1913 Wheat penny...then asked to leave

Ohio Digger

Elite Member
Joined
Aug 2, 2010
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900
Location
Eastern Ohio
I was out hunting the other day in the park where I always go. I get a penny signal about 3" deep and figured it's another memorial. I start digging it and look up to see this lady walking toward me. I thought she just wanted to see what I was digging for. When she gets to me she tells me she's the care-taker for the building I was near and said they don't want me digging there (mind you I've seen and talked to metro-park police at this same location while detecting). The target I ended up digging was a 1913 wheatie. I cleaned it last night with my usual baking soda paste method but when I finished I looked at the face of it and it was 95% gone!! I can't believe the baking soda was that abrasive to ruin it, I can't even see the date anymore!!!! Oh yeah, after I was asked to leave that place I drove to the metro-park police department and asked for clarification as to whether or not I can hunt in that area. The captain said "Yes, my officers write the tickets. Not her. I'll talk to her boss." Justice served :)
 
I was out hunting the other day in the park where I always go. I get a penny signal about 3" deep and figured it's another memorial. I start digging it and look up to see this lady walking toward me. I thought she just wanted to see what I was digging for. When she gets to me she tells me she's the care-taker for the building I was near and said they don't want me digging there (mind you I've seen and talked to metro-park police at this same location while detecting). The target I ended up digging was a 1913 wheatie. I cleaned it last night with my usual baking soda paste method but when I finished I looked at the face of it and it was 95% gone!! I can't believe the baking soda was that abrasive to ruin it, I can't even see the date anymore!!!! Oh yeah, after I was asked to leave that place I drove to the metro-park police department and asked for clarification as to whether or not I can hunt in that area. The captain said "Yes, my officers write the tickets. Not her. I'll talk to her boss." Justice served :)

It wasn't the baking soda, it was the penny being too corroded. You see it a lot in really old coins (colonial?) the corrosion has spread to the point that the corrosion has absorbed all the details and you have to leave it on as a really thick patina. If you suspect this is probably a good idea to try the baking soda on in an inconspicuous area on the back first, maybe using a q-tip to see if it damages the details.

You have to be nice to the lady, while helping her with her ignorance to our hobby. She is really kind of being an ignorant snob and seeing you as being beneath her and the building, like a homeless guy collecting cans, but the fact that you are digging a small hole makes you something that she has to confront at once. She "knows" that she is doing the right thing and you are a "suspicious criminal scavenger" doing something you should be doing.

Next time she approaches you you have some things to inform her of to relieve her ignorance.

- I have a legal right to be here doing this. This is city park property, not private property.

- I am not hurting the grass, dirt, or landscaping. I surgically extract the targets, and carefully close up all incisions, leaving the park better than I found it by removing hazardous trash. In other words, this is a skill and I am conducting this in a very professional manner.

-I do care about whether this would inconvenience others too much, and would possibly consider doing this when the area is not busy, or the president of the company is visiting, IF it fits my schedule, as I said above I don't have to.

-It is you that is committing a crime. This is harassment.
 
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