SW Colorado Ghost Town $5.00 Gold Piece

[Wayne1947]

Back in 1987, I was exploring a burned out ghost town on Red Mountain, just south of Ouray, Colorado. There was all kinds of debris scattered across the old town site, shoes, boots, nails, broken bottles, old safes.... I had just remarked to my wife...."Wouldn't it be neat to find an Indian Head penny".... When I looked down, there next to my boot was a coin on edge, half buried in the mud. I reached down picked it up and saw that it was a $5.00 gold piece... 1895-S. WOW, what a feeling! If I live to be a hundred, I'll probably never do that again.

Later, I found a photo of the town before it burned, and there standing on the exact spot where I found the coin, was an outhouse.

 

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[woody50]

Might be surprised what a person can find in an outhouse, many an old-timer hid, and secured, items safely under that top shelf (seat) because they knew nobody would want to look there.

Yes I agree with Native 1858. Many things were hidden there, I can even remember when I was a kid living on the ranch we had a double seat-er, and I hated to go in there. There were black widows in there sometimes, and it always stunk. I did hide something there once, but can't remember what it was. We had indoor plumbing not too long after that. I was glad!

 

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[lockman209]

Super Job

 

[curbdiggercarl57]

Beautiful! Someone in our club dug a $1.00 and a 2 and 1/2 up past Leadville this month. Right where an outhouse was located. Love hearing about gold coins still being dug out here in Colorado, gives me hope!

 

[Captain Loosechange]

Brainbusting Story ;

What a once in a lifetime find!!!

 

[Ammo Dog]

awesome find

 

[bedpanmoneyman]

Awesome find.....imagine, someone had to pull down their britches to make it possible for you to make such a discovery.

 

[shiloh_f2hunter]

Awesome find!! And since your a newbie,......HH,hope you enjoy! HH means happy huntin' if you didn't know Congratulations! Hope you find lots more

 

[hollowpointred]

outstanding!

 

[crazyjarhead]

That is one gorgious coin

 

[phantomfinder]

Sweet looking coin , wtg 8)

 

[allen]

congrats on that great find...

 

[oldhippiecoinhntr]

Wow, nice coin !! But quess you heard that a few times. I have only been detecting for about 1 1/2 years. Should have been doing it years before ( hind sight). In fact about 1987 or 88 I was in Ouray, on the way to Silverton. A friend and I went there to get a 1 cylinder two flywheel engine, that came from a mine in the area. My friend bought from a local collector. It was a 50hp Otto, built prior to 1900, and had flywheels near 6ft tall. A load for my 2 ton IHC. It was in pieces on the bank of the river on edge of town. The seller loaded it with a old jeep pickup with a gin pole. Quite a load for a little jeep. Dont remember the mans name that sold my friend the engine? Getting off track here. Had I been detecting then, would have been fun to do some on that trip.

By the way, the Otto engine was/is quite a treasure also. Several years later returned to Durango Colorado to get another Otto engine. Keep up the hunting, never know what "treasure" will show up.

 

[AmericanCoinHunting]

I am very curious as to how many of us .Still swing our coils over lost Gold coins,in our old town parks, that have them either discriminated out. Or,just decided...."I have dug enough pull tabs today,and I am NOT ABOUT to dig This One"
As has been said many times in answer to your post,,,,but still is true........
...................................N I C E G O L D..........................................................

 

[Harry_Morant]

Amazing coin, most of us can only dream of finding one

 

[DigginThePast]

Another stellar find posted. Congrats and thanks for posting. I love looking at old gold. 8)

 

[John987]

Congratulations! What a FIND!

 

[sasnz]

Damn that is one tasty coin. Congratulations, worth a pretty penny too.

sasnz

 

[mlayers]

Didn't even need the detector. That is sure a sweet looking coin....Matt