Found first old coins

[hillbillydigger]

Nice Christmas present finding silver & my first old coins. I've eyeballed several old coins in past, but this is first time I have dug up any since I got my detector. Can't post a pic yet, but got the coins soaking in olive oil. So far I know for sure I have a silver war nickel, silver Rosie and a wheat. 2 other nickels and a dime look older but are too coated to tell. I'm not sure they could be silver since they didn't have a gleam like the others when I dug them out. Also got a bunch of copper memorials & a Gatti's pizza token, my first token. 23 coins total. 5 were at a new playground, but the old coins and all the coppers were from a school which I did not realize was that old. I'm going back to the school tomorrow. I forgot and left a odd iron relic there too which I need to get back, but going to dig for me some more silver tomorrow! I was there less than 2 hours so got a lot of targets dug, over 60! Yeah got quite a collection of old pulltabs today too. My Propointer was in the mailbox, so I'm going armed and dangerous tomorrow.

[Doggy Daddy]

WTG. Good hunt. You are going to love the PP.

[hillbillydigger]

Originally Posted by Doggy Daddy

WTG. Good hunt. You are going to love the PP.

I sure hope I love it! I noticed a mix of feelings on it, some love it while others say it doesn't increase finds. But if it helps you locate faster I think it should increase amount of targets you dig in X amount of time. I thought the PP could only detect 2-4 inches... maybe air tests don't count but mine went off a foot away from an iron lamp so it seems pretty strong to me.

[joee5]

I love my PP and so will you. I've found coins and pull tabs about 4 inches deep without any problems. Just dont push down on the tip too hard emits a false signal.

[007tallguy]

Originally Posted by hillbillydigger

I sure hope I love it! I noticed a mix of feelings on it, some love it while others say it doesn't increase finds. But if it helps you locate faster I think it should increase amount of targets you dig in X amount of time. I thought the PP could only detect 2-4 inches... maybe air tests don't count but mine went off a foot away from an iron lamp so it seems pretty strong to me.

congrats on finding the older coins, hope to see some pics when you get a few taken.

and no, the propointer itself won't find more targets, but it greatly reduces the time it takes to recover the targets that you DO find with your MD. it's also great for re-scanning the hole for anything else that might be hiding in close proximity. it'll pick up coins at a couple of inches, but larger items can show up at greater distances from your PP'er.
there's also a way to "detune" your PP'er when you're trying to zero in on a target. as you move closer to a target (PP is just starting to beep), hold it in place right there, turn it off and then turn it right back on and that will decrease it's sensitivity, thus narrowing down how much scanning around you have to do with it.
good luck tomorrow! i have a feeling that once you get use to using it, you will not leave home without it...!!

Pete

[Yeki]

Yep, the PP is an awesome tool. I love when I dig a plug and see the coin laying in the soil or stuck to the bottom of the plug. But, there are times when the darn thing is just lost in there somewhere. The PP narrows down the search in a hurry and you can be on to the next target. You wont be disappointed!

[hillbillydigger]

These coins aren't coming clean very fast in olive oil. Is it ok to use a toothbrush or will I destroy its value? So far I have a 1943-P nickel and a 1951 dime. Wheatie is not coming clean on front. One of the other nickels disappointingly was 1988. Others I can't tell. The coins are really cruddy coming from black dirt.

[007tallguy]

Originally Posted by hillbillydigger

These coins aren't coming clean very fast in olive oil. Is it ok to use a toothbrush or will I destroy its value? So far I have a 1943-P nickel and a 1951 dime. Wheatie is not coming clean on front. One of the other nickels disappointingly was 1988. Others I can't tell. The coins are really cruddy coming from black dirt.

that's a judgement call. if any of them are anything that you suspect could be of value, i would be careful with them, maybe scrub them very gently with the brush. i've had several soaking here in the olive oil for well over a month now, lol.
an option to the toothbrush would be to use a wooden toothpick and try to persuade some of the grime from the date areas of the coins so you can get a date and an ID on them and decide from there if they're valuable or not and whether or not you want to scrub them more aggressively.

[hillbillydigger]

1945 on wheatie and another nickel was 1941 Oh well this has made me take a second look at my finds from past three weeks and came across some odd penny. It may be another commemorative. Need to look it up, can't get a year off it but design on front and back is odd. Also discovered the locket I found may be older than I thought. Gotta figure out how to clean it, not sure what it is made of now. Think its silver. I need to clean my finds better, but who has time when they detect daily! lol

[Hook]

Originally Posted by hillbillydigger

1945 on wheatie and another nickel was 1941 Oh well this has made me take a second look at my finds from past three weeks and came across some odd penny. It may be another commemorative. Need to look it up, can't get a year off it but design on front and back is odd. Also discovered the locket I found may be older than I thought. Gotta figure out how to clean it, not sure what it is made of now. Think its silver. I need to clean my finds better, but who has time when they detect daily! lol

silver coins out of dirt arent usually that crusted and tough to clean. but as you found out, any other types of coins sometimes come out bigtime crusted and sometimes are almost impossible to clean up enough to even get a date from them. oh well...they're still some good finds! keep huntin those silver goodies and good luck!