10-8-2019 Update--My finds history thread. From the addicting beginning....

CCDAMEEK

I have been detecting now for about 12 years. It started when I went out dry-washing for gold with a friend in Arizona. While taking a break from that, he pulled out a couple metal detectors and we played around in the wash a bit. Although nothing but a couple old cans was found that day, I learned two things. One, I HATED dry-washing. And Two, I might enjoy detecting. Over the next year or so, I did a lot of research on detecting and detectors, and ultimately purchased a fairly unused Whites DFX Spectrum E-series, pin-pointer, and carry bag for a very reasonable $325.00.
My first attempt to use it, my wife and I went to a local lake beach just to start learning to sweep and the different sounds. OF course I had it set in all metals, to start the learning curve, so we found a few bottle caps, pull tabs etc. We were using a hand shovel and a kitchen strainer to sift!
But with in a half hour of use, We pulled up a ring! Thank Heavens I had done some prior research, and remembered to re-sweep the dig! The photograph shows what we found that first outing at that dig! Most of this jewelry was in a plastic sandwich bag that someone must have put it in to keep from losing it.
So that is how I got hooked on detecting! There was only two solid gold rings in that find, the rest of the jewelry being all plated. But the watch was a very nice antique Waltham, and between selling the two rings and the watch, my $325.00 detector had nearly paid for itself the first outing.!

ricko

@CCDAMEEK....Welcome aboard... Great story and great finds....This is a good forum with dedicated MD'rs...Cheers, RickO

Namvet69

Welcome to the mix. I've been working the ground and sand for several decades. First machine was a Whites xtl and now a Garrett at pro. My efforts have yielded lots of coins and tons of interesting items. Peace Roy

CCDAMEEK

@Namvet69 said:
Welcome to the mix. I've been working the ground and sand for several decades. First machine was a Whites xtl and now a Garrett at pro. My efforts have yielded lots of coins and tons of interesting items. Peace Roy

Yes sir. If you are dedicated, the finds really start to pile up! Especially the dang pennies My "treasure chest" has become too heavy so I just recently sorted out the rotting pennies from 1982 & newer thinking I may send them in to the mint. Well, I have 6.75 pounds of pennies just in bad/damaged conditions, and by calculations using 2.6 grams per penny, I have over 1200 in just that pile. Haven't weighed out the ones I'm going to roll, or the ones I'm keeping yet, but I'll be amazed if it's not that amount again or more!
I plan on posting some of my better finds, unique finds, and other interesting finds, so stay tuned and Thank You and ricko for the welcome today!

CCDAMEEK

Here is a photo I took today of all the pennies (except older than 1982) that I have found detecting..

ricko

Now that is a pile of cents....I hope you found a lot of silver to go along with them....Cheers, RickO

Namvet69

You know I want to check the 3.5 lbs. for errors. Nice post. Peace Roy

CCDAMEEK

@Namvet69 said:
You know I want to check the 3.5 lbs. for errors. Nice post. Peace Roy

Wish I had the knowledge of what to look for! The only error I knew to look for and did through all of these, is the 1989-D weighing in at 3.1 gram. Checked 24 of them, but didn't have a winner.

Is there a short list of errors I could check them for?
And then of course is the 2-pounds of 1982 and older I set aside to hold on to.

Namvet69

I also use the following: a Plugable usb microscope plugged in to my Samsung S8+. I can zoom in to examine a coin and capture an image to post here. Got a digital scale and digital caliper from Harbour Freight for checking weights, sizes and thickness.

1630Boston

@CCDAMEEK
Welcome, great intro and great finds.
Keep diggin and keep posting
Boston

CCDAMEEK

@1630Boston said:
@CCDAMEEK
Welcome, great intro and great finds.
Keep diggin and keep posting
Boston

Thank You @1630Boston . I do have a question maybe you or someone can answer. I have been trying to add on to my finds list since early yesterday, but every time I click 'post comment', a little box pops up saying "my post will appear once approved".

Is that typical? How long does a simple picture post take to "be approved"? Meanwhile, I have been able to post a picture here on a coin forum, and that posted immediately. So call me confused.....

AUandAG

Welcome and sounds like you have a lot of fun.....

bob

CCDAMEEK

This is my oldest coin found to date. It's an 1887 Indian head Cent. This was given to the owner of the property I was detecting on. Thus, I didn't have an opportunity to try to clean it up before taking it's photo.

CCDAMEEK

My Silver Finds to date, with first being the 1909 Barber Half Dollar in Oct 2015, hunting an old NYS College property with my blood brother @49tacfw.

CCDAMEEK

Other Cents of the older persuasion.

CCDAMEEK

And finally, the last of the coins. This is most of the clad Nichols, Dimes and Quarters I have 'dug up' since starting. This stuff was counted and bagged last winter, so fresh stuff is starting to accumulate slowly.

Next I'll post some of the jewelry finds over the years that have been sold, paying for the awesome hobby!

Timbuk3

Great story, thanks for sharing !!!

ricko

Wow.... You have been doing very well.... Thanks for showing us your coin finds...and we look forward to seeing your jewelry finds. Are you doing beach hunting? Park/field hunting? or both?? Cheers, RickO

CCDAMEEK

.> @ricko said:

Wow.... You have been doing very well.... Thanks for showing us your coin finds...and we look forward to seeing your jewelry finds. Are you doing beach hunting? Park/field hunting? or both?? Cheers, RickO

Yes.
All of those. Lake beach and water; Salt beach & water; parks; some old field (now residentials); desert no mans lands; and private/public gathering locations. Pretty much any where, and whenever I can. Just wish it could be more!

To be clear, what I have been, and will be posting are finds since I started detecting about 12 years ago.

Thanks for props.....

CCDAMEEK

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This is one of the Silver finds I posted, a 1934 quarter.
Can anyone tell me if it's common for a coin to be so off-center front to back? This one is off probably 5 to 7 degree's. In the photo, I have tried to keep the coin centered and square, and I know It is turned over instead of flipped, but I wanted to use the same edge of the holder for comparison.

Any comments? Thanks....

ricko

@CCDAMEEK...Your quarter is slightly rotated... Interesting find but not rare. Value starts when rotated 90 degrees or more.....Cheers, RickO

johnny9434

welcome to the forums cc and you fpund some nice stuff there best wishes

CCDAMEEK

So, on to my other than coin finds.

This find had absolutely NO monetary value to me, but I regard it as my most valuable find.

This is a memorial bracelet in memory of the soldier named on it. I recovered this from a popular swimming/party area I used to hunt. It took about 3 months to track down, but I was finally able to return this bracelet to the family/friend who lost it.
I learned that only 10 of these were made.

CPL Boyd's mother wearing her matching bracelet

R.I.P. CPL Boyd

CCDAMEEK

My second most valuable find, is also something I was able to track the original owner down to return the item to.

I found this 1969 14k gold class ring in 2014. This time it took 4 months to track down who the ring belonged to, thanks to initials in the ring. The women who lost it, ,indicated she lost it in 1969. When I returned it to her, she was already a retired school teacher.

ricko

@CCDAMEEK .... Great finds and even greater job on tracking down the original people.... Well done... Cheers, RickO

CCDAMEEK

On to other Best Finds! 18K yellow gold, Ruby & Diamond Ring! Found in knee deep water in the same swimming/party location as the memorial bracelet was recovered.
Sold this ring at an antique store (I was a vendor) for $800.

Saw this one in the scoop and nearly had a heart attack!

DCW

These are great finds! And kudos to you on taking the time to track down owners on identifiable treasures. I guess the thrill really is in the hunt!

CCDAMEEK

Best Find #2:
This is a 14K white gold & diamond, men's wedding band/ring. No inscription. Found in 2012 in dry sand at a lake beach resort in Arizona. I swear this was a brand new ring, not even a minute' scratch on it even after sifting it in the scoop.
Checked with property management who had no reports of a lost ring. Sold this on the 'bay, clearing $650.

Again, near heart attack seeing this in the scoop.

More to come....

PaTreasureHunter

Your finds are truly amazing!! I've been looking for finds like these since I started. Congratulations

CCDAMEEK

@PaTreasureHunter said:
Your finds are truly amazing!! I've been looking for finds like these since I started. Congratulations

Thank You. But even the blind squirrel finds a nut now and then. Persistence, and patience.
And a truck load of pull-tabs! Man I hate those things, but if your not digging those, your missing the gold!!

CCDAMEEK

Speaking of finding nuts, here is another find from the same resort area, but this time in the water of a "boaters beach" mooring area. A mans PLATINUM wedding band. No inscription. Not reported lost. Boy did this one sound in loud!
Sold this on the 'bay, clearing $650.

AS FOUND

POLISHED UP

CCDAMEEK

This was a great find. A mans Citizen Atomic Eco-drive stainless watch, found in neck-deep water at another "boaters beach" area in a fresh water lake in New York State. Took it out of the muddy lake bottom, rinsed it in the lake water, and sat it in the sun. With-in a few minutes it started ticking. By the next day, it atomically set to the correct date and time.
The Wrist-Band was damaged, so I purchased a new one, and I gave this to my best friend and brother @49tacfw as a Christmas present a few years ago.
The first photo is what he texted me that Christmas morning. You see, I've hooked him on this hobby as well, and also in the photo is a present his wife gave him in support of this hobby too. This is the only photo I have of the watch, so the second photo is the same watch, just a newer version, for reference.

CCDAMEEK

My next greatest find, is a 14K gold, wide band women's ring. Also found at the same previously mentioned Arizona resort, in the water's "boater's beach" mooring area. This ring also sold on the 'bay with me clearing $425.
99% of my water finds have been found with my Tesoro Tiger Shark.

CCDAMEEK

Next in line of my better finds, is this old Men's 14K gold ring. This was also found in water, only knee deep this time, in front of a condo beach area, which is along the same party area that I found the gold-ruby-diamond ring. This was found probably 10 years ago, when I didn't even have a good digital camera! Also gold was lower still back then, but I still garnered $200 in my pocket to scrap it!

This is one good water find that I actually found with my first detector, the DFX Spectrum E-Series.

PaTreasureHunter

Amazing amazing amazing.. as you said, persistence pays off. I see that you also run a minelab CTX. I've been considering upgrading from my Garrett AT Pro to this detector. Would you recommend this detector and is it (in your opinion) worth the investment?

CCDAMEEK

@PaTreasureHunter said:
Amazing amazing amazing.. as you said, persistence pays off. I see that you also run a minelab CTX. I've been considering upgrading from my Garrett AT Pro to this detector. Would you recommend this detector and is it (in your opinion) worth the investment?

Hey, Thank You. As for the Minelab CTX 3030. This one is my newest machine. I bought this one due to it's being a land & water detector, and also for the features & programmability. We now winter in Florida (NYS in the summer), and I got tired of dragging my Whites DFX 300 (land) & my Tesoro Tiger Shark (water) back and forth. So I bought the Minelab to keep in Florida as it can do it all.

Unfortunately, I am not being able to get out as often as I would like. AND, the Emerald Coast's beaches are expansive, yet clearly detected. A LOT! SO I have not had any good finds with it yet.

That said, If something is where I am detecting, I am VERY confident that the CTX will find it! I am pulling up pennies and dimes from 12-15 inches deep in the wet sand, and have pulled up some quarters from at least 18". I get NO interference from the salt beach minerals and sands. It is impressive.

This photo is of two tiny little slivers of gold. What they are from I couldn't tell you. The CTX hit hard on these two little specks, and they were at 6" in salt beach wet sand! I never would have recovered them if I didn't have my pin-pointer with me.

If you want a detector that can go land or water, and yet have a great display and features, This is a good one. Pricey if you don't use the features.

ricko

@CCDAMEEK... Fantastic finds.... picking the right spots and dedication can be fruitful. Those gold pieces could be old cuts from coins... I cannot see detail on them. However, it was common in the old days to 'piece out' precious metal coins...Cheers, RickO

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CCDAMEEK

Next part of my better finds starts into mostly Sterling silver jewelry. This ring was again found in the same party/boating area in Arizona. Cleared $100 bucks for it in the antique store, only because of the maker's name.....

This is how it looked pulling it up in the scoop. I never took a photo, but after buffing it up with a Dremel buffing wheel and ultra fine car polishing compound, the ring looked brand new.

ricko

You have had some significant finds... Where in Arizona are you? I lived there for eight years... great state... Had 40 acres around Ash Fork.... now sold.... But traveled all over AZ while I lived there... also found a nugget or two. Cheers, RickO

CCDAMEEK

Adding another Silver a number of years back. Same Arizona party/boating area. This weighed in at 1 full ounce!
Big & Heavy BLING! Again this sold for more than melt weight on the 'bay.

Man I LOVE this hobby!

CCDAMEEK

@ricko said:
@CCDAMEEK... Fantastic finds.... picking the right spots and dedication can be fruitful. Those gold pieces could be old cuts from coins... I cannot see detail on them. However, it was common in the old days to 'piece out' precious metal coins...Cheers, RickO

I think I may have figured out how these gold pieces got on the beach. I Found them at Panama City Beach FL. . They groom this beach by pulling a sifting machine by tractor every so often. I'd bet that a piece of gold jewelry got "sifted", then got caught in the machinery somehow, and these pieces were sheared off. I would do that job for free, just to sort through the sifted material. That guys got a dream job in my mind!

ricko

That sounds like an excellent theory... makes sense. Cheers, RickO

CCDAMEEK

This was a good day about 6 years ago, again in my Arizona boaters/party area. One pretty chunky mans Silver Scull ring, along with a very fine woman's 14K 'rolled' gold ring weighing practically nothing. Add in a pair of woman's gold plated silver earrings, and a copper ring lined with, of all things, what I believe to be lead! Scary...

Sold the Scull ring, still have all the rest in my treasure chest.

ricko

That copper/lead ring looks as if it were made from a copper jacketed bullet....Really surprising that you found both earrings though...Cheers, RickO

CCDAMEEK

@ricko You're correct with the earrings! Happened one other time so far with me as well, but those were cheap bead earrings. Same day as I found the old mans gold ring with the stone missing...

ricko

Nice gold ring.... most of the diamonds there? Cheers, RickO

CCDAMEEK

@ricko said:
Nice gold ring.... most of the diamonds there? Cheers, RickO

It had been missing three. I plucked them out prior to selling for melt price. Still around with the rest of the stones I acquire like the ones in my first post.

CCDAMEEK

These came from another fun outing several years ago in water at my Arizona boaters party spot. A sterling Keltic knot woman's ring, and a beautiful sterling woman's ring with a large Amethyst stone and several tiny diamond accents.

metalmeister

I am in envy! Neat finds Gents!

ricko

Wow... very, very nice finds...That spot has been very good to you. Cheers, RickO