A fist full of clad

[Creek]

Winter in Washington has sucked this year. Poor snowfall in the mountains has not been to inpirational for skiing, the rock is too wet for climbing and the weather has been grey and freezing for weeks.
Thoughts drift to warmer, greener times...
In the summer I spend most of my time snorkeling the local rivers, swimming with the salmon that migrate up to spawn. The whitewater and deep green pools are amazing to snorkel as long as you are dressed for it. This means wetsuits, really good wetsuits. Our rivers come right off the snowy mountains and are quite cold.
I digress.
The local river has trails and a couple foot bridges that cross it. Cross country skiing across the bridge one day I spotted in the water what can only be described as a lot of coins. Tourists had been throwing coins into the river. The cold green water was around 6-8 feet deep. Very uninviting to say the least as swimming season is at least 6 months away. Did I mention I'm skiing?
Time passes.
Thoughts of that cache of booty inspire me to reinvestigate metal detecting.
I find this forum. Your stories of amazing finds push me over the edge.
The wetsuit and snorkel gear comes out of storage. Mentally I weigh the suffering that is very, very clearly going to be a big part of retreiving what is not really that much money. My wife, bless her soul, is used to this kind of thing and responds with much heckling and heartless, mirthful laughter.
Token sunshine and mid 40 degree temps provide meager encouragement.
I commit.
It's cold and the water is colder. The current is much faster than I realized.
I'm huffing and puffing and swimming hard. I dive and the water turns my face blue. Diving down, down I snatch for a handfull of coins and swim hard for shore. Risking my life for 81 cents causes me to pause and reflect on the wisdom of this endeavor but then pride takes over. Navy SEALS would do this kind of stuff for kicks so I continue. 15 minutes later I'm driving home with wooden feet and $8.00 in change.
Circulation returns.
The next day is not sunny. The bowl of change taunts me. Finding free money has it's attraction. Wading through snow for small change is humbling and I rush to get back in and get this over with fast. There is more clad than I realized but the water is deep, fast and still cold but I know what to expect now and I work fast. The monitary gains add up.
Days pass.
The 38 degree water does not bother me so much now and I push, push for more time, more laps, more dives. I'm having a good time. It's not about the money, this has become a mission. Real life commitments loom and I call it good. Only crazy people swim when there is snow on the ground. Tallying up, I find I did pretty good. A couple foreign coins from England, Canada, Poland and the Phillipines are quite sexy, yet worthless. The cashe is depleted, but more remain hidden and I left several coins prominently displayed to convince the tourists that throwing money in a river is indeed a good idea.

Some people wish for luck, some make their own luck.
Brrrr!

Making money the hard way

My best haul, before cleaning

All cleaned up and purdy!

[Blueonceagain]

[QUOTE=Creek;678788]Winter in Washington has sucked this year. Poor snowfall in the mountains has not been to inpirational for skiing, the rock is too wet for climbing and the weather has been grey and freezing for weeks.
Thoughts drift to warmer, greener times...
In the summer I spend most of my time snorkeling the local rivers, swimming with the salmon that migrate up to spawn. The whitewater and deep green pools are amazing to snorkel as long as you are dressed for it. This means wetsuits, really good wetsuits. Our rivers come right off the snowy mountains and are quite cold.
I digress.
The local river has trails and a couple foot bridges that cross it. Cross country skiing across the bridge one day I spotted in the water what can only be described as a lot of coins. Tourists had been throwing coins into the river. The cold green water was around 6-8 feet deep. Very uninviting to say the least as swimming season is at least 6 months away. Did I mention I'm skiing?
Time passes.
Thoughts of that cache of booty inspire me to reinvestigate metal detecting.
I find this forum. Your stories of amazing finds push me over the edge.
The wetsuit and snorkel gear comes out of storage. Mentally I weigh the suffering that is very, very clearly going to be a big part of retreiving what is not really that much money. My wife, bless her soul, is used to this kind of thing and responds with much heckling and heartless, mirthful laughter.
Token sunshine and mid 40 degree temps provide meager encouragement.
I commit.
It's cold and the water is colder. The current is much faster than I realized.
I'm huffing and puffing and swimming hard. I dive and the water turns my face blue. Diving down, down I snatch for a handfull of coins and swim hard for shore. Risking my life for 81 cents causes me to pause and reflect on the wisdom of this endeavor but then pride takes over. Navy SEALS would do this kind of stuff for kicks so I continue. 15 minutes later I'm driving home with wooden feet and $8.00 in change.
Circulation returns.
The next day is not sunny. The bowl of change taunts me. Finding free money has it's attraction. Wading through snow for small change is humbling and I rush to get back in and get this over with fast. There is mord clad than I realized but the water is deep, fast and still cold but I know what to expect now and I work fast. The monitary gains add up.
Days pass.
The 38 degree water water does not bother me so much now and I push, push for more time, more laps, more dives. I'm having a good time. It's not about the money, this has become a mission. Real life commitments loom and I call it good. Only crazy people swim when there is snow on the ground. Tallying up, I find I did pretty good. A couple foreign coins from England, Canada, Poland and the Phillipines are quite sexy, yet worthless. The cashe is depleted, but more remain hidden and I left several coins prominently displayed to convince the tourists that throwing money in a river is indeed a good idea.

