AirmetTango
Forum Supporter
Last week I posted about spotting a surface Injun while detecting a farm field - I even got my swagger on: “spotted it from 6 feet away”, “did better with my eyeballs than the detector”, etc...who needs a detector, right?
See the thread here: I Love When This Happens!
Well, clearly I angered the karma gods, and they put me back in my place during my hunt on Friday! I went back to the same field for a couple hours, and eventually got over a nice, solid, consistent Indian Head tone. Brimming with confidence, I didn’t bother to pinpoint other than the quick “X” from swinging over the target from various directions - I just attacked the ground with my shovel and turned a plug. Bent down and gave the hole a swish with my pinpointer, and nothing - not a peep. “Hmmm...must be in the plug or deeper down. I hope it isn’t deeper - that signal sounded pretty shallow”, I thought as I stood back up, worried that “deeper” meant “junkier”. I grabbed the detector and ran it over the plug...nothing. “Uh-oh”, I thought. Ran it over the hole...still nothing
“Wtf”, I thought.
Then I moved the coil around the edges of the hole, and at the exact same time I heard the solid 19, I finally saw it:
Well, I just had to laugh at myself
Guess I need that detector after all!! And despite the mild smack down from the detecting gods, I still got to enjoy the thrill of plucking another coin right off the surface 
That’s 3 total surface coins, and all of them came out of this field!
I managed I few other neat finds on the hunt: 2 more V nickels, another Indian, a fork (also on the surface), and a wonderful old trade token.
I managed to get a solid ID on the fork thanks to the maker’s mark stamp on the back, which reads “Wm A Rogers Nickel Silver Oneida Ltd”. This website identifies it as the “Alden” pattern from 1931.
The 1904 V cleaned up nicer than most of my others, and shows pretty nice detail front and back. The 1906 looked pretty crusty, to the point I was doubting I’d even get a date off of it. But careful use of toothpicks, Andre’s pencils, and very light touches of 0000 steel wool brought out the date nicely and more detail than I could have hoped for!
The surface Indian didn’t clean very well, but looks like either 1886 or 1885. The other one is 1898, and cleaned up fairly well.
The trade token is one of my favorites so far despite the bend! Because it was bent and the shape, I originally thought it was just a bit of brass. But I soon saw the incuse lettering front and back, indicating that it might be pretty old. I love its unusual diamond shape! The history already seems a bit interesting on this one - I found a W.S. Trichler who was very local to the area, but he was a doctor in 1896 and the county coroner from at least 1898 to 1902. Perhaps he opened a bar when he retired?? Based on some of the things I’ve read that he saw while Coroner, he’d need a stiff drink....
See the thread here: I Love When This Happens!
Well, clearly I angered the karma gods, and they put me back in my place during my hunt on Friday! I went back to the same field for a couple hours, and eventually got over a nice, solid, consistent Indian Head tone. Brimming with confidence, I didn’t bother to pinpoint other than the quick “X” from swinging over the target from various directions - I just attacked the ground with my shovel and turned a plug. Bent down and gave the hole a swish with my pinpointer, and nothing - not a peep. “Hmmm...must be in the plug or deeper down. I hope it isn’t deeper - that signal sounded pretty shallow”, I thought as I stood back up, worried that “deeper” meant “junkier”. I grabbed the detector and ran it over the plug...nothing. “Uh-oh”, I thought. Ran it over the hole...still nothing
“Wtf”, I thought. Then I moved the coil around the edges of the hole, and at the exact same time I heard the solid 19, I finally saw it:
Well, I just had to laugh at myself
Guess I need that detector after all!! And despite the mild smack down from the detecting gods, I still got to enjoy the thrill of plucking another coin right off the surface That’s 3 total surface coins, and all of them came out of this field!I managed I few other neat finds on the hunt: 2 more V nickels, another Indian, a fork (also on the surface), and a wonderful old trade token.
I managed to get a solid ID on the fork thanks to the maker’s mark stamp on the back, which reads “Wm A Rogers Nickel Silver Oneida Ltd”. This website identifies it as the “Alden” pattern from 1931.
The 1904 V cleaned up nicer than most of my others, and shows pretty nice detail front and back. The 1906 looked pretty crusty, to the point I was doubting I’d even get a date off of it. But careful use of toothpicks, Andre’s pencils, and very light touches of 0000 steel wool brought out the date nicely and more detail than I could have hoped for!
The surface Indian didn’t clean very well, but looks like either 1886 or 1885. The other one is 1898, and cleaned up fairly well.
The trade token is one of my favorites so far despite the bend! Because it was bent and the shape, I originally thought it was just a bit of brass. But I soon saw the incuse lettering front and back, indicating that it might be pretty old. I love its unusual diamond shape! The history already seems a bit interesting on this one - I found a W.S. Trichler who was very local to the area, but he was a doctor in 1896 and the county coroner from at least 1898 to 1902. Perhaps he opened a bar when he retired?? Based on some of the things I’ve read that he saw while Coroner, he’d need a stiff drink....
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Glad I could ease your pain! 
