Gridwalker306
Gold Member
Today I assembled all the silver coins I have found at my favourite location since 2010, seeing them all together was very rewarding. These coins represent hundreds upon hundreds of hours of detecting with several different machines. This spot is about two acres. I didn't keep track of other coins and things quite as meticulously as these silvers, but there have been many IH cents, Wheats, Canadian coins, buffalo and V nickels, jewelry, and tons of clad...and a mountain of trash.
When I was first starting out back in 2010, my father in law suggested I try a location. I got exclusive permission from the council of the organization that operates on this land, and it didn't hurt that he is the president. I also got the green light from both Canada and U.S. Customs. I believe these permissions were not granted to the detectorists that heavily pounded this area back in the 1980's. Most places around are void of easy targets, once in a while I run across a place that has more, and I believe these are places that previous hunters were denied permission. Even on this location, there is an invisible line where the finds stop abruptly. The ground is not disturbed, I believe they went as far as they could and that was that.
In 2010 I got out my GTAX550 and spent many hours roaming this site. I found my first IH cent, and then a few silvers started to pop out. My third or fourth hunt there produced my biggest silver spill ever, an 1896 Morgan silver dollar, 1896s semi key date Barber half, and a 1904 Barber half.
The rest of the season I detected hard and found a nice mix of finds, but they were thinning. I ordered an ATPro for the next season, and it reinvigorated the site. In 2012 I found yet another Barber half, and later my most valuable single coin find, a 1903s Barber dime. It's a beautiful key date, and worth hundreds of dollars.
2013 got slower, and in 2014 I think I only found one lonely silver Roosevelt dime there. This year I ordered a new DEUS, and have found a few more silver coins to bring me to 51, but it has been taking many many hours. Most hunts there now produce nothing. My last 10 hours there have only produced tiny bits of foil, tiny lead fragments, and rusty nails. If you could time-lapse the spot, I have probably dug every single square inch of soil. I have detected it in every soil condition-dry as a bone, totally saturated and water logged, semi frozen, and just right.
Here's a shot of the Barbers/Morgan
The old Canadian silver, including six fishscales
The more modern silver
This spot has been so good to me, it's hard to stomach the fact that it's so hard to find anything anymore. I'll always return, simply because I love the spot, have exclusive permission, and I guess you never know.
Virgin spots still exist, you just have to look for them. Timing has a lot to do with it as well. I thank god the guy guys back in the 1980's weren't allowed to hunt this particular spot. The stars aligned and allowed the circumstances to provide this wonderful spot for me to hunt. I don't know if I'll ever find another place like this, but I am searching. This hobby is such an adventure, I absolutely love it, and wanted to share my experience with a virgin spot.
Happy hunting everybody...
When I was first starting out back in 2010, my father in law suggested I try a location. I got exclusive permission from the council of the organization that operates on this land, and it didn't hurt that he is the president. I also got the green light from both Canada and U.S. Customs. I believe these permissions were not granted to the detectorists that heavily pounded this area back in the 1980's. Most places around are void of easy targets, once in a while I run across a place that has more, and I believe these are places that previous hunters were denied permission. Even on this location, there is an invisible line where the finds stop abruptly. The ground is not disturbed, I believe they went as far as they could and that was that.
In 2010 I got out my GTAX550 and spent many hours roaming this site. I found my first IH cent, and then a few silvers started to pop out. My third or fourth hunt there produced my biggest silver spill ever, an 1896 Morgan silver dollar, 1896s semi key date Barber half, and a 1904 Barber half.
The rest of the season I detected hard and found a nice mix of finds, but they were thinning. I ordered an ATPro for the next season, and it reinvigorated the site. In 2012 I found yet another Barber half, and later my most valuable single coin find, a 1903s Barber dime. It's a beautiful key date, and worth hundreds of dollars.
2013 got slower, and in 2014 I think I only found one lonely silver Roosevelt dime there. This year I ordered a new DEUS, and have found a few more silver coins to bring me to 51, but it has been taking many many hours. Most hunts there now produce nothing. My last 10 hours there have only produced tiny bits of foil, tiny lead fragments, and rusty nails. If you could time-lapse the spot, I have probably dug every single square inch of soil. I have detected it in every soil condition-dry as a bone, totally saturated and water logged, semi frozen, and just right.
Here's a shot of the Barbers/Morgan
The old Canadian silver, including six fishscales
The more modern silver
This spot has been so good to me, it's hard to stomach the fact that it's so hard to find anything anymore. I'll always return, simply because I love the spot, have exclusive permission, and I guess you never know.
Virgin spots still exist, you just have to look for them. Timing has a lot to do with it as well. I thank god the guy guys back in the 1980's weren't allowed to hunt this particular spot. The stars aligned and allowed the circumstances to provide this wonderful spot for me to hunt. I don't know if I'll ever find another place like this, but I am searching. This hobby is such an adventure, I absolutely love it, and wanted to share my experience with a virgin spot.
Happy hunting everybody...
