 years and it took an Ace 250 for me to find it, and at a place there didn't seem like there was much else. We did walk to the end of the field, got nothing, then made our way back towards the car and I dug two more signals and both were large cents! I'm thinking this 250 might not be so bad after all. :laughing7: Still not enough, and not old enough for our taste so we decided to hit an old favorite site and see if there was a keeper or two left. By this time, after 3 coins in a row my confidence was booming and just had that feeling I was going to dig something good.... but even with that feeling I didn't believe it because this particular spot has been hit hard for near 10 years. Anyway, we get to the 2nd site,make our way across the field, I start swinging over the iron patch and am sort of trying to digest what the detector is telling me, and within a few minutes dug a bell tone and the sound vanished once I got the dirt out, and my thinking was.... here we go, digging iron all day with this thing. As I was kicking the dirt back in the hole the detector swung back around and detected another target, this time it wasn't a belltone so I was more confident, dug the dirt and had a sudden flashback to 2001!


In 2001 I dug the best button I have ever found. It was a coat size Rev War King's American Regiment button with near all the gilt. I sent pics to a major collector who's reply was... The Detecting Gods have smiled upon you. Today when I found this button which is cuff size (17mm) seeing the gold gilt and then reading the words gave me a total flashback to 2001. So... it only makes sense that Mercury must be the Detecting God that collector talked about all those years ago. :laughing7: If you've read this far, and have read some of my previous posts you've probably seen me say a couple of times that it seems like history is repeating itself, or I am detecting back to the future. Well yet here is another hunt that has that same weird vibe, and makes me feel after my 2 years away from the hobby it was the right time to come back.


And without further ado.... Here is that awesome 1926 Merc dime! ;) But the button probably pays for the detector about 4 or 5 times over... not bad for the first day!

http://www.royalprovincial.com/military/rhist/kar/karlist.htm
 

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Upvote 49
That is a stunning find! A big congrats to you. Thank you for sharing that and for the great story to go along with it! You won't soon forget this day for many reasons.


That is for sure! As I said in the post the instant I seen the gilt not only was I living the rush of the moment, but it was like you were injecting me with the drug of the 2001 button find. It was quite a feeling and wish I could bottle it and sniff it once a week. :laughing7:
 

If you can figure out how to do that please ship me a bottle of that :-) hoping that feeling will come for me soon. Just started a month ago. Have found some great stuff but nothing like that. Way to go !
 

If you can figure out how to do that please ship me a bottle of that :-) hoping that feeling will come for me soon. Just started a month ago. Have found some great stuff but nothing like that. Way to go !


You will dig some great stuff. I've never known anyone in this hobby who put in the effort and wasn't successful. It just depends on your area how much potential you have, and of course what you think is a great find.
 

Thanks for the encouraging words. I live in a town in Maine that was settled in 1600s. I've done lots of research and have found a beatiful heart heel plate, a. 1700s kg half penny, an 1820 lc, and also an. 1887 silver canadian 25 cent piece. I'm very encouraged by my early finds and some of the great sites I've got lined up. Just need more time and less work :-)
 

Thanks for the encouraging words. I live in a town in Maine that was settled in 1600s. I've done lots of research and have found a beatiful heart heel plate, a. 1700s kg half penny, an 1820 lc, and also an. 1887 silver canadian 25 cent piece. I'm very encouraged by my early finds and some of the great sites I've got lined up. Just need more time and less work :-)


Those are good, and it only gets better! If Romeo sees this message, and I'm sure he will, he had next to nothing for quality finds back when we met... but now he has a long list a great stuff. If you like detecting as much as the rest of us everything will fall into place.
 

Without a doubt, that is a BANNER Button! Congrats to you and your Ace 250! I'm impressed with how kind the soil is to buttons up your way IP, and of course, even more so with your cleaning skills. Absolutely amazing! That will look great up top.
 

Without a doubt, that is a BANNER Button! Congrats to you and your Ace 250! I'm impressed with how kind the soil is to buttons up your way IP, and of course, even more so with your cleaning skills. Absolutely amazing! That will look great up top.

Cleaning on this one was about as easy as it gets.

