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My Best Opportunity Of 2006...
Riccar
Posts: 789
Before I submit a “2006 finds” post, I'd like to share this one first…
> This demo was removing sidewalks and exposing dirt that hadn’t seen the light
of day since the 1800’s. The major parts of the project started around April ‘06 and
lasted through October ‘06.
> They were ripping out the sidewalks and immediately covering them with base rock
(literally following the tractor)
> I received exclusive permission to follow the tractor (and yes, they were covering
the dirt right after I detected it except for a couple rare instances).
> Best day was a 6 silver day with several tokens. (but those were mostly early
1900’s losses) Most of the best days were "one coin" days, sometimes two, but
around 50+% of the time = none. I was continually discussing the schedule with the
foreman and would plan my mornings accordingly (ripping the sidewalks was done at
the break of dawn, and they would do other work during the remainder of the days…
this was perfect for me as it didn't affect family time, and I was able to detect before I
left for work).
> Piles of the sidewalk dirt were stored on a private lot, I had permission to detect
there, and several coins came out of there too. (but ~99% of that dirt has been
removed )
> Don't have the exact totals, but the 1800's coin total was in the double digits, 14 or
more silvers, 7 tokens, and total oldie coins was over 30 (a bunch of fun relics too).
Coins = seated half dimes, seated dimes, a seated quarter, couple shield nickels,
V-nickels, Barber dime, Barber half, Chinese cash coins, 1890 Brit. farthing, mercs,
buffalo's, and I didn't include wheatbacks in my totals-gave some away to the workers
and lost track of those)
Relics = tongue/wreath buckle tongue, couple CW era eagle buttons, 1800's pants
buckle, 3 ring bullet, jewlery (a horse charm, gold plated dog, and a gold plate ring),
marbles, poker chips (one made of stone...maybe marble?), and a box full of "stuff"
Yes, I missed out on some of the monthly "best finds," but I wanted to keep it pretty
quiet because I knew if others started showing up, attempting to dig through the
base rock, it could jeopardize my permission slip. It was a fun event, lots of work to
earn a few coins, but it was a rare opportunity so I took advantage of it and tried to
squeeze it into my already busy schedule.
Happy hunting to you all!
Now on to the pictures:
This was the project’s foreman... Super nice guy.
(right behind him, and where the other guy is standing is just about where a seated
half dime and an 1871 IH popped out the day of this picture)
This operator understood detecting and would even give a little more of a scrape for
me to get down to the old dirt, take out bricks, or even level out some of the dirt piles…
he added to the fun and I would take finds over to him for show since I knew he had
appreciation for the hobby.
Here’s what I would see early in the morning as I followed these guys:
(this guy is smashing down the soil in preparation for the base rock... notice right
beyond his machine is about 6" of base rock that the other guys are working on)
Results from one hunt:
(1873 w/ arrows dime, 3 ringer, lead and pottery shard)
What a shock to realize what I had found on this day:
Mid-1800’s “Tongue and Wreath” buckle tongue (round object with eagle on it...
before cleaning, I just thought it was a round disc/slug):
This morning’s group shot gives a taste of what could show up:
(couple coins but mostly old, rusty iron)
This is a group shot from some pile hunting:
Nice 2 seated day:
(and cash coin… found many of those out there and even gave a couple to the
workers that were interested)
Seated Quarter from the piles of dirt (I did sneak this one on to the forum but didn't
provide details)... In a pile loaded with rusty, iron nails (great sign), out popped this
1854 seated quarter.
I have a final group shot but it’s a little too big of a file. So, I’ll end with some random
shots… doesn't cover everything but you get the picture
Several mercs showed up one day (surprise since most coins were much older)
> This demo was removing sidewalks and exposing dirt that hadn’t seen the light
of day since the 1800’s. The major parts of the project started around April ‘06 and
lasted through October ‘06.
> They were ripping out the sidewalks and immediately covering them with base rock
(literally following the tractor)
> I received exclusive permission to follow the tractor (and yes, they were covering
the dirt right after I detected it except for a couple rare instances).