Some people wish for luck, some make their own luck.
Brrrr!

Sounds like youve written a novel before.Wouldnt like to be in that freezing cold water,esp.as I dont swim .If theyre silly enough to throw them away good luck to you i say.

[RickO]

Amazing haul... what was the total?? No way I could do that... do not like cold. Lived in Seattle/Renton for twenty years. RickO

[Creek]

759 coins for a total of $49.75. Most of the clad was completely covered in corrosion.
The oldest coin was a 1948 S wheat penny.
In the summer this area is frequented by kids, so I imagine they would clean it out pretty well.
I had a great time and my friends are really enjoying making fun of me.

[Gold Nuggets]

You must be really anxious for spring/summer to get here. Like you said, only crazy people do this sort of thing in the cold winter months. Glad you at
least found some coins and some rings. Any good dates? or just modern clad. I have thought about visiting some of my summer hunting places also but changed my mind when I got outside and realized how cold it was. GL and HH
Gold Nuggets

[JBEXPRESS]

Man oh man what a clad count! Thats is amazing! Congrats on your hunt!

[Creek]

EDIT:
A trip to the local library to do some research has led me to believe that I may have found the strongbox of the SS Hayduke that became lost in a storm on a voyage from San Francisco to Manilla. The tramper struck a rock and promptly sunk in 7 feet of water with a loss of all but one of the crew.
The only person to survive the wreck, the ships cook, clung to a piece of wreckage and walked to shore and wandered a block and a half to the local bar, where he managed to gasp out the tragic tale, order a shot of whiskey and promply expired on the pool table.
The townsfolk converged on the wreck to search for the strongbox and in the process completely stripped the 235 foot ship, selling it for scrap. The safe was never found.
I have contacted a marine salvage law firm and am in the process of submitting a salvage claim.

[Stealth]

Originally Posted by Creek

EDIT:
A trip to the local library to do some research has led me to believe that I may have found the strongbox of the SS Hayduke that became lost in a storm on a voyage from San Francisco to Manilla. The tramper struck a rock and promptly sunk in 7 feet of water with a loss of all but one of the crew.
The only person to survive the wreck, the ships cook, clung to a piece of wreckage and walked to shore and wandered a block and a half to the local bar, where he managed to gasp out the tragic tale, order a shot of whiskey and promply expired on the pool table.
The townsfolk converged on the wreck to search for the strongbox and in the process completely stripped the 235 foot ship, selling it for scrap. The safe was never found.
I have contacted a marine salvage law firm and am in the process of submitting a salvage claim.

id like to hear how this turns out!

[GMD]

This is one of the best stories I have read on here! You kept me hanging onto every word. You really have a knack for writing! I know some people could never understand why you did what you did, but they obviously lack adventure in their lives! Keep the treasure stories coming : ) Two thumbs up!

[Creek]

Of course that bit about the ship is a total and utter fabrication, this location is in a mountain river 100 miles from the ocean. I was just kidding!
But I did hear about a party of innertubing college kids that lost a six pack of beer in this area of the river though, and concerted efforts to recover said beverages will commence in the spring.

Thanks for the kind comments, and I really do appreciate the sage advice and entertaining stories of your amazing finds.
Take care, and I'll see you in the field.

[Jae.999]

That does look like fun but not in such a cold temp. Nice haul though.

[wolf-n-wa]

The story is true. But you did not find the strong box because I pulled it from that river 10 years ago.

[zeemang]

Great haul, well written story as well. Gotta say that looks COLD. Hope you left the car running while you were in there....Great job!

[godigit1]

Great story and nice haul for the time you spent. Theres got to be some older cions down deeper if you detected the spot you might even find coin paystreaks formed by the current over the years. Just like if you were prospecting!!!
I knew you were kidding about the boat just by looking at the pics.
HH

[Jahall50]

that's awesome

[Creek]

I hit up the river again today after taking a couple weeks off. The water levels have fallen, making condtions more palatable. What was once deep is not not so deep and the current has subsided somewhat, creating favorable conditions for recovering clad coins that were out of reach before.
My constitution and tolerance for pain seems to have strengthened and I managed about an hour in the water before calling it a day.
Passing outdoor enthusists either did a double take or studiously ignored me, as if witnessing madness is possibly contagious.
My wife has warmed to this ridiculious enterprise after last month's efforts and tagged along to record her husband's possible demise for insurance purposes.
Vigorous exersise is good for the heart, and I was rewarded with my best day's haul so far. The wise purchase of a sand scoop boosted productivity and allowed me to sort coins from pebbles in the comforts of my kitchen.
I decided not to clean the coins to preserve them as I found them.
Highlights included a Norwegian Krone and a token good for a complementry video game as well as $23.66 in change, bringing my year to date total up to $72.41.

Earning 61 cents the wet way


Separating the wheat from the chaff

[Rob479]

Good Read!!!


You're slightly insane, but I like it!


Congrats on your cache!!!

[fontok]

This is an old thread, but it so much reminds me of myself, tramping through the snow, in my dive gear, but it was fun! Keep diving for those coins, never know what else you might find.