AirmetTango
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I went back out to my new farm house permission again for a short time on Friday. It was hotter than the first hunt, so I initially decided to stay in shady areas even though the shade was mostly in lower traffic areas. It showed in my finds for the first 90 minutes - a lot more trash! But I still managed a couple of late model Wheats (both '55D), a cool brass sunflower button, a watch/clock gear, and an odd doodad with an inlay that appears to be silver.
About that time the farmer pulled in, and we chatted for almost 30 minutes about all kinds of stuff, but he also gave me a more detailed run down of what he knew about where stuff used to be on the property in his Granddad's day. Awesome info - including that there used to be a gazebo and an outdoor brick oven in the northwest corner of the property! I only had about 20 minutes left to hunt, and that area was in the blazing sun, but I didn't care - I bee-lined right over to that section!
I didn't have my coil swinging again for more than 3 minutes, and I got a solid 81, all directions with the right depth sound on the proportional audio...pinpoint said 6" down. Cut the plug, turned it over, and silver flipped right out with it - probably only about 5" down. At first I thought it was a Rosie, but then I could make out the fasces on the back that confirmed it was another Merc! Cleaned up as a slightly worn 1919
Within 5' of where I dug the Merc, I hit another solid high tone signal, but lower numbers 76-79, occasional hit at 80-81, indicating 6" again. Digging the plug, I had to search a bit to find the coin - it was darkened and dirt encrusted, but still clearly silver. Unfortunately, it also had a distinct "banana" curve - somehow the coin got bent before or after it was lost. It was clearly a dime, but fresh out of the hole it was hard to figure out what kind, other than that I could just barely make out "One Dime" in the center of the back. Woohoo - a Barber...or maybe a Seated?? I was psyched up, either way!! As the dirt dried on the coin, I could definitely see Lady Liberty start to appear through the crud - and she was definitely sitting down! Simply awesome!!
I had to wrap the hunt up soon after that and get home for my daughter's bus...she wasn't nearly as thrilled as I was to clean dirty coins in the sink, so she did her homework while I set to work cleaning up my finds, saving the "best" for last. When I got to the Seated and started gently rinsing it down, I was a little disappointed to see almost immediately that in addition to the bend (and maybe because of it?), the coin didn't fare very well underground. There was clearly a lot of detail left on the coin when it was dropped - but the silver itself seems like it was reacting with something in the soil, leaving the coin with almost a sandpaper feel to it. But then as I continued to gently clean the coin, I saw the mint mark...CC! I swear my heart stuttered for a split second - I don't know Seated dimes very well, but I know Carson City mint marks are unusual! The date on the front is clear...1876. Well, it didn't take long for me to learn that I missed my Once In A Lifetime find by 2 years! It's probably just as well - in it's condition, the coin is pretty much worthless regardless of the date I probably would have lost my mind to find an 1874 CC and have it be worthless due to all the damage! Still it's a Seated, and it's mine
It's interesting to note that not only is the coin bent, but it's also enlarged - the diameter is probably about 2mm larger than it should be. So whatever bent it, apparently crushed it a little also. Kinda makes me wonder what happened to it - trampled by a horse?? Wagon wheel? We'll never know, but fun to speculate
About that time the farmer pulled in, and we chatted for almost 30 minutes about all kinds of stuff, but he also gave me a more detailed run down of what he knew about where stuff used to be on the property in his Granddad's day. Awesome info - including that there used to be a gazebo and an outdoor brick oven in the northwest corner of the property! I only had about 20 minutes left to hunt, and that area was in the blazing sun, but I didn't care - I bee-lined right over to that section!
I didn't have my coil swinging again for more than 3 minutes, and I got a solid 81, all directions with the right depth sound on the proportional audio...pinpoint said 6" down. Cut the plug, turned it over, and silver flipped right out with it - probably only about 5" down. At first I thought it was a Rosie, but then I could make out the fasces on the back that confirmed it was another Merc! Cleaned up as a slightly worn 1919
Within 5' of where I dug the Merc, I hit another solid high tone signal, but lower numbers 76-79, occasional hit at 80-81, indicating 6" again. Digging the plug, I had to search a bit to find the coin - it was darkened and dirt encrusted, but still clearly silver. Unfortunately, it also had a distinct "banana" curve - somehow the coin got bent before or after it was lost. It was clearly a dime, but fresh out of the hole it was hard to figure out what kind, other than that I could just barely make out "One Dime" in the center of the back. Woohoo - a Barber...or maybe a Seated?? I was psyched up, either way!! As the dirt dried on the coin, I could definitely see Lady Liberty start to appear through the crud - and she was definitely sitting down! Simply awesome!!
I had to wrap the hunt up soon after that and get home for my daughter's bus...she wasn't nearly as thrilled as I was to clean dirty coins in the sink, so she did her homework while I set to work cleaning up my finds, saving the "best" for last. When I got to the Seated and started gently rinsing it down, I was a little disappointed to see almost immediately that in addition to the bend (and maybe because of it?), the coin didn't fare very well underground. There was clearly a lot of detail left on the coin when it was dropped - but the silver itself seems like it was reacting with something in the soil, leaving the coin with almost a sandpaper feel to it. But then as I continued to gently clean the coin, I saw the mint mark...CC! I swear my heart stuttered for a split second - I don't know Seated dimes very well, but I know Carson City mint marks are unusual! The date on the front is clear...1876. Well, it didn't take long for me to learn that I missed my Once In A Lifetime find by 2 years! It's probably just as well - in it's condition, the coin is pretty much worthless regardless of the date I probably would have lost my mind to find an 1874 CC and have it be worthless due to all the damage! Still it's a Seated, and it's mine
It's interesting to note that not only is the coin bent, but it's also enlarged - the diameter is probably about 2mm larger than it should be. So whatever bent it, apparently crushed it a little also. Kinda makes me wonder what happened to it - trampled by a horse?? Wagon wheel? We'll never know, but fun to speculate
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