My New Detector / My First Find

[408_Dirt_Fisher]

Hi Everyone,

I am new to the board and just got into the hobby. For my birthday I ordered an Minelab X-Terra 305 and just received it a couple of days ago. Finally had time to go out in my front yard and try it on my lawn and found this coin.

It appears to be a 1932 Half Penny, I believe from the UK. I live in San Jose, CA so it is really interesting how this thing made it all its way to my house, but what a first find, I am now totally hooked. The coin is pretty beat up, so I am not sure if you will be able to make it out in the pictures.

Now I just need to find some people in San Jose, who would be willing to take me under their wing and show me some of the ropes on how to work the 305.

Take care all,
Ben

 

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[vpnavy]

Welcome aboard from the great state of Pennsylvania (USA)!

You might consider browsing Sub-Forums: California for information (i.e., clubs, hunts, finds, legends, maps, etc.) directly related to your state.

Congrat's on new MD and nice find angileri!

 

[Joshr29]

Welcome to T-Net. Pretty awesome first find. Mine was a coke can. Hope to see more good finds from you shortly. HH

 

[cjon455]

welcome! and killer first find, Im with Joshr, my first find was a shredded beer can

 

[408_Dirt_Fisher]

Thanks everyone for the welcomes. A quick question for you all, hopfully someone will have an answer, does anyone know of a good way to clean up coins found in the dirt that have a lot of corrosion or dirt on them? I am having a hard time cleaning up my finds. Hoping someone knows of a non-poisonous, "green" solution to clean coins, vinnegar, backing soda, warm water?

Also, went out in the front yard again today and not 10 feet from were I found the half penny, I found this button, you think they might be related to each other? Any ideas of what I found? From info on Google, looks like it could be a Navy military button from the 1850's on up.



Wish I could get better pictures of this stuff, looks like I am going to have to fire up the old DSLR, instead using my iPhone 5.

 

[rastinirv]

Welcome to t-net! Great first finds. As for cleaning, before long you will have piles of clad coins, and they really add up. I've probably got around $125 worth just in the past few months.

Cleaning all those by hand can get tiresome so I recommend investing in a rock tumbler and some aquarium gravel. Pour it all into the tumbler cylinder add a drop or two of dish soap and some water and within a few hours they'll be pretty well cleaned up. But the nice thing with the tumblers is that you can leave them on all day and all night.

For a somewhat quicker and more thorough cleaning in the tumbler, add a squirt of Lime-Away (just a little bit!). This is not a green solution particularly, I should note. Anyhow, you can find tutorials on this on youtube.

But for your nicer coins/buttons/etc., do not use the tumbler. Most people use toothpicks, a soft toothbrush, warm water and mild soap. Don't use anything abrasive that will harm the surface. Some people swear by putting their coins in hot (i.e., microwaved for 1 minute) hydrogen peroxide. Try to see if you can get copper/brass items clean without the use of water, as it often affects the patina and speeds up oxidation.

Anyhow, good luck and have fun. You're getting off to a great start with a nice detector!

 

[408_Dirt_Fisher]

Thanks Rastinirv for the suggestions, any suggestions on a rock tumbler? I will probably purchase it off of Amazon as I have some gift cards to use up.

-Ben

 

[Metdet49]

Welcome to the addiction Angileri!! Looks like your off to a great start. Enjoy the ride!

Bill