Despite my office being extra busy and a key person being sick, last Wednesday I took the day off to go metal detecting. The weather was forecast to get into the 70s on both Wednesday and Thursday before freezing temperatures set in immediately thereafter. Wednesday and/or Thursday seemed like the last chance to go metal detecting for the foreseeable future.
Early on Wednesday morning I took the train and my electric bike to the Chicago park. I put my Etrac together and started detecting. After literally about five minutes of detecting, my office called and said that I needed to take care of an emergency. I had dug up two modern dimes and a copper cent at the time of the call. My Chicago office is a short bike ride away from the park; so, I packed up my Etrac and headed to the office. I figured I'd have everything resolved before noon and could get back out metal detecting; however, one emergency turned into another and I spent the whole day at the office. By the end of Wednesday, I also knew that enough urgent work remained to be done that taking the day off on Thursday was an impossibility.
It's now Saturday and 32 degrees, not sure when I'll be able to go detecting again. Given how busy I've been recently, can't say I was truly surprised by how events unfolded. I got some important things accomplished at work; so, no regrets even if this happens to be the end of my detecting year.
@pcgs69 said:
Nice to see you're still able to pick up some finds. How is your silver count for the year?
It's way below average for me, 26 silver coins so far this year.
Have the sites just not produced, or have your trips been less this year?
I'm at 12 silver coins this year. Doubt I'll get out any more either. Hoping to get out once or twice a month next year.
@pcgs69 said:
Have the sites just not produced, or have your trips been less this year?
The main issue is that I didn't go detecting very much this year, or last year, compared to previous years. My best year was 2019. I found 110 silver coins that year, including 32 just in the month of November 2019 alone. November 2019 beats my annual total for 2021 and my likely annual total for 2022, lol.
Another significant issue is that I stopped using my Etrac from April to July in favor of a Minelab Vanquish 540. I made this switch at the same time I decided to stop burning $5 gasoline and started riding an electric bike for my metal detecting trips. I didn't find a single silver coin with the Vanquish during that three month period. The first day I switched back to an Etrac, on July 30th, I found five silver dimes and have made relatively consistent silver finds ever since. The Vanquish is a very nice detector; but, the Etrac is better on deep silver and I have almost ten years of experience with it. How many silver coins did I walk past with the Vanquish that I would have found with the Etrac? It's unknowable, but probably more than zero.
I also didn't find any good sites this year, except for the Chicago park that I have been visiting for the last two months. It has produced 17 silver coins, almost two thirds of my silver finds for the year. This year would be a total disaster if I hadn't found that site and stuck with it. I came very close to giving up on that site before I found my first silver coin there.
The Chicago park seems to be petering out, at least as far as what the Etrac can find. I'm thinking about taking my Equinox 600 there and looking for masked silver and war nickels in Park 2 before the year is over.
@Bayard1908 ... I have noticed smaller amounts of silver you have been finding. Hope you get out more next year, and use the 'silver magnet' detector. Cheers, RickO
I loved my e-trac. Found a silver on my first hunt with it at a hunted-out local lake.
Like ricko, I hope you're able to get out more next year. I'm making it a goal to get out at least once a month next year. Still sounds low... in 2018 I got out 43 times and 2017, 57 hunts. Here's to 2023 being the year of flowing silver!
It was just barely warm enough to detect today. I took my Equinox 600 to the Chicago park hoping to find masked silver, war nickels, and old nickels. I dug quite a few nickels, but nothing noteworthy. I also dug three wheat cents today.
Temperatures were in the 50s yesterday, although the ground was still half frozen from the recent below zero weather. I visited four new sites in Chicago. Since digging was extremely difficult due to the half frozen ground, I dug a relatively small number of targets and focused on deep high tones. I would estimate that each target took five times longer than normal to recover. Instead of silver, I got one wheat cent and quite a few deep clad quarters.
I give you credit for even attempting to dig... I have tried that with frozen ground.... did not have fun. However, you were rewarded with a bunch of quarters anyway. Cheers, RickO
The weather is warm enough for detecting today; however, I have New Year's Eve plans and my 2022 season is over.
