AirmetTango
Forum Supporter
I’ve never detected one particular local park before today. I just always figured it wasn’t really worth my time - the park has a long and well documented history, so surely it’s been pounded to death by detectorists for as long as I’ve been alive (almost 5 decades). At best I’d find some clad which doesn’t really interest me. But I’ve been having a little bit of luck lately in areas that I previously assumed would have been hunted out, so today I thought “what the heck...can’t hurt to try.”
I went into the hunt strictly as a coin shooter - mainly looking at tones that were Indian and higher plus nickels. I expected trash, pull tabs, and bottle caps to be everywhere, so I decided not to bother digging the traditional trash numbers (but I didn’t discriminate them out). I also went into the hunt not really expecting to shoot many coins!
The first “good” tone was a classic Zincoln signal, 19-20 on my EQ800 and not too deep. I dug it, and it was, indeed, a Zincoln.
The next coin signal was one that I’ve come to know as meaning a potential Wheatie...a strongly bouncing high tone (VDI varying from 20-32, but rarely even a blip outside of high tones). In fact, after I turned the plug, the signal seemed to solidify around 31-32, so I began to wonder if I didn’t have something better than a Wheat. Digging down through 4 or 5”, I encountered a root maybe 1” in diameter, and the pinpointer was sounding off on something somewhere below it! I’m learning to love those signals below decent sized roots - chances are high it’s something old/good!! Sure enough, out from under the root came a somewhat crusty, but identifiable, Wheat penny. Woohoo!! To me that was a small victory in this well-hunted park! By the end of the hunt, I ended up with 4 Wheats (1929, 1919, & 1918, and one unidentifiable date). The last three were pretty crusty, and interestingly, all three rung up in the Zincoln range (solid 19-21).
A pull tab or two after that first Wheat, I got an even better surprise...I got over a 19-21 coin signal, but this one was indicating deeper...too deep for the typical Zincoln. From 5 or 6” down, I dredged up a nice, green coin...1893 Indian! This park just got a lot more interesting!!
I fished around for another 30 minutes with almost nothing diggable - a few zinc pennies and a couple pull tabs. Then I got over another 20-21 signal - slightly broken, but I was convinced it was a coin. And better yet, it was showing too deep for Zincoln territory! Putting the garden knife to work again, I turned a plug and had to remove a little more dirt before the pinpointer started to sound off. Routing around a little deeper, I saw it...a giant iron nail.
“Damn this iron falsing,” I quietly muttered out loud to myself - I was genuinely frustrated, pocketed the nail, and flipped the plug back into place in disgust. I’ve been struggling with the new Equinox update digging fistfulls of nails that sounded like potential deep coins...but those were always pretty iffy at least in hindsight. This one I would have bet the house was a coin.
Despite my annoyance, I’ve learned long ago to always recheck the hole, so after standing back up I half-heartedly waved the coil over the spot. Raging high tone!
Almost dead solid 29-30, occasionally dropping to 27-28, and showing 6-8”! Flipping the plug again and digging a little further down, the pinpointer sounds off, and I eventually discover what looks like a clad quarter - dark grey, no shine. The front was encased in black dirt, but I was stunned when I flipped it over! I saw a very different eagle than I was used to, and knew right away this was old silver!! At first I thought it was Barber, but after taking a closer look at the back and hitting up Google in the field, I realized “Holy cats!! It’s a Seated!!” 
My first quarter other than a George, and it’s an oldie...clean up at home revealed the 1854 date, now my oldest silver coin as well!! 
I did learn a valuable lesson through a little heartbreak, though. I never wipe or clean my silver in the field...I just put it in a dedicated pouch to gently rinse with water at home. This time, the excess dirt on the face of the quarter somehow managed to scratch the coin while it was in my pouch.
Earlier this evening I bought a couple $1 spray bottles from Walmart at forum member Dan B.’s suggestion. No more dirty/sandy silver goes in my pouches or pockets.
Despite the disappointment with the scratches, I’ve been on a permanent high ever since this afternoon - even as I write this at 1:30am!!
Besides the additional Wheat pennies, I ended the hunt with a second Indian, 1882! Seven old coins in a small section of the park in under 3 hours was far more than I ever expected - but a seated quarter was beyond my wildest dreams! In hindsight, I wonder if most of these signals were still there because most of them rang up similar to Zincolns, even the quarter since it was being masked by iron. Either way, I guarantee you’ll see me spending a little more time at the local park...
