Metal Detecting - 1889 Indian Head Cent

Nice detail on that IHC. I agree that it was likely lost before 1900 at the latest. Was pretty sharp when it hit the dirt so long ago!

I dug a really nice 1889 once as well, as I recall. Nicely preserved 1868, 1882, 1888, and 1890 pieces, too. Most of the rest were crusty critters.

This 1907 was likely the best-preserved one I've popped out of the dirt.

Full writeup here.

 

Yep. Probably. You'd be surprised how often that happens. I've dug old clay pipes, a Paleolithic projectile point, a different arrowhead, pottery, glass, and other nonmetallic stuff in the same hole with detector targets. In a target-rich environment, the soil can be like a fruitcake, with all kinds of stuff packed in!

 

*rubs crystal ball, peers inside*

I predict some Seated silver in @paddyman98 's future, at the rate he's going...

Will probably be a dime, first. After a Seated dime or two, he'll get the first half dime, if he digs those pulltab-range targets. The quarter will take a while. The half much longer than that, if ever. (It's certainly possible in NYC, if he's hunting a site that's not been hit too heavily by detectorists.)

 

That's cool, Sal. For whatever reason, I never found a copper-nickel "thick" (1859-64) Indian, nor a Flying Eagle. My local relic hunting buddies have found plenty. One time I was teaching a novice detectorist to use a machine (my machine) in one of my hotspot parks- a place I affectionately called "Indian Head Alley".

I'll be danged if the fella didn't pop an 1863 Indian right there next to me, with my machine, in my hotspot! Good for him. Beginner's luck. Same guy dug a 1935 Walker half in his front yard not long afterward.

 

That is AMAZINGLY nice for a beach find! WOW. Sucker was UNC when it hit the sand! I'm amazed the surfaces stayed so nice in that environment. Must've been well above the tide line, I'll guess.

My oldest dug Indian is the 1868 I mentioned. So nicely preserved it almost didn't look like a dug coin. Crazy-shallow, too- like only half an inch down. It was next to the slave cabins at an old plantation site on St. Simons Island.

Oh- wait- there's also a crusty-critter I dug that might have been an 1864 bronze. Hard to say for sure.