local_coins
Elite Member
I have posted some pictures of hunts I have done in my yard in the past. There is quite a lot of history on my land and the adjacent field. When I can't leave the house I can always step outside and hunt and have a good shot at finding something really old or really cool. It is loaded with iron so it is also a great place to learn a metal detector - which I have taken advantage of along the way. This is a rural lot that used to have an old farmhouse in the mid-1800's and then a newer home built in the 60's and the property has been occupied ever since.
This hunt lasted a little over an hour but most of the good stuff was found in less than an hour. This hunt also produced two firsts for my yard...
To give you an idea of what is in my yard; I have previously found 13 wheats, 3 Indian Head Cents, 2 V Nickels, a Buffalo Nickel, 1853 Large Cent, 1837 Guilillemus IIII Penny, an old convex button, a sterling ring and a sterling belt buckle but never any silver coin, until today.
When I went out today I had a hunch to try a new spot where an old driveway used to be. My first target was the wheat cent at about 6 inches and only my second hole. Moving along I got another contaminated high-tone signal that would not pinpoint well at all. It was a blob of a pinpoint but the high-tone seemed localized while the iron was broad. The thought in my head when I dug this hole was "I am going to clear this iron to see if I can clean up this pinpoint."
I flipped the plug over and went right in with the pinpointer (I should have scanned the plug) and found a rusty bolt in the bottom of the hole. I checked the hole again and got nothing so I ran the PP over the plug and got another target which I figured was going to be another nail but when I brushed the dirt I saw the silver coin! I could see it was a Merc with very sharp detail and a strong reeded edge. The date is 1936 and this is the first silver coin I have found in my yard.
After I found the Merc the ground seemed to come alive with good targets. I was getting good mid-tone and high-tone targets that really set themselves apart from the iron and junk. Digging the mid-tones yielded my second old button - a really heavy flat button with shank and "Rich Colour" and stars on the back.
The next good target was the eagle button. It's a shame that it is broken but it is my first likely military button. It is the front of a 2-piece button with an eagle and anchor surrounded by stars.
That pulltab in the junk pile also sounded really good. It was almost 8 inches and just rang clear and pinpointed really well. I really thought it was going to be an Indian Head or something like that.
The 950 coil on the DFX really locked onto these small buttons and they were easy targets among the iron.
The photo of the Merc in hand is courtesy of my 5yr old son! He did a better job than me since I am holding the coin upside down! I also included a picture of the junk - for my yard this is a pretty good keeper-to-junk ratio, especially for the short duration.
Thanks for looking!
This hunt lasted a little over an hour but most of the good stuff was found in less than an hour. This hunt also produced two firsts for my yard...
To give you an idea of what is in my yard; I have previously found 13 wheats, 3 Indian Head Cents, 2 V Nickels, a Buffalo Nickel, 1853 Large Cent, 1837 Guilillemus IIII Penny, an old convex button, a sterling ring and a sterling belt buckle but never any silver coin, until today.
When I went out today I had a hunch to try a new spot where an old driveway used to be. My first target was the wheat cent at about 6 inches and only my second hole. Moving along I got another contaminated high-tone signal that would not pinpoint well at all. It was a blob of a pinpoint but the high-tone seemed localized while the iron was broad. The thought in my head when I dug this hole was "I am going to clear this iron to see if I can clean up this pinpoint."
I flipped the plug over and went right in with the pinpointer (I should have scanned the plug) and found a rusty bolt in the bottom of the hole. I checked the hole again and got nothing so I ran the PP over the plug and got another target which I figured was going to be another nail but when I brushed the dirt I saw the silver coin! I could see it was a Merc with very sharp detail and a strong reeded edge. The date is 1936 and this is the first silver coin I have found in my yard.
After I found the Merc the ground seemed to come alive with good targets. I was getting good mid-tone and high-tone targets that really set themselves apart from the iron and junk. Digging the mid-tones yielded my second old button - a really heavy flat button with shank and "Rich Colour" and stars on the back.
The next good target was the eagle button. It's a shame that it is broken but it is my first likely military button. It is the front of a 2-piece button with an eagle and anchor surrounded by stars.
That pulltab in the junk pile also sounded really good. It was almost 8 inches and just rang clear and pinpointed really well. I really thought it was going to be an Indian Head or something like that.
The 950 coil on the DFX really locked onto these small buttons and they were easy targets among the iron.
The photo of the Merc in hand is courtesy of my 5yr old son! He did a better job than me since I am holding the coin upside down! I also included a picture of the junk - for my yard this is a pretty good keeper-to-junk ratio, especially for the short duration.
Thanks for looking!
Congrats on the hunt!
