1836 Gold $5 piece

[Gary Drayton]

I have found some awesome old finds on the beaches of South Florida recently but none more exciting than this 1836 gold half eagle, classic head type 1834-38. What started out as just another Sunday evening beach hunt turned into an unexpected beach relic hunting adventure covering several more evenings over a three week period. I spend countless hours researching and metal detecting at what I refer to as ugly beaches, places that do not get searched as much as the well known over hunted sites. I hoped that one day this beach hunting strategy would pay off and I would find a site that had never been searched for a long time. That is exactly the situation I found myself in as some terrific sand movement on a less glamorous area of a popular South Florida tourist beach had put relics left over from the Seminole indian wars within my metal detector search coil range. I began finding musket balls and military uniform buttons along with other interesting finds from the 1830s as I gridded the beach every evening until I finally found the ultimate beach hunters dream find, a gold coin. I will never forget the thrill of seeing the gold coin laying on top of the sand and picking it up knowing that I was the first person to hold that gold coin since the 1830s, an awesome end to an awesome beach relic hunt.

Happy Hunting
Gary T. Drayton

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[trsrseeker]

Wow! Congratulations. Incredible condition - hard to believe its been on the beach for so many years. Well done!!

[dwayne sueno]

whoa!
that's ridiculous.
would love to hear the story behind the find,
and see the rest of the loot.

[Les West Central Fl]

Super find ! perhaps it was an officers pay. Enlisted personel usually got paid in silver.

[jeff of pa]

whoa!
would love to hear the story behind the find,
and see the rest of the loot.

[Tony in FL]

Wow - nice score!

Excalibur or GT? Wet sand or water? Inquiring minds want to know. . . . . .

[Tuberale]

Congratulations! WTG!

[stpauli914]

Hard to believe!! Other than a couple scuffs on the front, it looks uncirculated! Are those scuffs from your scoop? It didn't travel very far because if it had it would be in not as good a condition. Looks in way better shape than most of the modern clad I find.

+1 on waiting to hear the full story

Aaron

[DigginThePast]

Wow!

Great find on its own but the condition is out of this World!

Congrats!!

[desertfox]

[SeaninNH]

whoa!
that's ridiculous.
would love to hear the story behind the find,
and see the rest of the loot.

This!

[Gary Drayton]

Wow - nice score!

Excalibur or GT? Wet sand or water? Inquiring minds want to know. . . . . .

Sovereign GT beach find, we have had quite a bit of sand movement down here in South Florida and I guess that this beautiful coin was lost very close to the site that I dug it out of the sand along with the other older finds, buttons, musket balls etc that I have been posting recently. At first I thought it was gold colored chocolate coin cover until I picked it up and felt the weight then I started doing the Walter Huston gold dance from the treasure of the sierra madre movie!!

[gravediggermax-vabeachva]

that is the 2nd G R E A T find you have found in your scoop.

i like it

[rollie29]

That is bloody brilliant mate. One word "BANNER"

[stpauli914]

No doubt banner! My vote is in!

[baywalker]

That and the Seminole war stuff I almost voted banner yesterday definitely today

Jonnie

[47thelement]

Stunning simply stunning!!

This is why we all walk the beaches at 3am, just because it a perfect combination of sand, wind and tide.

[baylorhall]

Find of a lifetime!!

[Gary Drayton]

Thanks for all the kind words guys, this and all the recent old finds I have made and posted more than make up for all the hours I spend hitting those ugly beaches no one bothers hunting and coming home empty handed.

[mcogan / L.I. Mongo Mike]

You got my vote.