local_coins
Elite Member
Wow, today's 1.5 hour hunt sure made up for yesterday's several hours of finding pretty much nothing!
For the most part, I hunt my property and the adjacent parcel in an area near where two homes used to stand beginning in the early- to mid-1800's. Hunting is tough as it is very trashy and full of iron with a fair amount of ground mineralization to go with it.
Since the warm up started last week I have been working a new area that is a hay field all summer long. It is mostly tamped down down following the winter so I am taking advantage of the relatively easy swinging that will end quickly once the hay takes off.
I hit the buckle almost immediately - a tight and loud 90-91 on the DFX and shallow. It was just under the surface. I knew as soon as I saw it that it was silver but it was sure nice to wipe the back side and see a large "STERLING" hallmark! It's a hefty piece too, 20.8 grams! This is by far the largest piece of silver I have dug.
The Penny came a couple passes later about 8 or 10 feet away from the buckle. It gave a choppy 85 signal with a fair amount of iron coming through. I figured I would be digging a rusty nail point but that is how it goes in the nail beds...After flipping the plug my pinpointer sounded on a large clump of dirt with - you guessed it - a rusty nail sticking out of it. I pulled the nail free and dropped the clump and - holy cow - out rolls this huge green coin!
At first, I could see a right-facing bust and thought for a second I had a Draped Bust but soon realized it was not a US coin. The back has better detail than the front and Britannia is pretty clear.
After some research, I found that this is a British One Penny (34mm) minted from 1831-1837! This one is an 1837 making it my oldest coin by 16 years! The obverse shows GULIELMUS IIII facing to the right. The date on this coin is below his bust and I can make out the 3 and the 7.
I also found a new headstamp for the collection - a Clinton Cartridge Co Pointer 12ga.
This is one of my best hunts and it was short too! Thankful for warm weather in February!
For the most part, I hunt my property and the adjacent parcel in an area near where two homes used to stand beginning in the early- to mid-1800's. Hunting is tough as it is very trashy and full of iron with a fair amount of ground mineralization to go with it.
Since the warm up started last week I have been working a new area that is a hay field all summer long. It is mostly tamped down down following the winter so I am taking advantage of the relatively easy swinging that will end quickly once the hay takes off.
I hit the buckle almost immediately - a tight and loud 90-91 on the DFX and shallow. It was just under the surface. I knew as soon as I saw it that it was silver but it was sure nice to wipe the back side and see a large "STERLING" hallmark! It's a hefty piece too, 20.8 grams! This is by far the largest piece of silver I have dug.
The Penny came a couple passes later about 8 or 10 feet away from the buckle. It gave a choppy 85 signal with a fair amount of iron coming through. I figured I would be digging a rusty nail point but that is how it goes in the nail beds...After flipping the plug my pinpointer sounded on a large clump of dirt with - you guessed it - a rusty nail sticking out of it. I pulled the nail free and dropped the clump and - holy cow - out rolls this huge green coin!
At first, I could see a right-facing bust and thought for a second I had a Draped Bust but soon realized it was not a US coin. The back has better detail than the front and Britannia is pretty clear.
After some research, I found that this is a British One Penny (34mm) minted from 1831-1837! This one is an 1837 making it my oldest coin by 16 years! The obverse shows GULIELMUS IIII facing to the right. The date on this coin is below his bust and I can make out the 3 and the 7.
I also found a new headstamp for the collection - a Clinton Cartridge Co Pointer 12ga.
This is one of my best hunts and it was short too! Thankful for warm weather in February!
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