I found 26 U.S. silver coins this year. The finds break down as follows:
Silver:
1 Seated dime
1 Barber dime
10 Mercury dimes
10 Silver Roosevelt dimes
4 Silver Washington quarters
A small quantity of silver jewelry
Obsolete non-silver coins:
1 Shield nickel (my first ever)
3 Buffalo nickels
Approximately 107 Wheat cents
This was my second year in a row of meager silver finds. Finding my first ever Shield nickel was not much consolation for the lack of silver. I did find my 500th U.S. silver coin this year though, took me nine years and three months of detecting to reach 500.
I didn't find any war nickels at all this year. There are two main reasons for this. First, I used a MInelab Vanquish 540 for three months this year, which I set up to ignore nickels in order to avoid digging pull tabs. Second, the Etrac I bought and began using in July is not nearly as good at identifying nickels as my regular Etrac. I am not sure why these two Etracs behave differently because I believe the settings on both are all exactly the same.
The biggest change I made this year was switching from my car to an electric bike for my metal detecting trips. In addition to saving gas money, the electric bike is particularly great for detecting in Chicago, where parking spaces are often difficult to find and/or require a long walk to the detecting site.
Nice summary.... still a good amount of silver. I hope the New Year brings you much more. I always enjoy following your silver trail on here. Cheers, RickO
The weather warmed up briefly and I went to Chicago yesterday. I tried a new park that turned out to be no good and then retreated to my favorite Chicago park. I dug five wheat cents, no silver; however, it was a pleasure just to be outside at this time of year.
The weather was beautiful today and I went to the Chicago park. I don't think I will be going back anytime soon: 1 wheat cent, no silver, and a huge pile of deep clad.
I went to three Chicago parks today, one that I had never been to before and two that I detected with the Vanquish 540 last Spring. I got two wheat cents and another pile of deep clad.
I went to the hunted out park near my home today. My plan was to try out a newly assembled battery pack to see how robust it is before depending upon it on a day trip to Chicago. I managed to find two wheat cents, although one was on the surface and still has some mint luster.
I have been working long hours and not getting enough sleep; but, I decided to go metal detecting for a few hours today. I noticed recently that the site where I found five silver dimes last July has been bulldozed again and decided to go there. I found more 1920s era glass bottles and an old marble in the bulldozed area. I also dug a 1953-D dime and two wheat cents.
@Bayard1908 ... Nice, some silver and wheaties. I know nothing about old bottles, but quite a bit about old marbles. If you found a Guinea or a Cobra (or several other types), you likely have a valuable marble. Old marbles are big time collector items. Cheers, RickO
I recently bought a couple more electric bikes for metal detecting, bigger and better than my previous bikes. I took one of the bikes out for a test ride today, mainly to see how easily I could get it on the train. After a successful train ride, I did a little detecting and found a wheat cent from the 1920s.
@ricko said: @Bayard1908... The electric bikes sound interesting... but why do you have several?
The 12 inch and 14 inch wheel Jetson electric bikes that I owned previously were meeting my needs for the most part, except I wanted a bigger battery for more range without increasing the weight of the bike. I also wanted something with bigger wheels that didn't look like a clown bike. Weight is important because I need to lift the bike up three or four stairs onto a passenger train with one hand. My little Jetson bikes weigh about 40 pounds; however, a typical electric bike can easily weigh 60 pounds or more.
I recently discovered what I think is the perfect bike for my needs, the DYU D20, and purchased two of them. I'm glad that I did because the bike appears to have been discontinued almost immediately after my second purchase from the manufacturer. I think I got the last two of these bikes imported into the United States from China, although they can still be found in dealer inventories.
Perhaps the most interesting feature of these bikes is that they have a basket which is rigidly screw mounted onto the front of the frame. The basket is extremely robust, like a piece of military equipment. I will be able to mount additional batteries in the basket and double or triple the range of the bike, although the extra batteries will admittedly increase the weight.
Although these bikes are not super fast and do not have independent suspension, they have everything else that I need. My original bikes are already on Craigslist.
I visited a couple of new places in Chicago today: six wheat cents and a swastika good luck token that is about the size of a large cent. The token is dated 1932 and celebrates the supposed end of the depression. The reverse side says: "Stewart Warner, Stop Crying, Start Buying."
