My son and i went out detecting last weekend in an area we had never been to before, a large forest adjacent to a large town. The first 2 hours or so were uneventful, nothing much beyond some WWII zinc coins, totally corroded. Obviously some MD's had been there before us. As my wife was away for the weekend, we took the opportunity to search another area of the forest in the afternoon. It was all a bit dissapointing even there, and my son warned me we were not leaving before finding some silver.....that must have been a premonition or something, because just a few minutes later we hit upon a footpath we had not searched before, and which had that "old"look. Just a few feet down this path i got a nice signal which of course i dug. A few scoops of earth produced our first older silver in quite some time. It was unbelievable. Just a few feet away, another signal, this time again silver. Nothing beats that feeling, let me tell you. That footpath produced a few other finds, including what appears to be a seal, quite crude, with a star of David. It was very deep down about 20 cms. I have yet to find out more about its origins. A significant relic at any rate. The silver coins are both Austrian, 10 Kreuzer 1768 and 20 Kreuzer 1783. Unusual to find Austrian coins here. Both are in pretty good shape, not particualrly scarce, but very exciting to find nevertheless. Hope you enjoy seeing these. Regards, Eduard
Wowie Eduard! Don't you wonder what happened for someone to lose that much money in one spot (two silver coins over 200 years ago was a lot of money to lose)? Of course, I'm speaking about the Austrian coins, since, like you said, it's unusual to find any Austrian coins in that area so to find two, logically speaking, means they came from the same source and considering the dates are close, that bolsters the probability of both being from the same source. But then, what about the other items also found near those two coins? Is there a tie between any of them, other than the two Austrian coins? A thimble, a brooch, and either a mirror or a frame . . . that spells . . . a woman! So, we have a woman who lost a few items in the same area someone else lost two coins . . . sounds like a "midnight rendezvous" to me! So, a few coins fell out of the man's pants as he hurriedly put them back on as the girl's father was calling her, or maybe it was the man's wife, and they had to scurry to keep him/her from finding out the truth and left the items behind by accident! This is so intriguing! Ribbit Ps: By looking at the two Austrian coins, it appears the loss occurred close to 1785. The 1768 looks like it had about 20 years of wear and the 1785 looks close to mint, so that helps to date the loss (around 1790). Pps: With the Seal, maybe the man was a Jewish Rabbi? Ppps: This all just gave me a great idea. Someone, who's an avid metal detector (like yourself Eduard), should take a days finds and post them on here and get us to make up a story about how all the items were lost. It would be fun to try and tie in a group of items of unknown origin and give them an origin.
The reverse looks more like XF to me and that's why I said "near mint" state. The other one looks to be F or thereabouts, but that's my opinion and I've repeatedly said I overgrade silver. Ribbit
Well Toad, you certainly do have an imagination! but you are absolutely right, i often think and try to imagine how those things were lost which i find. Those two silver coins were probaly lost around 1800: a hunter, a rider out on a leasure ride thru the woods, who knows. What intrigues me more is that object which appears to be a seal with the start of David. Judging from the depth, i date it around 1700-1750 (very roughly). The city nearby is well known for always having had a large jewish population, so it is very reasonable it belonged to a jewish Rabbi or merchant? again, who knows. I have been very fortunate with my finds, in spite of the fact i do not put a lot of research behind it. I see a forest that i like, and off i go with my detector. Most of the time i find nothing or almost nothing (like this afternoon), a few times i find coins and objects dating from 1800-1900, and every now and then some roman (mostly totally corroded As or dupondii), or middle ages (rare). And then, even more rare, about once every 6-8 years a gold coin. It is a fascinating hobby! How about yourself ? Ever thought about detecting? it is cheaper to find them coins, than to buy then! it just takes longer (a lot longer!) Eduard
When I was a kid I loved doing it and I did it in the Caribbean, on the beach and some underwater seeking, but Puerto Rico wasn't well known for "old" stuff since it was a stop on the way to the New World and not on the way back with all the riches. Since I've been back stateside (almost 2 years) I haven't done any but have been thinking of getting back into it. I have a pet ferret and she loves to go to the park and I figured I could metal detect and follow her around while she does her sniffing thing. I know she would love for me to get back into it cause I'd take her out more. :thumb: Ribbit
I had a Fisher 1280-X Aquanaut but I gave it to my friend in Puerto Rico since I was limited on baggage. I'll have to buy a new one if I get back into it and I actually like the idea so I'll probably be buying a new one shortly since this is the time to be doing it (ain't cold). Any advice on what I should buy? Ribbit Ps: I thought Jac was asking me that question. :headbang: I can tell I need sleep! :goof:
Guys, i use a GMAXXII, it is a french detector. My son uses a Garrett 250. I am happy with the Gmaxx, but i had a Garrett for 14 years before, and that was actually better. I really recommend Garretts: easy to use, visual display. Ed
Eduard - thanks for sharing that with us. You know they say there are some toads in the South American jungles that cause hallucinations. Maybe you are one of them toads. :goofer:
