LovestheShiny!
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Here is the story behind my other "Americana" find in 2017, the other was the Wild West Show trick shooting coin target.
This summer, I was hunting parking strips in Missoula, Montana when I saw a property owner come out of his house towards his car parked along the edge of the street. I set down my detector and approached the man to ask permission to detect his yard. I politely explained what I was doing on public property, and told him that I am very respectful of property, that I don't leave holes or make a mess, use a small cloth towel to keep any dirt off the lawn, and I (esp during the summer and fall) always water the lawn and roots where I cut a plug, to ensure no damage to the lawn. (I carry a jug of H2O with me just for that purpose while detecting). The guy was super cool and gave me the OK to do the front lawn, but not to go through the fence into the back as he had a dog back there.
I eagerly starting in on the front yard, and began finding copper memorial pennies, a bit of clad, and some wheat pennies back to the 1920's. The home was built in about 1923, so I had hopes for some of the shiny! I did get a 1920's Mercury dime near the sidewalk, and that felt great. Toward the middle of the yard I got a 49-51 mid tone signal on my AT Pro. I usually chase nickel signals especially if they are a bit lower than the classic "53" I get for a newer Jefferson that is near the surface. I have found that deeper older Buffalo and "V" nickels ring up a bit lower than that 53.
Digging down, I came across a nickel, with the Buffalo animal on the side facing me. I flipped the coin over to get a date, and took a double take! What the??? I flipped the coin back, saw the Buffalo, and then back to the obverse. I must have done this 4-5 times! My mind took a while to compute what I was looking it, as there definitely was not a Native American Indian on the obverse!
Nickel being a very malleable metal, I realized that someone had altered / carved the Indian Head profile into a WW 1 soldier, complete with helmet and collar. The soldier was smoking a cigarette, and there was a thin trail of smoke coming up from that cigarette! So cool! At the time, I didn't realize what I had, so again, did some research on the computer when I got home. Google Image showed me I had a "Hobo Nickel!" Apparently, Buffalo Nickels were by far the favorite choice for hobos riding the rails to shape and carve into other images. A soldier was a fairly common image to be created. I can imaging a hobo in the late 1920's / early 1930's during the Great Depression, working away at this coin, and perhaps trading it for a meal or other some other opportunity! Somehow it was lost in this yard, and thankfully found by me this summer!
Thanks for looking and hope this is of interest!
This summer, I was hunting parking strips in Missoula, Montana when I saw a property owner come out of his house towards his car parked along the edge of the street. I set down my detector and approached the man to ask permission to detect his yard. I politely explained what I was doing on public property, and told him that I am very respectful of property, that I don't leave holes or make a mess, use a small cloth towel to keep any dirt off the lawn, and I (esp during the summer and fall) always water the lawn and roots where I cut a plug, to ensure no damage to the lawn. (I carry a jug of H2O with me just for that purpose while detecting). The guy was super cool and gave me the OK to do the front lawn, but not to go through the fence into the back as he had a dog back there.
I eagerly starting in on the front yard, and began finding copper memorial pennies, a bit of clad, and some wheat pennies back to the 1920's. The home was built in about 1923, so I had hopes for some of the shiny! I did get a 1920's Mercury dime near the sidewalk, and that felt great. Toward the middle of the yard I got a 49-51 mid tone signal on my AT Pro. I usually chase nickel signals especially if they are a bit lower than the classic "53" I get for a newer Jefferson that is near the surface. I have found that deeper older Buffalo and "V" nickels ring up a bit lower than that 53.
Digging down, I came across a nickel, with the Buffalo animal on the side facing me. I flipped the coin over to get a date, and took a double take! What the??? I flipped the coin back, saw the Buffalo, and then back to the obverse. I must have done this 4-5 times! My mind took a while to compute what I was looking it, as there definitely was not a Native American Indian on the obverse!
Nickel being a very malleable metal, I realized that someone had altered / carved the Indian Head profile into a WW 1 soldier, complete with helmet and collar. The soldier was smoking a cigarette, and there was a thin trail of smoke coming up from that cigarette! So cool! At the time, I didn't realize what I had, so again, did some research on the computer when I got home. Google Image showed me I had a "Hobo Nickel!" Apparently, Buffalo Nickels were by far the favorite choice for hobos riding the rails to shape and carve into other images. A soldier was a fairly common image to be created. I can imaging a hobo in the late 1920's / early 1930's during the Great Depression, working away at this coin, and perhaps trading it for a meal or other some other opportunity! Somehow it was lost in this yard, and thankfully found by me this summer!
Thanks for looking and hope this is of interest!