@ricko said:
By 'horrible', do you mean no targets? Or loaded with junk? Glad you found a silver dime anyway.... Cheers, RickO
First site had over a dozen old baseball diamonds dating back to the 1800s. Unfortunately, the dirt was unoriginal and sandy with a very high sink rate. The old targets had either been bulldozed away or were too deep to recover. Second site showed signs of unskillfully dug shallow plugs, and the few deep coins I dug there were from the 1980s. Third site produced the Mercury dime, but had 1970s era Lincoln cents at the same depth. The 1935 dime is nice enough condition that it was probably dropped circa 1940: so, maybe this site was bulldozed long ago. The ground was extremely dry, hurt my knees just to kneel briefly to dig a plug. I will revisit the third site, but do not have high expectations for it.
I tried three new sites in Chicago today, all of which were no good. I then went back to the one Chicago site that has been producing recently and did great: 1902-O Barber dime in XF or AU condition, a 14K gold ring, a sterling silver Boy Scouts ring, and three wheat cents. This Barber dime is so nice that I will post a photo soon.
Comments
Nice silver finds.... You are a silver magnet. That quarter is in great condition for 70 years old.
Cheers, RickO
Despite my office being extra busy and a key person being sick, last Wednesday I took the day off to go metal detecting. The weather was forecast to get into the 70s on both Wednesday and Thursday before freezing temperatures set in immediately thereafter. Wednesday and/or Thursday seemed like the last chance to go metal detecting for the foreseeable future.
Early on Wednesday morning I took the train and my electric bike to the Chicago park. I put my Etrac together and started detecting. After literally about five minutes of detecting, my office called and said that I needed to take care of an emergency. I had dug up two modern dimes and a copper cent at the time of the call. My Chicago office is a short bike ride away from the park; so, I packed up my Etrac and headed to the office. I figured I'd have everything resolved before noon and could get back out metal detecting; however, one emergency turned into another and I spent the whole day at the office. By the end of Wednesday, I also knew that enough urgent work remained to be done that taking the day off on Thursday was an impossibility.
It's now Saturday and 32 degrees, not sure when I'll be able to go detecting again. Given how busy I've been recently, can't say I was truly surprised by how events unfolded. I got some important things accomplished at work; so, no regrets even if this happens to be the end of my detecting year.
@Bayard1908... Glad you got out, and I know you would have found silver if you could have continued. Hope it is not your last trip.... Cheers, RickO
The weather was nice and I went to the Chicago park today: 1948-D dime, five wheat cents, and a silver ring.
More silver..... Nice haul. Weather has been nice for a few days here as well... but snow on the mountains. Cheers, RickO
Nice to see you're still able to pick up some finds. How is your silver count for the year?
It's way below average for me, 26 silver coins so far this year.
Have the sites just not produced, or have your trips been less this year?
I'm at 12 silver coins this year. Doubt I'll get out any more either. Hoping to get out once or twice a month next year.
The main issue is that I didn't go detecting very much this year, or last year, compared to previous years. My best year was 2019. I found 110 silver coins that year, including 32 just in the month of November 2019 alone. November 2019 beats my annual total for 2021 and my likely annual total for 2022, lol.
Another significant issue is that I stopped using my Etrac from April to July in favor of a Minelab Vanquish 540. I made this switch at the same time I decided to stop burning $5 gasoline and started riding an electric bike for my metal detecting trips. I didn't find a single silver coin with the Vanquish during that three month period. The first day I switched back to an Etrac, on July 30th, I found five silver dimes and have made relatively consistent silver finds ever since. The Vanquish is a very nice detector; but, the Etrac is better on deep silver and I have almost ten years of experience with it. How many silver coins did I walk past with the Vanquish that I would have found with the Etrac? It's unknowable, but probably more than zero.
I also didn't find any good sites this year, except for the Chicago park that I have been visiting for the last two months. It has produced 17 silver coins, almost two thirds of my silver finds for the year. This year would be a total disaster if I hadn't found that site and stuck with it. I came very close to giving up on that site before I found my first silver coin there.
The Chicago park seems to be petering out, at least as far as what the Etrac can find. I'm thinking about taking my Equinox 600 there and looking for masked silver and war nickels in Park 2 before the year is over.