Edit: Forgot to mention settings for those who might be interested: Park 1, 50 tones, Recovery Speed 5, F2 2
I went into the hunt strictly as a coin shooter - mainly looking at tones that were Indian and higher plus nickels. I expected trash, pull tabs, and bottle caps to be everywhere, so I decided not to bother digging the traditional trash numbers (but I didn’t discriminate them out). I also went into the hunt not really expecting to shoot many coins!
The first “good” tone was a classic Zincoln signal, 19-20 on my EQ800 and not too deep. I dug it, and it was, indeed, a Zincoln.
The next coin signal was one that I’ve come to know as meaning a potential Wheatie...a strongly bouncing high tone (VDI varying from 20-32, but rarely even a blip outside of high tones). In fact, after I turned the plug, the signal seemed to solidify around 31-32, so I began to wonder if I didn’t have something better than a Wheat. Digging down through 4 or 5”, I encountered a root maybe 1” in diameter, and the pinpointer was sounding off on something somewhere below it! I’m learning to love those signals below decent sized roots - chances are high it’s something old/good!! Sure enough, out from under the root came a somewhat crusty, but identifiable, Wheat penny. Woohoo!! To me that was a small victory in this well-hunted park! By the end of the hunt, I ended up with 4 Wheats (1929, 1919, & 1918, and one unidentifiable date). The last three were pretty crusty, and interestingly, all three rung up in the Zincoln range (solid 19-21).
A pull tab or two after that first Wheat, I got an even better surprise...I got over a 19-21 coin signal, but this one was indicating deeper...too deep for the typical Zincoln. From 5 or 6” down, I dredged up a nice, green coin...1893 Indian! This park just got a lot more interesting!!
I fished around for another 30 minutes with almost nothing diggable - a few zinc pennies and a couple pull tabs. Then I got over another 20-21 signal - slightly broken, but I was convinced it was a coin. And better yet, it was showing too deep for Zincoln territory! Putting the garden knife to work again, I turned a plug and had to remove a little more dirt before the pinpointer started to sound off. Routing around a little deeper, I saw it...a giant iron nail.
“Damn this iron falsing,” I quietly muttered out loud to myself - I was genuinely frustrated, pocketed the nail, and flipped the plug back into place in disgust. I’ve been struggling with the new Equinox update digging fistfulls of nails that sounded like potential deep coins...but those were always pretty iffy at least in hindsight. This one I would have bet the house was a coin.
Despite my annoyance, I’ve learned long ago to always recheck the hole, so after standing back up I half-heartedly waved the coil over the spot. Raging high tone!
Almost dead solid 29-30, occasionally dropping to 27-28, and showing 6-8”! Flipping the plug again and digging a little further down, the pinpointer sounds off, and I eventually discover what looks like a clad quarter - dark grey, no shine. The front was encased in black dirt, but I was stunned when I flipped it over! I saw a very different eagle than I was used to, and knew right away this was old silver!! At first I thought it was Barber, but after taking a closer look at the back and hitting up Google in the field, I realized “Holy cats!! It’s a Seated!!” My first quarter other than a George, and it’s an oldie...clean up at home revealed the 1854 date, now my oldest silver coin as well!! I did learn a valuable lesson through a little heartbreak, though. I never wipe or clean my silver in the field...I just put it in a dedicated pouch to gently rinse with water at home. This time, the excess dirt on the face of the quarter somehow managed to scratch the coin while it was in my pouch.
Earlier this evening I bought a couple $1 spray bottles from Walmart at forum member Dan B.’s suggestion. No more dirty/sandy silver goes in my pouches or pockets.Despite the disappointment with the scratches, I’ve been on a permanent high ever since this afternoon - even as I write this at 1:30am!!
Besides the additional Wheat pennies, I ended the hunt with a second Indian, 1882! Seven old coins in a small section of the park in under 3 hours was far more than I ever expected - but a seated quarter was beyond my wildest dreams! In hindsight, I wonder if most of these signals were still there because most of them rang up similar to Zincolns, even the quarter since it was being masked by iron. Either way, I guarantee you’ll see me spending a little more time at the local park...
Edit: Forgot to mention settings for those who might be interested: Park 1, 50 tones, Recovery Speed 5, F2 2
), but the fabric just held on to too much dirt/dust and was bulky. The tarp is perfect - dirt slides right off back into the hole, and folds up small and light to get tucked back into my pouch. Super easy to keep lawns and parks mess free!
