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A Confession, a "What the Heck is That?", and Further Adventures.

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  • CharlotteDudeCharlotteDude Posts: 3,024 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I love doing this stuff… I hate the skeeters, but love finds like this.

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  • CharlotteDudeCharlotteDude Posts: 3,024 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Been hanging with family in SE NC over the last few days. Made it out again for a couple hours before the Carolina sun rose too high this morning… no disappointments here.

    The next two had shared the same hole for likely the last 70+ years…



    And the final good hit was a spill of one Merc, a Jeffie nickel, and three wheaties…

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  • CharlotteDudeCharlotteDude Posts: 3,024 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Back from my visit with family in NC and able to set up a group shot. The first ‘42 Merc was detected on Tuesday, with the remaining Mercs and Rosies the next day. The wheelies range from 1916 to the 1950’s. The ring appears to be a sterling Walt Disney ring, with Goofy’s likeness on it… not sure about the story behind it.

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  • I love seeing these pictures. Nice clod and dirt shots with those coins. Just like being there except I have yet to find silver in the US so my pictures would just show wheaties and modern pennies!😄

  • CharlotteDudeCharlotteDude Posts: 3,024 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Thanks Newb… I try to take the first shot as soon as I realize or can make out that it’s silver. You’ll hit yours eventually, and you’ll know it the moment you set eyes on it.

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  • CharlotteDudeCharlotteDude Posts: 3,024 ✭✭✭✭✭

    It was a lovely day today in the mid-Atlantic region of Maryland. I had a 1920-build permission lined up and I was ready to take advantage of the cool, cloudy June morning that had a steady breeze going. I decided to give my Nox 900 a try today. It’ had given me issues with incessant chatter and noise the last few time I’d taken it out, but today it was operating smoothly. One thing I learned on the 900, the metal hardware from an old water hose rings up just like a quarter — right around 90-91. After recovering my first piece of water hose hardware, I hit another signal that again was screaming “quarter”. This time it had nothing to do with a water hose…

    Then, not 5 minutes later and not far from the above quarter, the Nox lit up on another 90-91 signal… expectations were measured, but I couldn’t help but think it was another silver. — It was another piece of water hose… :s

    Moving on, I uncovered a few wheaties and clad/memorial copper, then a strong dime signal -

    After several more rounds in the front part of the property, I hit another strong quarter signal near the adjoining property next to it. Was it another piece of water hose hardware? Nope…

    Keep up the hunt!

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  • CharlotteDudeCharlotteDude Posts: 3,024 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Line up from yesterday’s hunt. The wheaties range from 1911 & 1921, to the 40’s/50’s, with a couple of no-date crispies.

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  • CharlotteDudeCharlotteDude Posts: 3,024 ✭✭✭✭✭

    We keep on keeping on…

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  • CharlotteDudeCharlotteDude Posts: 3,024 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Almost forgot the group after-rinse shots.

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  • CharlotteDudeCharlotteDude Posts: 3,024 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Out before the heat set in too solid this morning. It reached the triple digits in the Mid-Atlantic today!


    Block checked on this one… my first 40%’er.

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  • CRHer700CRHer700 Posts: 1,916 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @CharlotteDude said:
    Out before the heat set in too solid this morning. It reached the triple digits in the Mid-Atlantic today!


    Block checked on this one… my first 40%’er.

    Nice finds! It sure was hot today, as it reached 102 degrees where I am.

    God bless all who believe in him. Do unto others what you expect to be done to you. Dubbed a "Committee Secret Agent" by @mr1931S on 7/23/24. Founding member of CU Anti-Troll League since 9/24/24.

  • CharlotteDudeCharlotteDude Posts: 3,024 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Here’s the group after a bath. The 2 Reichsmark surprised me. I thought it was likely a foreign coin, instead of some type of token, when I uncovered it. I didn’t realize it was actually silver until I did a little research on it. This is the second silver German coin I’ve uncovered this year (at two different locations).


