Took A Trip To Southern California And Found Some Silver

crazyjarhead

Gold Member
Sep 10, 2007
10,318
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N. San Diego County
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Metal Detecting
Hello all,
Some of you may know that I am an owner operator with my own truck and trucking business. I love to run out west, especially to southern California where I used to live. I was in the Marine Corps so I am able to go onto Camp Pendleton where I park my truck and enjoy some R&R. I've been doing since for a number of years since I retired from there. I do a lot of military loads and the load I took to Palmdale was for Northrop Grumman for the F35 Joint Strike Fighter which is going to be built in the near future.

Camp Pendleton was named after Joseph Pendleton who was a famous General prior to WW1. and has a lot of history. There has been millions of Marines stationed there over the past 100 years or better. It is a metal detector's dream as far as size and the amount of coinage that is just waiting to be found. I know where there was many "H" style barracks that have since been torn down. They built hundreds of them from the 1940 in preparation of WW2. The Marines stationed there before that were housed in tents and I don't know where that was but probably can find out by researching the on Base library.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Henry_Pendleton

The weather could not have been better. I'm sorry to say that it was in the 70's and a few low 80's the week I was there. Living in Ohio you know I did not want to come back. But there's next week ;D

Didn't have a lot of time but managed sever short hunts around an area where I remember a bunch of those barracks being. Despite the recent heavy rains the ground was still a challenge. It's nothing like the fine soil back east.

After several hunts I managed 9 wheats, the oldest being a 1927 and the rest in the 40's and 50's a buffalo nickle (1936), 1 merc (1941)and a bunch of clad. The PFC. emblem is not old, however the Eagle Globe and Anchor may be. The sharpshooter badge (top only) is not. I generally take photo's of all my digs but not this time. I had to leave the camera at home with the wife. UPDATE: Just found out that the emblem is WW2 era. Found one on Ebay that I believe is the same.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=380314995964


Thanks for looking, Ron

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Very nice! I grew up in Mission Viejo, right next to Pendelton. Probably some great hunting in there - TONS of land, and gotta be more than a few coins with all that history.

Good you got to enjoy some of this amazing weather we're having too! :)
 

staydetuned said:
Very nice! I grew up in Mission Viejo, right next to Pendelton. Probably some great hunting in there - TONS of land, and gotta be more than a few coins with all that history.

Good you got to enjoy some of this amazing weather we're having too! :)

Love that area around Orange county. Thanks
 

Yeah baby!!! Great finds!!! :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

I'm glad you're taking the detector along with you now and are getting to use it! :wink:

Here's to a little less BS in '11, Ron! :occasion14:
 

Kimsdad ''Where's MY seated?'' said:
Yeah baby!!! Great finds!!! :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

I'm glad you're taking the detector along with you now and are getting to use it! :wink:

Here's to a little less BS in '11, Ron! :occasion14:

Thanks Neil. Glad to see you almost survivd another winter in the Windy city. 45 here today but 50's next week. I don't think that's going to un-thaw the ground, though. It will need to stay above freezing for a good while. Thanks for the encouragement. 2010 was not a good year for me. So far 2011 is looking up :icon_sunny:
 

You can't help but think that some of those coins were in the pocket of a marine soon to be shipped out to the war in the pacific. Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Iwo Jima, or a dozen other similar places. Hopefully he came home safe.

Military bases have been some of my most productive places to hunt. If you get the opportunity go for it!

Nice digs. :icon_thumleft:

I've included a small sample of the kind of neat military items that I've found on U.S. bases.
 

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That's exactly how I feel too. Wonder how many never came back alive or were disabled from the Pacific Campaign. Thanks Mike. By the looks of your finds youve been where there has been Marines, too ::)
 

nice finds. i was stationed in yuma in the late 80's early 90's and used to drive to pendleton once a month to drop off calibration gear. Pendleton is BIG. I had a little stint with mwss-372 in El toro also. Semper Fi
 

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