AirmetTango
Forum Supporter
You couldn’t stage a practical joke any better than this! Tonight, I went back out to the ghost town farmer’s field that I’ve been hunting lately - I arrived on-site with a little daylight left before sunset, and I had full intentions to continue hunting past dark.
Well, soon after darkness fell, I got my coil over a mid-70s signal. It had a slight jumpiness to it, but otherwise very solid swinging across it in all directions. Plus it was sharp sounding and very compact. I had no doubt this was a coin - and I dug the plug fully expecting to find an Indian! Imagine my glee when my light caught the glint of a silvery rim in the plug!! I broke open the plug to get at the coin and try and get a better look - I could tell it was a little smaller than a US dime, and through the dirt still sticking to the coin I could see a large, unfamiliar shield symbol and what looked like the word “LA” and some other lettering. Now I was really excited - I clearly had foreign silver, and it was probably old!! After all, this is the site that’s given up a bunch of Indians, a seated dime, great relics, and a hunting buddy even pulled out a 1780s Spanish copper. Resisting the urge to field clean, I tucked the coin away and continued to hunt, all the while excitedly wondering what I had found.
Another 30 minutes later, I decided to wrap things up and drive home. I texted my wife to let her know I was on my way, and I was so excited about the mystery silver that I even sent her the pic of it out of the hole, something I rarely do - “exciting find”, I wrote, “it’s silver, foreign, and old!” The whole drive home I’m turning over the possibilities in my mind to the point that I’m about ready to burst by the time I’m pulling into the garage!!
Of course, as soon as I’m in the door I went straight to the sink - gotta see what this thing is! My wife was already getting ready for bed, but she came downstairs when she heard me come in, actually interested for a change in seeing what this filthy thing is that’s getting rinsed in her otherwise clean sink. She arrived in the kitchen just in time for the big reveal as I said out loud “Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me....’Play Money, Uncle Sam, 1950’...it’s not even real!”
I could hear her laughing her way all the way back up the stairs! Yep, I’m never living this one down...oh, and did I mention that my in-laws arrived today for a visit? I’m sure they’ll be very impressed to hear all about the toy money I found!!
Despite all the ridicule headed my way for the rest of my days, the hunt actually turned out pretty nice - ended up with a 1920 Wheatie, 1904 V nickel, 1913 Barber dime, and several good relics. Heck, I even like the dang fake money - it’s actually got a little history to it (see below). And it helps to make a strong case that the town was at least partially inhabited as late as 1950, and by a family with children.
And despite the massive prank it perpetrated against me, I still love the site - in fact, I think I like it even more for giving me yet another fun story to tell!
Well, soon after darkness fell, I got my coil over a mid-70s signal. It had a slight jumpiness to it, but otherwise very solid swinging across it in all directions. Plus it was sharp sounding and very compact. I had no doubt this was a coin - and I dug the plug fully expecting to find an Indian! Imagine my glee when my light caught the glint of a silvery rim in the plug!! I broke open the plug to get at the coin and try and get a better look - I could tell it was a little smaller than a US dime, and through the dirt still sticking to the coin I could see a large, unfamiliar shield symbol and what looked like the word “LA” and some other lettering. Now I was really excited - I clearly had foreign silver, and it was probably old!! After all, this is the site that’s given up a bunch of Indians, a seated dime, great relics, and a hunting buddy even pulled out a 1780s Spanish copper. Resisting the urge to field clean, I tucked the coin away and continued to hunt, all the while excitedly wondering what I had found.
Another 30 minutes later, I decided to wrap things up and drive home. I texted my wife to let her know I was on my way, and I was so excited about the mystery silver that I even sent her the pic of it out of the hole, something I rarely do - “exciting find”, I wrote, “it’s silver, foreign, and old!” The whole drive home I’m turning over the possibilities in my mind to the point that I’m about ready to burst by the time I’m pulling into the garage!!
Of course, as soon as I’m in the door I went straight to the sink - gotta see what this thing is! My wife was already getting ready for bed, but she came downstairs when she heard me come in, actually interested for a change in seeing what this filthy thing is that’s getting rinsed in her otherwise clean sink. She arrived in the kitchen just in time for the big reveal as I said out loud “Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me....’Play Money, Uncle Sam, 1950’...it’s not even real!”
I could hear her laughing her way all the way back up the stairs! Yep, I’m never living this one down...oh, and did I mention that my in-laws arrived today for a visit? I’m sure they’ll be very impressed to hear all about the toy money I found!!
Despite all the ridicule headed my way for the rest of my days, the hunt actually turned out pretty nice - ended up with a 1920 Wheatie, 1904 V nickel, 1913 Barber dime, and several good relics. Heck, I even like the dang fake money - it’s actually got a little history to it (see below). And it helps to make a strong case that the town was at least partially inhabited as late as 1950, and by a family with children.
And despite the massive prank it perpetrated against me, I still love the site - in fact, I think I like it even more for giving me yet another fun story to tell!