@Bayard1908 ... I have noticed smaller amounts of silver you have been finding. Hope you get out more next year, and use the 'silver magnet' detector. Cheers, RickO
I loved my e-trac. Found a silver on my first hunt with it at a hunted-out local lake.
Like ricko, I hope you're able to get out more next year. I'm making it a goal to get out at least once a month next year. Still sounds low... in 2018 I got out 43 times and 2017, 57 hunts. Here's to 2023 being the year of flowing silver!
@pcgs69... Good luck in 2023, not only in hunts, but in copious quantities of silver. Cheers, RickO
It was just barely warm enough to detect today. I took my Equinox 600 to the Chicago park hoping to find masked silver, war nickels, and old nickels. I dug quite a few nickels, but nothing noteworthy. I also dug three wheat cents today.
Temperatures were in the 50s yesterday, although the ground was still half frozen from the recent below zero weather. I visited four new sites in Chicago. Since digging was extremely difficult due to the half frozen ground, I dug a relatively small number of targets and focused on deep high tones. I would estimate that each target took five times longer than normal to recover. Instead of silver, I got one wheat cent and quite a few deep clad quarters.
I give you credit for even attempting to dig... I have tried that with frozen ground.... did not have fun. However, you were rewarded with a bunch of quarters anyway. Cheers, RickO
The weather is warm enough for detecting today; however, I have New Year's Eve plans and my 2022 season is over.
I found 26 U.S. silver coins this year. The finds break down as follows:
Silver:
1 Seated dime
1 Barber dime
10 Mercury dimes
10 Silver Roosevelt dimes
4 Silver Washington quarters
A small quantity of silver jewelry
Obsolete non-silver coins:
1 Shield nickel (my first ever)
3 Buffalo nickels
Approximately 107 Wheat cents
This was my second year in a row of meager silver finds. Finding my first ever Shield nickel was not much consolation for the lack of silver. I did find my 500th U.S. silver coin this year though, took me nine years and three months of detecting to reach 500.
I didn't find any war nickels at all this year. There are two main reasons for this. First, I used a MInelab Vanquish 540 for three months this year, which I set up to ignore nickels in order to avoid digging pull tabs. Second, the Etrac I bought and began using in July is not nearly as good at identifying nickels as my regular Etrac. I am not sure why these two Etracs behave differently because I believe the settings on both are all exactly the same.
The biggest change I made this year was switching from my car to an electric bike for my metal detecting trips. In addition to saving gas money, the electric bike is particularly great for detecting in Chicago, where parking spaces are often difficult to find and/or require a long walk to the detecting site.
Nice summary.... still a good amount of silver. I hope the New Year brings you much more. I always enjoy following your silver trail on here. Cheers, RickO
Nice job on hitting the 500 silver milestone. Hope you can get out more in 2023. Looking forward to seeing your finds.
The weather warmed up briefly and I went to Chicago yesterday. I tried a new park that turned out to be no good and then retreated to my favorite Chicago park. I dug five wheat cents, no silver; however, it was a pleasure just to be outside at this time of year.
The weather was beautiful today and I went to the Chicago park. I don't think I will be going back anytime soon: 1 wheat cent, no silver, and a huge pile of deep clad.
I went to three Chicago parks today, one that I had never been to before and two that I detected with the Vanquish 540 last Spring. I got two wheat cents and another pile of deep clad.
I went to the hunted out park near my home today. My plan was to try out a newly assembled battery pack to see how robust it is before depending upon it on a day trip to Chicago. I managed to find two wheat cents, although one was on the surface and still has some mint luster.
@Bayard1908.... A wheat cent, on the surface, with mint luster??? Wow... some kid must have dropped a purloined coin from grandpa. Cheers, RickO
I have been working long hours and not getting enough sleep; but, I decided to go metal detecting for a few hours today. I noticed recently that the site where I found five silver dimes last July has been bulldozed again and decided to go there. I found more 1920s era glass bottles and an old marble in the bulldozed area. I also dug a 1953-D dime and two wheat cents.
@Bayard1908 ... Nice, some silver and wheaties. I know nothing about old bottles, but quite a bit about old marbles. If you found a Guinea or a Cobra (or several other types), you likely have a valuable marble. Old marbles are big time collector items. Cheers, RickO
Nice finds! Is there some real estate left or did you cover it pretty well?
