My year end post for 2017 - It was a good one!

[Iron Patch]

Today Ironhorse and I have been frozen out of our usual Friday hunt, so the season and year has ended. This Fall we started off getting out 2 days a week but it was going so well we had to change it to 3, so needless to say I will miss the Monday, Wednesday, and Friday digs! A short time back IH was away for a week so I decided to do my year-end post which turned out to be a bad idea for two reasons... the first is I forgot you can't edit so I would not be able to update, and the 2nd, damn do I need to update! It was Nov. 30th I did my other post and hoped to get out a couple of more times while IH was away, and twice more when he got back. It ended up being 3 and 3 and those six hunts were so good that just them alone added up I would have considered a successful Fall! As stated in my Today's Finds posts, I dug three things in 2 hunts I have been waiting about 15 years to find, and of course it was not something at all I could have imagined coming, so quite a way to close out the year. So instead of getting admin to add in delete pictures and text I figured it was much easier to just do it all again and on a day where it would be final, and that is today.



2017 has been a great year for detecting for me. It's really just the Fall as that's when the vast majority of our digging happens so having dug most of this over such a short time probably gives a good indication how high our success rate was. I was very consistent and literally did not strike out once all Fall, and did not even have a day that I considered less than a pretty good day... had a few I felt were great, and one that was epic! lol Needless to say it was the best Fall detecting I've had in 17 years. Ironhorse also had a great year too, and probably why he puts up with me... maybe because I find some pretty kicka$$ sites! I am someone that probably lives both the highs and the lows of this hobby a little too much, but that's just who I am, and I think I bounce back well from both. If things aren't going well I keep going knowing things can turn with one signal, and if they are going great that's good for that day but the next it's reset and time to try and find more! I have a gut feeling things will probably never come together again in the same way like they did this Fall for us, but I enjoyed it greatly and will always have some fantastic memories. That said, there's still a whole lot of things I want to find so can't wait until Spring to get back out there!

 

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[Mr. Digger]

Amazing finds, IP. What a year. I've always wondered....where is "Dirtyville"? Congrats on a great 2017.

 

[Iron Patch]

Amazing finds, IP. What a year. I've always wondered....where is "Dirtyville"? Congrats on a great 2017.

Just West of East Dirtyville, where Ironhorse lives. Sent you a message.

 

[Aureus]

Great year man. Very impressive buttons,relics and coins harvest. Super jealous about your loyalists and silver finds. I remember you saying not having much luck with the silver for while. That sure doesn't seem to be the case anymore. I'm wondering if the new machine had something to do with it. I guess we'll know in a year or so.

 

[GaRebel1861]

Looks like you had a great year! Really nice finds.

 

[K1DDO1979]

Man oh man thats what metal detecting is all about. East coast at its best. Phenomenal finds this year. Im still hoping to get out with you guys someday/somewhere. Maybe 2018. Congrats big time!
[emoji2][emoji106]🤑

 

[63bkpkr]

Good Morning Iron Patch and WOW, your year ended splendidly! How were you able to stand all that Spine Tingling Excitement? A few of those coins look like they were minted just recently. I would say you most certainly do come across some good sites! It seems like at least a portion of your Christmas has come early and congratulations on finishing the year with a flourish. What new machine are you using? Wishing you a splendid New Year when it gets here........63bkpkr

 

[Steve in PA]

Much niceness there! A year well spent

 

[Rubka888]

Holy crap.. What a pile of relics in that last pic. Is the top left a pile of coppers How many?? Geeze you are killing it!

 

[WaterScoop]

Nice Year and awesome finds. Best of Luck in 2018
Thank you for your awesome share of pics.

 

[SultansOfSwing]

Lots of excellent buttons and relics. I like the little whistle too. I found one this year as well. Do you know much about it?

 

[ironhorse]

I was impressed with all the great finds we got this year, each time out we would come back with something to add to the pile and along the way place the odd thing on the page of the history book and say "there is the history right there" that's a pretty cool part of it
and I'm impressed seeing it all in one place, I remember many of those awesome finds on individual days at least the ones I was there to see; and you don't have the finds without the research, what many people here may not realize in an obvious way is that you can research a site like no one else and the finds are a direct reflection of determination, hard work, and well thought out research
so, my hats off to you on a great season, you have the Deus in your corner now and proven to bring home the goods, I'm sure you'll be ready to take on the challenge of topping an already incredible year like this one
Iron Bros reunion tour sure was a winner, I only wish I'd have bought the tshirt!

 

[grasshopper]

Awesome!!

Gotta love having a year-end PILE of copper coins

 

[Calabash Digger]

That's avery impressive year and that's a under statement.

 

[Aureus]

Is that a pistol at the top of your pic??

 

[scruggs]

Congratulations on a magnificent year you’ve had! May 2018 be even better for you!

 

[Digger RJ]

Very Nice!!

 

[BuckleBoy]

Now that’s a great year! Is that a pistol at the top of your group finds photo?

 

[Iron Patch]

Great year man. Very impressive buttons,relics and coins harvest. Super jealous about your loyalists and silver finds. I remember you saying not having much luck with the silver for while. That sure doesn't seem to be the case anymore. I'm wondering if the new machine had something to do with it. I guess we'll know in a year or so.

The silver thing will forever be a mystery. In 2014 it took me until Christmas day to find one. 2015 I found a few and took until Christmas day to find an old one. 2016 I don't recall but was just a few for the year. When I started using the Deus I said it would turn my silver situation around, because keep in mind Ironhorse was still popping them. Not a lot, but if one turned up he would get it. Both of us were using Explorers so it was just a matter of who got over what, or so I thought.

As you have noted my silver count has greatly increased, going from I bet was one every 10 hunts to now an average of one per hunt. So it would be easy to say... oh it's using the Deus. But here's the thing... The explorer is known as a great silver coin detector.... Ironhorse uses one and has no problems.... there has been nothing special about the coins I found with the Deus, most are solid signals.... and lastly for the first decade I used the Explorer I had no issues with silver coins. I can play it it out in my head, those signals I received on the Deus I know if I would have switched to my Explorer and swung over them it would have been a good high tone signal. I was still finding lots of buttons and copper coins, so just can't see how I would have missed silver... but will admit that is one theory that has entered my mind that for some reason the very high tone of silver was fooling me into thinking it was iron and I was leaving it. That's actually what makes the most sense how it happened, but it just seemed odd to me because a silver coin is a pretty sweet signal. So I'll never know for sure, and maybe it was a combination of passing on a few, but just not swinging over many in general. There's no doubt it did change something, for even for that reason alone the Deus has been worth it. Maybe not so much for the silver I've found so far, but sure would hate to swing over a great one and miss it.

 

[Iron Patch]

Good Morning Iron Patch and WOW, your year ended splendidly! How were you able to stand all that Spine Tingling Excitement? A few of those coins look like they were minted just recently. I would say you most certainly do come across some good sites! It seems like at least a portion of your Christmas has come early and congratulations on finishing the year with a flourish. What new machine are you using? Wishing you a splendid New Year when it gets here........63bkpkr

I switched to the Deus, and yes we found several good new sites, and did very well on some of the previous ones too. Just all came together.