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Montana TOKEN yard!

LovestheShiny!

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Joined
Jan 1, 2018
Messages
4,525
Location
Montana
Went out detecting yesterday in Missoula, Montana with my detecting partner, and after a slow start, we got a great permission at a vacant home and adjacent vacant lot, ca 1905. There was a fair amount of land to cover, and after finding some silvers and a couple of trade tokens, we knew to really concentrate, grid the entire property, and dig any solid repeatable signal that was above the iron level. My friend uses the Equinox 600, and I use the AT Pro.

My friend found a nice 1899 Barber quarter, 2 Mercury dimes, and a silver Rosie, along with 2 nice "HARTLEY'S // MISSOULA" 12 1/2 cent trade tokens.

My finds are shown in the photos below. It was really cool to dig trade tokens, a rare event for sure! One of the tokens was one of the early Brunswick Balke Collender trade tokens. This one is marked from "FRED BORCHERS" and I have not found it listed in any token database. Not sure where it is from. The LEADVILLE COLO token was a fun find, and the other tokens are all from Missoula. Also found 1910-S and 1931-D wheat pennies, a Catholic medallion, 1907 Barber Dime, gold plated ring, and a neat US Army button with Eagle and "C" inside the eagle. I rarely dig any military stuff, I think this one must have been from Fort Missoula and is a cavalry button. A great day detecting for sure!
 

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This is a really good post! Maybe my favorite ever posted on this site as tokens are interesting and I’m into that type of history. My dad also went to college at Missoula! So that made it even cooler to see the tokens!! Funny looks like you had a better day than your friend who was using an equinox. It just goes to show a lot of detecting is just getting the targets under your coil, no matter the machine.
 
I am soooooo envious of you right now. Tokens have got to be my favorite thing to find and you have a stack of them from 1 hunt. I even prefer finding tokens over gold. (if I sold my gold it may be a differnent story, but tokens are far more interesting to me.) Awesome hunt. Congrats
 
Thank you for the great comments! I agree with you all, tokens are a super cool item to find, and yes, I do prefer them over silver (maybe not gold quite yet!:) and am really pleased to have found this many in one hunt. They were scattered around the west front side of the vacant home, and in the front (near the sidewalk area) of the vacant lot.

And yes, the Nox is a better machine in some ways than my AT Pro but here in Western Montana the coins are not super deep and there is not a ton of trash in the yards, AND... you do need to get your coil over the target, as my friend found more silver that I would have detected, and I found more tokens that he would have located.
 
Tokens

Nice going getting permission and finding all the cool stuff. I collect Chucke Cheese tokens and have a lot of the dates, but not all, yet. That 1910s cent is semi rare. And a Barber dime is always a treat to find. Co9ngrates on all the cool stuff.
HH everyone

PS Do you fly fish?
 
Thank you for the comments! Yes, those "12 1/2 cents" tokens really got me going as I knew they were older tokens, as "two bits" or 12 1/2 cents is based on the old Spanish Reale silver coin, which were often cut into "bits" or eight parts to the dollar.
 
Cool digs! I'm guessing those 12 1/2 cent ones are for taverns that sold 2 beers for a quarter. Love finding tokens! Especially the unique ones like all six of yours here.
I also especially like finding religious medals, like your St Christopher.
 
WOW, what a hunt!
That homeowner must have spent a lot of nights in the local taverns.
I have never found any 12-1/2 cent tokens yet, very cool:yes:
 
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