MTtrashdigger
Elite Member
Last week we got 6-8 inches of snow and temps in the 20s. I figured I was done for the year. But I live in the Montana banana belt and this week we have had 40s and wind, which ate up the majority of the snow. Today it was sunny and 50 so I went to back to the park that gave up my first V nickel (1904) and several silvers, including a 1908 Barber half, in search of my first pre 1900 coin. The last few times I have been there, I haven't found so much as a wheat penny but I figured the recent snow melt might make conditions optimum. I adjusted recovery speed down to 3 and sensitivity up to max in hopes of squeaking out a couple of deep old ones.
Slow and deliberate , sifting through the trash, I concentrated on deep tones only. After a couple of old rusty falsing iron nails,I got a deep 12-14 tone, scratchy, but repeatable enough. Normally I pass up a tone like this if it is shallow but this one was deep so I dug it. Stirring through the dirt on my ground towel with my pin pointer , I was totally surprised to find a 1937 wheat penny. Not your typical 12-14 tone find, so I knew there had to be something else masking it in the hole. I figured if it was a nickel, it might be a buff , but when I finally found it, it turned out to be a 1945S War nickel, my 54th silver coin FTY. A few deep beavertails later, I got another good , deep 12-13 that turned out to be a 1937 Buffalo nickel, my 7th one this year. Temps started dropping and more snow is scheduled for tomorrow and beyond. I figured to end the year on a decent note, so I packed it in. Although I still haven't found that pre-1900 coin, I am optimistic that it will surface next year. Until the spring thaw, I will live vicariously through those on the forum fortunate enough to be able to hunt year round. Good luck to everyone, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all !!
Slow and deliberate , sifting through the trash, I concentrated on deep tones only. After a couple of old rusty falsing iron nails,I got a deep 12-14 tone, scratchy, but repeatable enough. Normally I pass up a tone like this if it is shallow but this one was deep so I dug it. Stirring through the dirt on my ground towel with my pin pointer , I was totally surprised to find a 1937 wheat penny. Not your typical 12-14 tone find, so I knew there had to be something else masking it in the hole. I figured if it was a nickel, it might be a buff , but when I finally found it, it turned out to be a 1945S War nickel, my 54th silver coin FTY. A few deep beavertails later, I got another good , deep 12-13 that turned out to be a 1937 Buffalo nickel, my 7th one this year. Temps started dropping and more snow is scheduled for tomorrow and beyond. I figured to end the year on a decent note, so I packed it in. Although I still haven't found that pre-1900 coin, I am optimistic that it will surface next year. Until the spring thaw, I will live vicariously through those on the forum fortunate enough to be able to hunt year round. Good luck to everyone, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all !!
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