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  • Bayard1908Bayard1908 Posts: 4,048 ✭✭✭✭

    A 40% half is a rare find, still prefer a 90% half though.

  • CharlotteDudeCharlotteDude Posts: 3,024 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Wife’s out of town. The days are long. What to do after a day in the office? Go back to finish up at the location I was at Saturday morning… only the temps were @ 20 degrees cooler this evening.



    Keep on keepin’ on…

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  • CharlotteDudeCharlotteDude Posts: 3,024 ✭✭✭✭✭

    The gang after the soak, rinse, and dry… earliest wheaties date 1917 & 1925.

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  • CharlotteDudeCharlotteDude Posts: 3,024 ✭✭✭✭✭

    It was a humid n saucy morning out yesterday. I only had a couple hours to hunt, so I started early. Summer days allow for early start times, but man… the heat cranks up quick. The Nox-800 was on point.

    This Merc was literally lying on the surface between two exposed roots… its imprint is just to the right of my index/middle fingers. I assume it was shallowly buried for most of its time there, but the ground eroded away to expose it. This is the first silver I’ve found just lying on the ground like that.

    I had to work more for this one… it was well under a stubborn root.

    You can see the rim of this guy in the lower middle of the image.


    And the rest of the gang…

    Another Merc…

    And another Merc…

    Just when I was beginning to wonder where all the quarters were…

    By this time, it was 0830, I had covered about 2/3’s of the property and the sun was starting to make things sufficiently uncomfortable for me to call it. I had to take meet my father for breakfast at 0930 anyway, so I decided to break it off. Definitely need to return for a follow-up.

    Keep on gettin’ on!

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  • GöttingerGöttinger Posts: 46 ✭✭

    @CharlotteDude said:
    Here’s the group after a bath. The 2 Reichsmark surprised me. I thought it was likely a foreign coin, instead of some type of token, when I uncovered it. I didn’t realize it was actually silver until I did a little research on it. This is the second silver German coin I’ve uncovered this year (at two different locations).



    That's a very impressive find, I don't know many people who have found a commemorative 2 Reichsmark coin.
    I've never found any German silver coins from this era, even though I have been metal detecting for about 4 years here in Germany. Hundreds of Pfennig coins, but never any Mark coins.

  • CharlotteDudeCharlotteDude Posts: 3,024 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @Göttinger said:

    @CharlotteDude said:
    Here’s the group after a bath. The 2 Reichsmark surprised me. I thought it was likely a foreign coin, instead of some type of token, when I uncovered it. I didn’t realize it was actually silver until I did a little research on it. This is the second silver German coin I’ve uncovered this year (at two different locations).



    That's a very impressive find, I don't know many people who have found a commemorative 2 Reichsmark coin.
    I've never found any German silver coins from this era, even though I have been metal detecting for about 4 years here in Germany. Hundreds of Pfennig coins, but never any Mark coins.

    German coins have been a little trend for me over the last few months. Usually I come across Canadian copper, with the occasional English coin. Back in April I found a 1951 5 Deutschmark, which I believe is also .625 silver.


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  • CharlotteDudeCharlotteDude Posts: 3,024 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Here’s the group shot from yesterday morning’s hunt. Surprisingly, more silver than wheaties….


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  • CharlotteDudeCharlotteDude Posts: 3,024 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Went out in the early morning yesterday before the heat dialed up into the upper 90’s. This late Spring/early Summer has been a real scorcher here in the mid-Atlantic. I didn’t find any 90% silver, but I did find several wheaties, and silver of another kind…


    I wasn’t sure whether to bring it home or just rebury it. The property’s current owner didn’t claim it (I always offer first right of refusal), nor did they want it.

    In the meantime, the following wheaties, along with another $3-$4 in clad/copper was recovered. Nothing special - earliest being a 193-something.

