Silver #5 (3/4) and #6 (3/8; 1916-s Merc)

[p2c]

Hi all,
Got out today and had a good hunt. Pulled a Super Worn thin Merc -- 1916 ... so smooth almost impossible to see that it indeed is an S. It'd probably pass for no mint mark its so smooth. Plus, I pulled 5 Wheats (36, 37, 45, 48s, 54d). Too bad the merc wasn't a D; my oldest merc yet -- and it will remain so.... (plus silver #6 for 2010).



As you can see, the faintest remnants of an S

Then on 3/4/08 I got out to that famously overhunted hot spot that most of you know about and managed to pull this merc, a 1941, which was silver #5 at the time...


Hope you all have good huntings... Did I say it was way tooooo muddy today

[d-dub]

Nice shiny, Jon. Your starting the year off right, thats for sure!

[Pocket Spill]

Great hunts! You are on fire with the silver! Keep them coming!

[justdigging50]

Congratulations on five and six silver!
How long do you think a coin like that 1916 was carried for to get that much wear. I'm just curious how fast these silvers we dig up wore out. How much softer are the alloys compared to today's coins?

[p2c]

Congratulations on five and six silver!
How long do you think a coin like that 1916 was carried for to get that much wear. I'm just curious how fast these silvers we dig up wore out. How much softer are the alloys compared to today's coins?

90% silver 10% copper is definitely much softer than nickel. I don't know how much faster the wear was. One other thing, besides being softer, the coins were circulated a lot more (we don't use coinage as much thanks to both plastic and inflation). Also, the coins had slightly higher relief, so they were also more susceptible to wear. I guess we could ask a real old timer who was alive in the day, but even then, I don't know how much people would pay attention. It's a scientific experiment I don't want to conduct on my uncirculated silver... To give perspective though, most the stuff in the area where the 1916 came from was early 1940's...

[Lowbatts]

Talk about one thin dime....

You got the touch for sure Jon. Keep 'em coming!

[litefire56]

Great hunt!

[kimsdad]

Great finds!!!

How'd Kermit & Joe miss that last one?

[p2c]

Great finds!!!

How'd Kermit & Joe miss that last one?

I don't know, but that last one was really weird... it registered as being 10 inches deep and was a really faint tone on the e trac. I flipped a plug that could have been only 5 inches deep at the most. Scanned the hole, not there, scanned the plug -- really faint and registered deep. I thought it was going to be something really tiny and not a dime. pinpointed, and it was right there on top of the plug I just flipped Must have been some bad soil or a lot of iron trash around ...

[makton]

Jon,
You are on fire!!!!! What's your goal for this year....200 silvers?

Makton

[p2c]

Jon,
You are on fire!!!!! What's your goal for this year....200 silvers?

Makton

All I am saying for now is that I want to exceed last years total (11) by the time I found my first silver ever last year (May 19). Once I hit 12 silver (hopefully b4 May 19, I'll set my next silver goal).

[treasurefiend]

Awesome job hunting buddy!!!

[Lookn4Seated]

From one Jon to another, CONGRATULATIONS! Looks like I'm gonna have my work cut out for me this year.

Too bad it wasn't a D, but I'm sure it had your heart pumping when you saw it was a '16. I bet you were staring at the spot where the mintmark is, just hoping the "D" would appear. I know that's what I did when I found my first '16.

HH!

[watercolor]

Awesome!!

Jon, you better start pacing yourself or you're going to burn
that machine out with all the silver you've been finding

Nice!

[p2c]

Awesome!!

Jon, you better start pacing yourself or you're going to burn
that machine out with all the silver you've been finding

Nice!

It's not the silver, it's all that mud that is mucking up both my detector and myself ...

[twistidd]

Sickness, Jon, sickness! You beast. Why do I have a feeling you're going to be up there in the elite group that finds like 300 silvers or something in a year.

Joe

[DPBOB]

Wtg Jon

Those 16 mercs always get your heart to skip o beat or two....
all the 16's I have pulled out I was shaking each time and hoping for the D only to be S's

[etrac007]

CONGRATS ON TWO MORE SILVER. LOOKS LIKE HAVE SOME CATCHING UP TO DO!