Metal Detecting: Whats Your Story

I got my first detector for Christmas this year. It's a Bounty Hunter 505. I know it's not the best but after reading a lot about them, I felt it was more than adequate for me. It has pretty decent discrimination features.
We finally had a warm up and all the snow melted in my area. So I took it out around my house for the first time last weekend.

My house was built in 1899 and the yard hasn't been disturbed since. It was cloudy, 35 degrees out and windy. But I got a chance to do some digging. It found an old pop tab and I dug it for the fun of it just to see how hard it would be to find. It was the old pull off type.

Then I found a 2004 Iowa quarter, a few inches down right next to the sidewalk. Really black and in bad shape. About 20 ft north of that spot, I found a 1967 quarter buried a few inches down, next to the sidewalk also.

I skipped over a lot of pull tabs. Pulled some pieces of metal out just to get them out of the ground for next time. I didn't get a chance to check the very front portion of the yard. There's an old sunken sidewalk next to the road that nobody uses anymore because you can't park there. So I'm sure it was probably a carriage drop off point for many years.

I've got a lot of good places lined up to go this year. Just wish it would warm up.

 

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I went out this evening for about ans hour and a half, turned my discriminator down some (more metal find) and found 29cents. I 96' qtr, 3 memorial lincolns and a 1936s wheatie.

 

I dig in SW PA.

If you look in some of my postings you will see some of my finds.

 

This just made me laugh out loud....poor guy. :crying:

 

Not long ago I was involved in the reconstruction of a large city multi level road. As the present one was demolished, construction workers were coming up with just about every thing you could imagine being there. Very old bottles, Old wood, old cans and yes many old coins. No one used a metal detector due to all the metal in the ground so those would be just making all sorts of noises. One electrician showed me a bag, yes a bag, of coins he has been accumulating from under the debris. Even a mystery wooden room was found about 10 feet below the lowest road. Almost all the coins he found were excessively dirty. I asked if he wanted to sell them but he said he just wanted them to remind him of this project. I sure wonder what all those were. Knowing that area had not been redone since the Early 20's, They sure must have been old.

 

When the weather is good I dig coins. This year through the winter I have been buying some coins. I love to go detecting and do when ever I can. I like the solitude of being alone gives me time to let go of a bad day. I have found Silver, Gold, bullets and you name it. I have dug more pull tabs and can slaw (chewed up aluminum cans) than I care to mention. It's nice to find some old coin and wonder what it's doing there how it got lost. I would love to go to England and dig some roman coins maybe some day. ice

 

Nah, Viper, leave the iron.

The gold will ring in as aluminum:

large class ring (10K) can read as high as a zinc cent

Most gold rings: nickel range

small gold rings: as low as aluminum.

 

If they are not off-limits in your area, have you tried metal detecting the Sand Dunes or even futher inland? Due to their' lighter weight, many of the coins from the Spanish Galleon wrecks, were washed into and over the Sand Dunes due to the many storms (Hurricanes and others) that have hit the same area over the past 300 to 400 years. I know of a place in the Keys where the coins were washed from the Atlantic side into the Sand Dunes and even into some inlets on the Gulf side. If you can get away with metal detecting the Sand Dunes or futher inland, just don't disturb the Sea Oats or let anyone know what you find and you should be okay. Good luck!


Frank