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  • CharlotteDudeCharlotteDude Posts: 3,024 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited July 15, 2024 3:39PM

    A quick hunt out before the scorching ball of fire started to burn my toast in the mid-Atlantic. I was out by 06:30 and checked out from the heat @ two hours later. Recovered a few wheaties, clad,memorial copper and this guy.


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  • CharlotteDudeCharlotteDude Posts: 3,024 ✭✭✭✭✭

    The group from yesterday’s brief hunt. The wheaties are mostly of the 1940’s & 1950’s variety, with a 1930 and a 1911 for good measure.

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  • CharlotteDudeCharlotteDude Posts: 3,024 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Cooler temps and an early departure from work allowed a few afternoon hours to hunt a 1900 build. I’d been corresponding with the owner for several weeks, and finally the stars and wx aligned today to allow me an opportunity to hunt the property. A few pieces of clad, and memorial copper, but the ground did offer its share of wheaties and a wee bit of silver.



    I also recovered a silver ring, which I offered the owner, but he declined, offering his thanks for recovering and removing a good number of nails, buried beer cans, and distorted clumps of sharp metal from the grounds. Due to time constraints, I was only able to search the front yard, but I’ll definitely follow up for a future visit.

    Before the soak -

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  • CharlotteDudeCharlotteDude Posts: 3,024 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Yesterday’s finds after the soak n dry. Some of the wheaties are beyond fried…



    Keep on keeping on…

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  • CharlotteDudeCharlotteDude Posts: 3,024 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited July 20, 2024 5:30PM

    Back at Thursday’s property to work on a large lot beside the house that once was the location of a small barn, later used as the owner’s garage. The structure is long gone now, and the lot had a few young dogwoods along with a pair of old oaks. Amidst many pieces of metal, bolts and nuts, I recovered a few memorial coppers and clad, along with a few highlights…


    This one was hanging out under one of the dogwoods.

    And finally,

    Oh yeah… and another silver ring to boot. Everything is in the soak.

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  • CharlotteDudeCharlotteDude Posts: 3,024 ✭✭✭✭✭

    After the rinse n dry shots of the more interesting stuff…

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  • ldhairldhair Posts: 7,232 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @CharlotteDude said:
    After the rinse n dry shots of the more interesting stuff…

    You do a great job cleaning up the silver.

    Larry

  • CharlotteDudeCharlotteDude Posts: 3,024 ✭✭✭✭✭

    After a couple summer vacation getaways, I finally made it back out this afternoon to revisit a property I had covered with my then-new Equinox 900. While I was able to find some typical clad and memorial cents in the more shallower ranges, the machine was giving off constant chatter, causing me to have to substantially dial its sensitivity level down, and due to this, I knew I was missing potentially good, deeper targets. Today, I decided to give the Nox 800 a go on it, and here are the results…


    I also pulled a small silver ring, which I initially thought was just a piece of junk metal until I cleared the caked dirt..

    Everything is in the soak…. Keep on keepin’ on!

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  • CharlotteDudeCharlotteDude Posts: 3,024 ✭✭✭✭✭

    The group after an overnight soak and rinse. The ring appears to be a child’s sterling silver ring, with an opal stone. The wheaties are mostly from the ‘40’s and ‘50’s, with a ‘17 mixed in.


    Keep it swingin’…

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  • CharlotteDudeCharlotteDude Posts: 3,024 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Back out for a bit this morning to finish up the same loc I was at on Friday. Milked out a few wheaties and one more silver.



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  • CharlotteDudeCharlotteDude Posts: 3,024 ✭✭✭✭✭

    The group after an overnight soak and rinse. The wheaties rang in with a strong showing at 12, compared to a total of 13 memorial coppers. The dates (legible ones) all range in the ‘40’s and ‘50’s, with a lone 1934 representing the 1930’s.


