Vabeachdigger
New Member
- Joined
- May 1, 2017
- Messages
- 6
Last month my wife bought me an A/T Pro with the corresponding orange pinpointer, shovel and sifter. I've lived in Virginia Beach, Va my whole life and was raised to appreciate our states history. So needless to say, I've spent a majority of my life scanning the ground were ever I may be in hopes of finding some sort of relic or treasure to call my own. Wether it be an Arrowhead, shark tooth, bullets, or especially an OLD COIN!
Now, finally at 34 years old I have my first M/D, The A/Tpro. I felt that I finally had the chance of finding something special. Not only do I live in Virginia, but I also live next to were the first permanent English Colonists' stepped foot on American soil, April 26th 1607. I started obsessing over my areas local history in an attempt to maybe find an unknown path or site that someone hasn't detected yet. With such determination to find "Blackbeard's Treasure", or maybe a lost colonists' drinking hole, at one of the many swamps deep in the maritime forest of seashore St. park.... some piece of history to appreciate and call my own. After trekking miles through thick mossy dunes, and in and around many secluded swamps all I came up with was a couple of .36 black powder balls, a million 9mm and 22 shells and slugs, and a Western No 16 headstamp dating to the 30's.
Next I tried an area on the Pungo Ridge that was heavily populated by Native Americans just prior to the First Landing in 1607, now multi-million dollar homes and 2 acres of woods. There, I found remnants of archeological digs and in that proximity I got several nice hits. They ended up being broken pieces of some sort of very old 3" round copper component, perforated in the center with 4 decorative clips. I have no idea what it is, I'd like to post a pic on here to get some thoughts....But that's not my topic of interest today.
Exactly one month ago (April 26th) I got off work and only had a couple of hours to hunt before picking my son up from daycare. I get anxiety trying to determine which researched spot I want to detect that day. And on this day it was a toss up between an area where "The Pleasure House" once stood behind the dunes of the Chesapeake bay.....or a park (playground/meadow) in a very wealthy, mature neighborhood. The park was closer to my son's daycare and with only a couple hours to dig I thought I'd try it! Well I started in the back of a quiet meadow shaded through giant oaks, and I quickly realize that this place has never been detected. I didn't have much time so I primarily searched for coins, and I sure found them! After an hour and a half of retrieving modern coins I got a good deep hit. So I started digging! This meadow was Heaven, with it's lush soil infested with fat grubs and worms. After digging about 12" I spot it! My second silver, a '41 quarter (my first, the previous day - '52 dime) The quarter was in great shape. So I continued on with a slight smirk (thinking that was the best of the day) After a few more hits on some pocket change, I got a strong 79-81 hit 8" deep. After finding that quarter I started digging a little wider. I'm glad I did because right at the bottom of an 8" deep plug, I noticed an odd looking coin sticking out! Ear to ear I immediately dissected that plug, only to find a dream come true pop out. I had no idea what I might have, but I knew that it was about 1/64th larger than a quarter, and I could make out letters bordering the decrepit edge. I got home and soaked the coin in distilled water for 15 mins then proceeded to rinse the dirt away. After rinsing and blotting with a soft brush, the coin revealed to be a 1773 Virginia Half Penny! And of all the days to find it; April 26th 2017 - The 410th anniversary of the First Permanent English Colonists' landing in America, on what is now my local beach!
I know its not worth much, but obviously after only detecting for one month - you all must know this is a dream come true and worth more to me than it's corroded condition may portray. Hey it may even be a counterfeit, weighing 6.5 grams and just a hair under an inch. No matter what version it may be, this has made me feel complete in my search to find a relic to call my own. ( And in less than a month; on the anniversary of the colonist....that's pretty awesome in my book!) -AA
Now, finally at 34 years old I have my first M/D, The A/Tpro. I felt that I finally had the chance of finding something special. Not only do I live in Virginia, but I also live next to were the first permanent English Colonists' stepped foot on American soil, April 26th 1607. I started obsessing over my areas local history in an attempt to maybe find an unknown path or site that someone hasn't detected yet. With such determination to find "Blackbeard's Treasure", or maybe a lost colonists' drinking hole, at one of the many swamps deep in the maritime forest of seashore St. park.... some piece of history to appreciate and call my own. After trekking miles through thick mossy dunes, and in and around many secluded swamps all I came up with was a couple of .36 black powder balls, a million 9mm and 22 shells and slugs, and a Western No 16 headstamp dating to the 30's.
Next I tried an area on the Pungo Ridge that was heavily populated by Native Americans just prior to the First Landing in 1607, now multi-million dollar homes and 2 acres of woods. There, I found remnants of archeological digs and in that proximity I got several nice hits. They ended up being broken pieces of some sort of very old 3" round copper component, perforated in the center with 4 decorative clips. I have no idea what it is, I'd like to post a pic on here to get some thoughts....But that's not my topic of interest today.
Exactly one month ago (April 26th) I got off work and only had a couple of hours to hunt before picking my son up from daycare. I get anxiety trying to determine which researched spot I want to detect that day. And on this day it was a toss up between an area where "The Pleasure House" once stood behind the dunes of the Chesapeake bay.....or a park (playground/meadow) in a very wealthy, mature neighborhood. The park was closer to my son's daycare and with only a couple hours to dig I thought I'd try it! Well I started in the back of a quiet meadow shaded through giant oaks, and I quickly realize that this place has never been detected. I didn't have much time so I primarily searched for coins, and I sure found them! After an hour and a half of retrieving modern coins I got a good deep hit. So I started digging! This meadow was Heaven, with it's lush soil infested with fat grubs and worms. After digging about 12" I spot it! My second silver, a '41 quarter (my first, the previous day - '52 dime) The quarter was in great shape. So I continued on with a slight smirk (thinking that was the best of the day) After a few more hits on some pocket change, I got a strong 79-81 hit 8" deep. After finding that quarter I started digging a little wider. I'm glad I did because right at the bottom of an 8" deep plug, I noticed an odd looking coin sticking out! Ear to ear I immediately dissected that plug, only to find a dream come true pop out. I had no idea what I might have, but I knew that it was about 1/64th larger than a quarter, and I could make out letters bordering the decrepit edge. I got home and soaked the coin in distilled water for 15 mins then proceeded to rinse the dirt away. After rinsing and blotting with a soft brush, the coin revealed to be a 1773 Virginia Half Penny! And of all the days to find it; April 26th 2017 - The 410th anniversary of the First Permanent English Colonists' landing in America, on what is now my local beach!
I know its not worth much, but obviously after only detecting for one month - you all must know this is a dream come true and worth more to me than it's corroded condition may portray. Hey it may even be a counterfeit, weighing 6.5 grams and just a hair under an inch. No matter what version it may be, this has made me feel complete in my search to find a relic to call my own. ( And in less than a month; on the anniversary of the colonist....that's pretty awesome in my book!) -AA
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