twistidd
Bronze Member
- Nov 11, 2007
- 1,789
- 3
- Detector(s) used
- White's Matrix M6 w/ Sun-Ray DX-1, 950 coil and 6x10 DD, Minelab Excalibur II, Garrett Ace 250, Garmin Etrex GPS
So today I met up with TreasureFiend and Mikewaz to hit some old woods we've been to a few times before. We were introduced to these woods by watercolor and Kimsdad (Silverdraught-no-more) last fall. The last time I was there, I found a 1903 Indian head cent, and I know others have found oldies there, so I thought that we could hit that area on this day of wonderful weather.
Things started off slow. We kind of wandered into the woods until we saw an old, muddy path. We dug the usual old shotgun shells and can tops. My first good target was a worn-but-readable 1923 buffalo nickel. A little later I dug a 1925 wheat cent. That's when I knew that this area was hiding some good stuff- we just had to know where to look.
We split up a bit and I began detecting near a huge old tree. Right up against the side of the tree, I got a bouncing quarter/half dollar signal at 6-7 inches. I was tragically close to ignoring that signal, because I had dug a lot of peices of copper and aluminum all morning that rang up similarly. However, I decided to dig it for the hell of it. About four inches down I hit a huge root. My pinpointer told me the target was underneath it. I kept digging, and then I saw it- a big silver coin with an eagle on the back. Barber quarter! It fell off the side of the hole into the center, which was slowly filling with water. When I grabbed it, I was shocked that it was not a quarter but a half! And it had a green penny laying on top of it. I yelled for Kermit and Mike to get over here to have a look. I pinpointed the hole- and it kept singing! So once they got there, it was an old coin fest that lasted ten coins. I ended up with a 1900-S Barber half, perfect 1918-D mercury dime, a 1918 buffalo, 1907 V nickel, five wheats (1919, 1919, 1917, and two that are too crusted over), and one super-crusty Indian head cent. I'm assuming the 1919 cents are the newest coins in the lot. I carefully detected around the tree, and on the opposite side of the tree, picked up a nice 1907 Indian head cent.
I found one more wheat before I got tired and decided to leave (1916-D). Watercolor, Kimsdad, and DPS Bob showed up and shortly afterwards I dug a small religious pendant (just smaller than a dime) that reads, "Sacred heart of Jesus have mercy on us". Well, He did have mercy on me. That was the oldest and largest coin spill I've ever dug, and I've dug a few. Most notably, this is my first Barber half.
I'll let the other guys show what they found. No one left without oldies! What a great day to be out. Thanks to Kermit and Mike for assisting me while I was flipping out over my coin spill. Thanks to Mark for the shovel, and it was just great to see all you guys again. We have to get back there soon!
Joe
Update: The penny in the scan, just below and to the left of the dime, is the IH cent that is too crusted over for a date. I am able to make out a section of the "United States of America" that goes around the coin.
UPDATE #2: The IH in question (see "Update" above) was so crusty, and had the "ed S" in United States of America" showing as very worn, that I was determined to discover what date it was. I talked to watercolor about his hot peroxide method, and though that method worked very well on a wheat I found Sunday (a sharp 1916 D), it didn't budge the crust on the IH at all. So...I took a guitar pick and tried scraping away at the crust. Well, one destroyed guitar pick and a sore hand later, and I am now able to BARELY get a date on the IH. It is a 1883...which makes it my new oldest coin by thirteen years. The coin is still toasted, and pretty much worthless, but it's still cool that I found a coin that old. I dunno, thought you guys might like to hear that.
I might try electrolysis on it sometime, we'll see.
Joe
Things started off slow. We kind of wandered into the woods until we saw an old, muddy path. We dug the usual old shotgun shells and can tops. My first good target was a worn-but-readable 1923 buffalo nickel. A little later I dug a 1925 wheat cent. That's when I knew that this area was hiding some good stuff- we just had to know where to look.
We split up a bit and I began detecting near a huge old tree. Right up against the side of the tree, I got a bouncing quarter/half dollar signal at 6-7 inches. I was tragically close to ignoring that signal, because I had dug a lot of peices of copper and aluminum all morning that rang up similarly. However, I decided to dig it for the hell of it. About four inches down I hit a huge root. My pinpointer told me the target was underneath it. I kept digging, and then I saw it- a big silver coin with an eagle on the back. Barber quarter! It fell off the side of the hole into the center, which was slowly filling with water. When I grabbed it, I was shocked that it was not a quarter but a half! And it had a green penny laying on top of it. I yelled for Kermit and Mike to get over here to have a look. I pinpointed the hole- and it kept singing! So once they got there, it was an old coin fest that lasted ten coins. I ended up with a 1900-S Barber half, perfect 1918-D mercury dime, a 1918 buffalo, 1907 V nickel, five wheats (1919, 1919, 1917, and two that are too crusted over), and one super-crusty Indian head cent. I'm assuming the 1919 cents are the newest coins in the lot. I carefully detected around the tree, and on the opposite side of the tree, picked up a nice 1907 Indian head cent.
I found one more wheat before I got tired and decided to leave (1916-D). Watercolor, Kimsdad, and DPS Bob showed up and shortly afterwards I dug a small religious pendant (just smaller than a dime) that reads, "Sacred heart of Jesus have mercy on us". Well, He did have mercy on me. That was the oldest and largest coin spill I've ever dug, and I've dug a few. Most notably, this is my first Barber half.
I'll let the other guys show what they found. No one left without oldies! What a great day to be out. Thanks to Kermit and Mike for assisting me while I was flipping out over my coin spill. Thanks to Mark for the shovel, and it was just great to see all you guys again. We have to get back there soon!
Joe
Update: The penny in the scan, just below and to the left of the dime, is the IH cent that is too crusted over for a date. I am able to make out a section of the "United States of America" that goes around the coin.
UPDATE #2: The IH in question (see "Update" above) was so crusty, and had the "ed S" in United States of America" showing as very worn, that I was determined to discover what date it was. I talked to watercolor about his hot peroxide method, and though that method worked very well on a wheat I found Sunday (a sharp 1916 D), it didn't budge the crust on the IH at all. So...I took a guitar pick and tried scraping away at the crust. Well, one destroyed guitar pick and a sore hand later, and I am now able to BARELY get a date on the IH. It is a 1883...which makes it my new oldest coin by thirteen years. The coin is still toasted, and pretty much worthless, but it's still cool that I found a coin that old. I dunno, thought you guys might like to hear that.
I might try electrolysis on it sometime, we'll see.
Joe
We'll have to go back there for sure 
Barber halves are my favorite coins so far. I even bought myself one to carry around with me. Joe, HUGE CONGRATS on a fantastic spill! I bet you were saying, "I'M FREEEAKIN' OUT RIGHT HERE!!!", I know I would be.
A fantastic assortment of oldies. The Barber half alone would of been a tremendous day. You rocked!
