This guy is metal detecting in the right places....

relicsncoins · December 14, 2009 3:03AM

All found with a metal detector.

kryptonitecomics · December 14, 2009 3:15AM

Whomever found them deserves a big YOU Suck

jonathanb · December 14, 2009 3:29AM

WOW!

STONE · December 14, 2009 3:39AM

HOLY SH!T

So, when is the giveaway

CaptHenway · December 14, 2009 3:40AM

"Ay Caramba!"

Bart Simpson

DNADave · December 14, 2009 3:40AM

whoa !

Must be the site of an old pub or whore house or something.

GoldenEyeNumismatics · December 14, 2009 3:44AM

Wow.

Some of those don't even have the look you'd expect from a dug piece.

WoodenJefferson · December 14, 2009 3:46AM

While on his way to Lexington, Massachusetts, they all fell out of Paul Revers's pocket.

jonathanb · December 14, 2009 4:05AM

So... can a Colonial expert provide types and values so the rest of us can be really overwhelmed?

messydesk · December 14, 2009 4:13AM

HFS, Batman!

STONE · December 14, 2009 4:20AM

<< So... can a Colonial expert provide types and values so the rest of us can be really overwhelmed?

>>

All six pieces of the Oak and Pine tree coinage are probably worth between $20k and $30k.
No idea on the spanish reales, but I wouldn't think those would be more than $100-$200 each; although one is dated 1666 and I need that one!

BigRick · December 14, 2009 4:22AM

okracer · December 14, 2009 4:32AM

Wow!

....is there a story to go with this?.....who took the pics?..............things I dream of..........

Weiss · December 14, 2009 4:37AM

If it's who I'm thinking of (Hank P.) he's one of the most successful and dedicated detectorists around. And his colonial artifact collection is many times that size and every bit as impressive.

ricko · December 14, 2009 5:01AM

Those are awesome coins... and many areas of the northeast (given their early colonial roots) have the potential for such coins to be retrieved from mother earth. Cheers, RickO

Billet7 · December 14, 2009 5:42AM

I don't buy it!

Broadstruck · December 14, 2009 5:45AM

<< I don't buy it! >>

Fine as you just gotta dig it!

quickwing · December 14, 2009 5:46AM

<< Some of those don't even have the look you'd expect from a dug piece. >>

My first thought also. It would be EXTREAMLY difficult to find buried coins in the "dirt" without pitting and corrosion. Maybe they were metal detected in an area that stayed dry and sandy, which would be another difficult find in the New England area. But they are very nice pieces wherever they were uncovered!

zeebob · December 14, 2009 5:53AM

<< 

<< Some of those don't even have the look you'd expect from a dug piece. >>

My first thought also. It would be EXTREAMLY difficult to find buried coins in the "dirt" without pitting and corrosion. Maybe they were metal detected in an area that stayed dry and sandy, which would be another difficult find in the New England area. But they are very nice pieces wherever they were uncovered! >>

TomB · December 14, 2009 6:03AM

Some more than others simply look too good to be true.

rhedden · December 14, 2009 6:22AM

I'm pretty sure they are legitimate ground recoveries. I have dug shiny, non-corroded silver coins out of the wet, acidic northeastern soil many times. The silver simply does not corrode readily, and more than 95% of Barber and Seated silver I have dug in northeastern states (PA, NY, NJ) have been non-corroded. Copper coins are a different story altogether. These silver coins are much older than what I typically dig, but they have the right look, and I believe every single one of them is an authentic ground recovery based upon their patination. Whoever dug them truly sucks.

Weiss · December 14, 2009 6:58AM

I've never metal detected before. I've never even seen, let alone held, a modern metal detector. But somehow I feel qualified to determine those coins were not found with a metal detector.

I would wager more than 50% of MA coinage is dug, and wouldn't be surprised to find 75% or more were. Where do you think they've been for 350 years, in a safe deposit box?

Have you never seen an ancient coin before? Were they kept in a safe deposit box for 2000 years, too?

All of those look ground recovered to me. If they aren't, someone went out of their way to make them look like they were.

StubbyMcNumbthumbs · December 14, 2009 7:06AM

I've done a lot of metal detecting over the past 6 years or so, and I agree with many others here when I say ... WOW!

Oh yeah, and ...

WOW!

DNADave · December 14, 2009 7:12AM

I personally have a metal detector and have dug silver coins (not that old) that look like the day they were dropped.

Its especially interesting to read opinions from those that have never done it, say those coins couldn't be dug....they absolutely could be dug.

aficoinado · December 14, 2009 7:14AM

I'm trying to imagine what the person was thinking when he was finding all those coins dated 1652. "Oh great...found another one. These things are everywhere!"

Lightning striking so many times.

JedPlanchet · December 14, 2009 7:20AM

Could you send along the GPS coordinates of the next place he's searching before he gets there?

seanq · December 14, 2009 7:23AM

<< I'm trying to imagine what the person was thinking when he was finding all those coins dated 1652. "Oh great...found another one. These things are everywhere!"

Lightning striking so many times. >>

It's like I keep reading & saying on these boards - luck is just the crossroads of preparation and opportunity. Not having any idea who the person is who found those, I'll wager that he is a dedicated hobbyist who spends a lot of time researching the history and topography of the areas he hunts, and that rather than lightning strikes those finds are the result of years of putting himself in the right place at the right time.

Sean Reynolds

relicsncoins · December 14, 2009 7:31AM

I believe these were all recovered from one area. Not at the same time, but over several trips to this one area.

jonathanb · December 14, 2009 8:04AM

IIRC, there was a writeup many years ago (like 10-20 years ago) about a detectorist who found a spot on Long Island that was the destination of stuff that was dredged from Boston Harbor in some previous century. He was finding stuff like this. Obviously I'm short of details here... it was a while ago that I read it...

coindeuce · December 14, 2009 8:13AM

Prior to the construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway shipping channel locks and power generating dams, the water levels of the Great Lakes were significantly lower than we observe today. For those who have been aware of that fact, the near shore areas of long established communities of the Great Lakes have provided treasures. One such metal detectorist recovery was a 1796 quarter from the shallow depths of Lake Ontario near my hometown.

ColonialCoinUnion · December 14, 2009 8:42AM

<< Some more than others simply look too good to be true. >>

I agree. Many are not very "ground-findy".

relicsncoins · December 14, 2009 8:46AM

<< 

<< Some more than others simply look too good to be true. >>

I agree. Many are not very "ground-findy". >>

What is more realistic.......Someone bought 30 thousand dollars worth of coins and then said he found them with a metal detector, or that he actually found them?

The guy that found them is an avid dectectorist and researcher. He has been written about in many metal detecting articles in several publications. Trust me, the coins are legit and were found with a metal detector.

Fletcher · December 14, 2009 9:13AM

<< "Ground-findy". >>

A new PCGS designation for colonials ... GF?

LanLord · December 14, 2009 9:17AM

No fair MDing the Smithsonian!

This guy is metal detecting in the right places....

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