My first Indian Head Penny, 1901!

[heepiepow]

I was perturbed at early NFL results so decided to spend a couple hours at the best detecting spot I've ever found, which is just two blocks from my apartment. To date me and my mom have found 25 wheaties, a buffalo, 2 mercs, the Walking Lib in my avatar, one silver and one gold ring, and numerous and diverse artifacts.

The site is a "train cut", where traintracks go through an excavation that's left little hills on each side. The train route ran from the late 1800s to about 1970 and is now defunct. From the stuff found so far this particular spot must've been a high-traffic area, maybe with old businesses or people waiting/walking around.

So anyway, the first half-hour started slow, but then found a '44D wheatie that gave me a nice adrenaline rush. A half-hour later I found the Indian Head. It was under only about 2 inches of soil. Whenever I find something really awesome I immediately think it's a reproduction or I'm hallucinating, but it was real! The oldest coin I've ever found!

I almost fled home so as to not lose it or get mugged and it stolen, but spent another half hour and scored a 1918S wheatie!

The Indian Head is in rough shape, but I'm not sure if/how to clean it further. Would soaking it in olive oil for a few hours help?

Woohooo!

 

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[AGBlex]

nice find man! great peice of history

 

[pennyfarmer]

That is mighty rough and toasty. If it were mine I might brush it slightly with a very soft brass brush. I have used electrolysis on indians with varying results.

Congrats on your first Indian. I have dug two myself in the last two days and it was a long stretch since the last one.

 

[heepiepow]

nice find man! great peice of history

Thanks! Coins in this area seem to have a soft "cut-off" of 1920 or so (or I haven't researched/found earlier sites well enough, or my detector doesn't go deep enough!), so it's really thrilling to find the Indian Head. It's cool to think that someone long ago held this, then lost it. The train-cut is a wealth of history learned just from detecting and researching. Part of it was a trash dump; some other parts were cooking areas (lots of deer or cow bones, and ancient pieces of leather), and part was probably spots for Chinese vendors of abalone shells, which I've found a lot of. There was also apparently a printing shop nearby as I've found three stamps which seem to have been for other businesses.

Metal detecting is awesome and a great teacher of history!

 

[heepiepow]

That is mighty rough and toasty. If it were mine I might brush it slightly with a very soft brass brush. I have used electrolysis on indians with varying results.

Congrats on your first Indian. I have dug two myself in the last two days and it was a long stretch since the last one.

Thanks! And grats to you on your recent two! I'm scared of electrolysis because I might kill myself or something with the electricity. The coin looks better in person than my scan, but a brush scrub might indeed be in order.

 

[pennyfarmer]

Electrolysis is not that scary. The most you might do is blow a breaker if your item and the ground contact each other.

 

[kayden]

WTG on the Indian!

 

[kyphote]

Dunk the indian in a warm glass of hydrogen peroxide. Not scalding but just about simmering. Give it a good two minutes to fizz, remove it, then repeat the process until you're satisfied. I've never compromised a copper using this technique. If it ruins your copper -- which it won't! -- I'll ship you a VF grade. Key dates not included...

 

[Roland58]

WTG on the IH! I am yet to find my first, but, I'm working on it!!

 

[Lanny in AB]

Nice find!

All the best,

Lanny

 

[g-olden years]

So glad you dug that Indian head surprise today! We could make a display of your Indian cent and Buffalo nickels alongside my Sacagawea even though she's not old. Congrats! Yo Mama Andi

 

[Mud Magnet]

Gotta love them Indianheads. Keep hitting that area got to be some old silver around there somewhere. My Seahawks stank it up today too.

 

[schlepprock]

Congrats on the IH, I'd consider that a real good find if you found it with a BH Tracker IV. The only coins I found with my BH Quick Draw 2 were all clads, no matter how I set it I couldn't seem to get more than three inches of depth from it. I did find lots and lots of dimes and quarters with it though and they added up. The BH was a big time dime finder.

Good luck in the future, Richard

 

[steelheadwill]

Congrats on your first! they are one of my favorite coins
looking at the coin, I'd guess you got it near the trash dump, (they burned the trash,
ashes leftover are very alkaline)
The copper I pull from areas like that show similar erosion.
Congrats on your 3 Coppers! Keep em comin!

 

[JimBeHuntin']

Nice job on your first IH ... may there be many more!