> Best day was a 6 silver day with several tokens. (but those were mostly early
1900’s losses) Most of the best days were "one coin" days, sometimes two, but
around 50+% of the time = none. I was continually discussing the schedule with the
foreman and would plan my mornings accordingly (ripping the sidewalks was done at
the break of dawn, and they would do other work during the remainder of the days…
this was perfect for me as it didn't affect family time, and I was able to detect before I
left for work).
> Piles of the sidewalk dirt were stored on a private lot, I had permission to detect
there, and several coins came out of there too. (but ~99% of that dirt has been
removed )
> Don't have the exact totals, but the 1800's coin total was in the double digits, 14 or
more silvers, 7 tokens, and total oldie coins was over 30 (a bunch of fun relics too).
Coins = seated half dimes, seated dimes, a seated quarter, couple shield nickels,
V-nickels, Barber dime, Barber half, Chinese cash coins, 1890 Brit. farthing, mercs,
buffalo's, and I didn't include wheatbacks in my totals-gave some away to the workers
and lost track of those)
Relics = tongue/wreath buckle tongue, couple CW era eagle buttons, 1800's pants
buckle, 3 ring bullet, jewlery (a horse charm, gold plated dog, and a gold plate ring),
marbles, poker chips (one made of stone...maybe marble?), and a box full of "stuff"
Yes, I missed out on some of the monthly "best finds," but I wanted to keep it pretty
quiet because I knew if others started showing up, attempting to dig through the
base rock, it could jeopardize my permission slip. It was a fun event, lots of work to
earn a few coins, but it was a rare opportunity so I took advantage of it and tried to
squeeze it into my already busy schedule.
Happy hunting to you all!
Now on to the pictures:
This was the project’s foreman... Super nice guy.
(right behind him, and where the other guy is standing is just about where a seated
half dime and an 1871 IH popped out the day of this picture)
This operator understood detecting and would even give a little more of a scrape for
me to get down to the old dirt, take out bricks, or even level out some of the dirt piles…
he added to the fun and I would take finds over to him for show since I knew he had
appreciation for the hobby.
Here’s what I would see early in the morning as I followed these guys:
(this guy is smashing down the soil in preparation for the base rock... notice right
beyond his machine is about 6" of base rock that the other guys are working on)
Results from one hunt:
(1873 w/ arrows dime, 3 ringer, lead and pottery shard)
What a shock to realize what I had found on this day:
Mid-1800’s “Tongue and Wreath” buckle tongue (round object with eagle on it...
before cleaning, I just thought it was a round disc/slug):
This morning’s group shot gives a taste of what could show up:
(couple coins but mostly old, rusty iron)
This is a group shot from some pile hunting:
Nice 2 seated day:
(and cash coin… found many of those out there and even gave a couple to the
workers that were interested)
Seated Quarter from the piles of dirt (I did sneak this one on to the forum but didn't
provide details)... In a pile loaded with rusty, iron nails (great sign), out popped this
1854 seated quarter.
I have a final group shot but it’s a little too big of a file. So, I’ll end with some random
shots… doesn't cover everything but you get the picture
Several mercs showed up one day (surprise since most coins were much older)
0
Comments
(at least not any time soon
1. 7-17-81 Warrenton GC Driver 310 yards 7th Hole (Par 4)
2. 5-22-99 Warrenton GC 6 iron 189 yards 10th Hole
3. 7-23-99 Oak Meadow CC 5 iron 180 yards 17th Hole
4. 9-19-99 Country Lake GC 6 iron 164 yards 15th Hole
5. 8-30-09 Country Lake GC Driver 258 yards 17th Hole (Par 4)
Collector of Barber Halves, Commems, MS64FBL Frankies, Full Step Jeffersons & Mint state Washington Quarters
Mr3HIO- Thanks, almost everything behind the buildings are residential tracts (except for one small lot but it's super trashy... I think it's been vacant for years upon years). As for 'green grass' in the area, the local parks are all modern, but I'm sure there are some older homes that are holding some oldies in their yards!