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  • CharlotteDudeCharlotteDude Posts: 3,024 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Blown away… a complete surprise… that’s the only way to describe the result of my most recent hunt from Sunday morning. A 1920’s build which I’d hunted previously with my Nox-900, but decided to revisit with the Nox-800. As with other locations I’d hunted before using the ‘900, the machine had then been emitting a significant amount of chatter, which I felt was causing me to miss some targets. This recent round, I was able to find a number of deep wheaties and the occasional clad coin.

    I also hit on a peculiar target, which I initially thought was either a beat-up piece of foreign clad or maybe silver or some sort of token. Not thinking much about it, I dropped it in my little bag to bring home for a soak. Well, the group had been soaking since late Sunday morning, as I didn’t think I had found much of anything other than a few wheaties. I’d almost forgotten about them when my better half asked me to do something with the plastic container of coins and soapy water sitting on the counter this afternoon (bless her heart). I rinsed the handful of coins off, and this immediately grabbed my attention…

    When I first recovered the coin, I didn’t notice it was holed, as it was heavily caked with wet dirt from a previous night’s heavy rainfall. It wasn’t until closer inspection with a glass that I realized it was a Seated Liberty dime! — albeit VERY beat up and holed. Many years in the Patapsco River Valley clay had not been kind to her. Although difficult to make out, it’s dated 1841 from the Nola mint. You can make out the “o” at 5 o’clock below the “DI” of “”DIME” on the reverse.

    Here’s the dime, with the wheaties.

    This represents only the 2nd Seated Liberty coin I’ve recovered since starting out on this absolutely cool venture, and is now the oldest silver coin recovered. Yeah…. Blown away, considering I’d been thinking the group had, at most, a few wheaties in it.

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  • No HeadlightsNo Headlights Posts: 2,052 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Congrats on the Seated dime. Great find. I believe Seated coinage circulated well into the 1900s as shown by your find in a 1920s build. I once found an 1842 dime and a 1916 Merc in the same hole. It's still my largest date spread (74 years) from one hole.

  • Bayard1908Bayard1908 Posts: 4,048 ✭✭✭✭

    Lucky to get a date off that coin.

  • CharlotteDudeCharlotteDude Posts: 3,024 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @Bayard1908 said:
    Lucky to get a date off that coin.

    Not to mention the mint mark. Usually the a hole in that area of the reverse would totally obliterate it. What also gets me is the detail of the obverse stars at 1-2 o’clock. I can still make out the radials in them, yet much of the other remaining obverse details have either disintegrated or are damaged beyond recognition.

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  • CharlotteDudeCharlotteDude Posts: 3,024 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Quick photo dump from this morning’s hunt.

    I love it when they come out of the ground with their rims peeking out after decades of entombment like…

    And…

    And just following their liberation…

    And…

    Keep up the hunt!

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  • ConshyboyConshyboy Posts: 453 ✭✭✭✭



    Dug this and some clad the other day it's a little Orphan Annie decoder ring from 1937

  • CharlotteDudeCharlotteDude Posts: 3,024 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @Conshyboy said:


    Dug this and some clad the other day it's a little Orphan Annie decoder ring from 1937

    Very nice… what’s the story behind the decoder rings?

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  • CharlotteDudeCharlotteDude Posts: 3,024 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Here’s the group from yesterday’s hunt. Bonus find is an 1816-1839 Matron Head Large Cent. When I recovered it, the only indication that it “might” be a large cent was its size and old “copperish” composition, as no details could be made out. It wasn’t until she went through the rinse and after she dried this morning could I make out Liberty’s profile and a few obverse stars. The reverse is utter toast, as I can’t make out any discernible details of the type.

    The wheaties run mostly from the ‘40’s, with a 191x sprinkled in.

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  • Bayard1908Bayard1908 Posts: 4,048 ✭✭✭✭

    If you soak that large cent in olive oil or mineral oil for a few months, I think it would dramatically improve.

