The sidewalk work is ongoing around town, been hitting it relentlessly. It's a far cry from last years street work in terms of return on coil time so far. In the last 20 or so blocks of sidewalks and parkways I've pulled 5 silvers, 2 mercs and three rosies, 3 IH's, no nicks out side of modern jeffs and a buttload of clad. I have gotten a lot of wheaties and one silver ring.
Lots of watch faces, four today. Fronts, backs and innards from Elgin pocket watches litter the area and give the impression of another LC or silver dollar, arghh! Gotten two small round tins, one full of water, the other full of beads with two holes in each that appear to be mechanical in nature, not decorative. There was a winding stem in that one but it hit the street and got lost when I dropped it onsite after opening it to see what was inside. Wasn't going to wait several months for it to loosen up like the one with the four "stones" in it two years ago.
But today was different. Got a signal under a freshly pulled slab. Down about an inch in the oily, cinder-laden dirt a differently colored coin appeared. The back side first showed itself and revealed words that bring glee, hope and tears of joy. SAN FRANCISCO across the top. Looked like an eagle in the middle, both wings spread but dirt obscured the full image. Then on the bottom, the LEGEND you all want to see on any dug coin.
TWENTY D.
Flipping it over, well I could see something different, something you never want to see in a dream but only on a hunt. A beautiful coronet head with a date of 1854. No "LIBERTY" in the headband. No, this had the full "KELLOG & CO." legend.
Kellog & Co. was the premier private mint of the San Francisco gold rush coinage. Everything fit.
It was 7:30 and children on their way to school surrounded me at the corner, talking among themselves quietly about this visage of a man kneeling and LICKING this dirty coin while bowing up and down and mumbling, "Can't be, MUST be, Can't be...". What?!? You think I was gonna rub it?
I tried to take pics with my camera and send them to everyone on the my contact list. Failed. Twice.
What to do? Who's awake? Called Mark, AKA Watercolor. In my usual unmuted defiance of reality boldly proclaiming my find. As I talked to him details became clear on the front and back of the coin.
The rest is, how do you say? Oh yeah... "Crap happens."
Skates, it should have been your find. Or Neil. Or ANYONE but me. Sometimes you just gotta quit chasing that dream.
Okay fellow dreamers, pony up with the vote.
Should I:
A. Have it cleaned and replated, and change the headband legend to "Lowbatts" and rebury it somewhere in Chicagoland?
B. Throw it away?
C. Shoot it through the middle and scrawl, "Killed by Lowbatts" on it?
D. Just let it go and get some therapy on the remaining sidewalk digs?
JEEZ!! I take a few days off to go out of town and look what I miss!! Man that stinks!! Although, I gotta say, you're probably the most likely IL T-netter to find a REAL one given the history of your area...
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