Some nice ones have been dug, but it is not typical. Here is the first one I ever found (1999), and just to give you an idea of rarity at the time I sold it for over $1,000! (CAN$)
 

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I was about to post my 1812-1820's Eagle Cockade button I found today, but I think now I'll wait till tomorrow. I don't even want to start a thread that will steal one viewer from this!
 

Cleaning on this one was about as easy as it gets.

Some nice ones have been dug, but it is not typical. Here is the first one I ever found (1999), and just to give you an idea of rarity at the time I sold it for over $1,000! (CAN$)


A little easier to clean than a certain Rattlesnake Button I suppose :laughing7:. It might be time for me to renew my passport and pay you a visit! And of course, you're always welcome to make your way down to Mass to find a tree coin or two...
 

I was about to post my 1812-1820's Eagle Cockade button I found today, but I think now I'll wait till tomorrow. I don't even want to start a thread that will steal one viewer from this!


Good! Because you had them all a couple of times! :laughing7:
 

A little easier to clean than a certain Rattlesnake Button I suppose :laughing7:. It might be time for me to renew my passport and pay you a visit! And of course, you're always welcome to make your way down to Mass to find a tree coin or two...


Yeah 2 hours vs 2 minutes.. LITERALLY!


We always talk about going South for a hunt. You coming this way would no doubt be a great time, but I sure don't have a high level of confidence in finding worthy spots to hunt... and I know my posts probably don't reflect that. (but it's true)
 

Very cool story IP, and a great find to go with it. I have made some nice finds with my back up machine when my main unit was down. The thing is, you just don't feel confident with the backup until you start making finds with it. That Merc broke the ice for you and you had a great day. I will say this about the Ace 250 - that is the first machine I recommend to people that want to get into metal detecting. Three friends have bought them on my recommendation, and others are still procrastinating.
 

Two Thumbs Up! It is not always the machine but the operator!
 

7 BOOyeahs? That's 10 all day long!!

I'm in the market for a new detector and my finances ain't what they used to be. Will most likely get an AT Pro or I may save a couple bills and get either an Ace 250 or 350!
 

Very cool story IP, and a great find to go with it. I have made some nice finds with my back up machine when my main unit was down. The thing is, you just don't feel confident with the backup until you start making finds with it. That Merc broke the ice for you and you had a great day. I will say this about the Ace 250 - that is the first machine I recommend to people that want to get into metal detecting. Three friends have bought them on my recommendation, and others are still procrastinating.

Ace 250 was my first machine. It's so easy to learn and ultra reliable. I am still under the belief that it is the best machine for the money. I would feel confident that any target 8 inches or less that finds its way under my coil would be found with the Ace 250, and certainly some deeper than that. Really for me, the only drawbacks are the small coil (which is often an advantage) and the tendency to false on deep iron. I found more gold with my Ace 250 than I have with my Deus, and I've logged a lot more hours on my Deus than I did on my Ace. I'd have to say that the Ace 250 was the best $212 I ever spent, as not only did it pay for itself multiple times, it got me into the hobby. I don't know how many Banner finds have been made with the Ace, but if I were a sales rep for Garrett, I'd be eagerly awaiting a testimonial from IP!

p.s. Having a solid backup is a fantastic luxury. The hammered silver I found last weekend was found with my Garrett backup...
 

Here is my BANNER vote! Super button for sure!

I started out with an ACE 250 and made a few of my best finds with it. Now I am a Minelab guy but I still have the Ace as a back up.


VPR
 

7 BOOyeahs? That's 10 all day long!!

I'm in the market for a new detector and my finances ain't what they used to be. Will most likely get an AT Pro or I may save a couple bills and get either an Ace 250 or 350!


Definitely go Ace, then grab what you want in the Spring. Rick probably has one there.
 

7 BOOyeahs? That's 10 all day long!!

I'm in the market for a new detector and my finances ain't what they used to be. Will most likely get an AT Pro or I may save a couple bills and get either an Ace 250 or 350!

350 isn't a huge upgrade from the 250, more or less just the larger coil size. I have considerable time logged on a 350, I actually preferred my 250. The ATPro is a significant step up, but you will not be disappointed with the 250. They hold their value very well, I had mine for 2 years and sold it for $12 less than I paid, not much of a depreciation...
 

I like the bottle stopper too, I have only found two of those and they were both beach glass finds. Yes, this post is a shameless bump.
 

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