  • CharlotteDudeCharlotteDude Posts: 3,024 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @Bayard1908 said:
    If you soak that large cent in olive oil or mineral oil for a few months, I think it would dramatically improve.

    Extra virgin, I assume? I’m going to give that a go and report back with monthly updates.

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  • CharlotteDudeCharlotteDude Posts: 3,024 ✭✭✭✭✭

    What does one do when early September graces the area with a sunny, low-70 degree day with a cool breeze out of the north…?

    I know what this dude did…


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  • CharlotteDudeCharlotteDude Posts: 3,024 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Results from my most recent hunt. I wasn’t sure about the cross until I got it home and rinsed it off. It rang up in the quarter range, but I wasn’t convinced it was anything of interest as it was caked in dirt and looked like some sort of novelty pin, until after a quick rinse…


    I did a little research and it turns out the cross is part of a WWII era (or soon after) qualification award, also called a rifleman’s brooch - made by the N.S. Meyers Inc.

    This is what a fully intact brooch would look like.

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  • CharlotteDudeCharlotteDude Posts: 3,024 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Lovely morning, lovely weather and a couple lovely finds. First one of interest was a spill of five wheaties and a Merc.



    More wheaties followed, which are in the soak.
    There I was thinking the morning’s hunt had already gone pretty well… I had no idea what was coming on a few turns later…


    This is only my 3rd Walker found… still looking for that elusive Frankie, but I’m tickled with this one.
    One more pic before going into the soak…

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  • CharlotteDudeCharlotteDude Posts: 3,024 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Yesterday’s group after a soak and rinse. The wheaties date mostly in the ‘40s with a 1920 & 1936 sprinkled in. The WLH was unexpected, as it was ringing up more like a quarter on the ‘900. Queue the gasp when I cracked the clog open to reveal that walking eagle.


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  • CharlotteDudeCharlotteDude Posts: 3,024 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Last Sunday, I recovered only my third WLH since I began detecting. This morning I made it out late, and revisited a 1915 build I had detected over a 1 1/2 yrs ago. I pulled a Barber and two Merc dimes that day, but I was unable to finish a large section of the front yard due to a large pile of branches and dead shrubs. I knew the area had potential then, due to a number of wheaties I was able to find along its periphery . Today, I finally had the opportunity to revisit the location for a brief hunt… it didn’t disappoint.

    And this is my 2nd WLH in a week… and fourth total since I began “the hunt”.

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  • CharlotteDudeCharlotteDude Posts: 3,024 ✭✭✭✭✭

    From Saturday’s hunt with the top two rows (8) of wheaties and bonus finds early yesterday morning…. the Washie came along with the bottom rows (13) of wheaties.


    Before the soak…

    All together now…

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  • CharlotteDudeCharlotteDude Posts: 3,024 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Forum software seems to be acting up this afternoon, so I’ll keep it brief and post the pics from this morning’s brief hunt from a new 1928 permission…


    This one was ringing up like a copper cent. At first, I didn’t know what it was, then realized it was a nickel, and when nickels ring up like a copper cent, they’re usually silver… note the “P” in pic#2:

    And for the trifecta, a Merc…


    The three before the soak…

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  • CharlotteDudeCharlotteDude Posts: 3,024 ✭✭✭✭✭

    And the group shot. Surpringly few wheaties compared to the silver found.

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  • CharlotteDudeCharlotteDude Posts: 3,024 ✭✭✭✭✭

    An early exit from work meant a couple of hours to squeeze in between showers here in the mid-Atlantic area. Back to the property I started on over the weekend… the 800 was on point, and I had a few good hits.

    The section of property I covered yielded quite a few wheaties, and some really dark silver. I almost thought they were just another couple of clad quarters when they first popped…



    And…

    Bonus find… a silver ring, which I offered the property owner, which he declined, saying “Just give me a holler if you find any gold!”

    Keep up the hunt!

    Got Crust....y gold?
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