I got rained out today. Only managed to find a wheat cent.
We have a rainy stretch coming up here too. I got out last week at a local park and after digging an aluminum can at about a foot called it a day.
Yep, poured all weekend here.... with a few short respite periods.... but very, very wet. Cheers, RickO
I had a good day today: 1944-D Mercury dime, 1946 dime, 1946-S dime, and two wheat cents. I always enjoy finding the first Mercury dime of the year.
@Bayard1908 ... Nice silver finds.... Found in a new area or one of your usual spots? Cheers, RickO
I recently bought a couple more electric bikes for metal detecting, bigger and better than my previous bikes. I took one of the bikes out for a test ride today, mainly to see how easily I could get it on the train. After a successful train ride, I did a little detecting and found a wheat cent from the 1920s.
Hope you're able to get out a lot during the summer. Here in New England, shaping up to be another dry one, so we'll see.
@Bayard1908... The electric bikes sound interesting... but why do you have several? Recharging times? Just variety? Cheers, RickO
The 12 inch and 14 inch wheel Jetson electric bikes that I owned previously were meeting my needs for the most part, except I wanted a bigger battery for more range without increasing the weight of the bike. I also wanted something with bigger wheels that didn't look like a clown bike. Weight is important because I need to lift the bike up three or four stairs onto a passenger train with one hand. My little Jetson bikes weigh about 40 pounds; however, a typical electric bike can easily weigh 60 pounds or more.
I recently discovered what I think is the perfect bike for my needs, the DYU D20, and purchased two of them. I'm glad that I did because the bike appears to have been discontinued almost immediately after my second purchase from the manufacturer. I think I got the last two of these bikes imported into the United States from China, although they can still be found in dealer inventories.
Perhaps the most interesting feature of these bikes is that they have a basket which is rigidly screw mounted onto the front of the frame. The basket is extremely robust, like a piece of military equipment. I will be able to mount additional batteries in the basket and double or triple the range of the bike, although the extra batteries will admittedly increase the weight.
Although these bikes are not super fast and do not have independent suspension, they have everything else that I need. My original bikes are already on Craigslist.
@Bayard1908... Thanks for the reply, makes good sense. Cheers, RickO
I visited a couple of new places in Chicago today: six wheat cents and a swastika good luck token that is about the size of a large cent. The token is dated 1932 and celebrates the supposed end of the depression. The reverse side says: "Stewart Warner, Stop Crying, Start Buying."
Nice lot of wheaties.... and an interesting token, must be a story behind that one. Cheers, RickO
I visited three new places in Chicago today. Two were horrible and one was mediocre: 1935 Mercury dime and two wheat cents.
By 'horrible', do you mean no targets? Or loaded with junk? Glad you found a silver dime anyway.... Cheers, RickO
First site had over a dozen old baseball diamonds dating back to the 1800s. Unfortunately, the dirt was unoriginal and sandy with a very high sink rate. The old targets had either been bulldozed away or were too deep to recover. Second site showed signs of unskillfully dug shallow plugs, and the few deep coins I dug there were from the 1980s. Third site produced the Mercury dime, but had 1970s era Lincoln cents at the same depth. The 1935 dime is nice enough condition that it was probably dropped circa 1940: so, maybe this site was bulldozed long ago. The ground was extremely dry, hurt my knees just to kneel briefly to dig a plug. I will revisit the third site, but do not have high expectations for it.
I tried a new place in Chicago today that was no good and then went back to the location from last week: 1943 Mercury dime and three wheat cents.
That site has been good to you for silver. Still, it is necessary to try new spots, but good to have the old sources. Cheers, RickO
I tried three new sites in Chicago today, all of which were no good. I then went back to the one Chicago site that has been producing recently and did great: 1902-O Barber dime in XF or AU condition, a 14K gold ring, a sterling silver Boy Scouts ring, and three wheat cents. This Barber dime is so nice that I will post a photo soon.
Sounds like a fruitful day! Looking forward to seeing the pics.
Very nice dime. Congratulations.
Nice and crisp. Very nice. What did the ring look like?
It's an ugly braided design that deserves to be melted, lol.