Have you ever been iffy on digging or about to give up and then you get a great find?

[coinman123]

Have you ever been iffy on digging or about to give up and then you get a great find? I know it's happened to me. Tell us a story of when it happened to you (if it happened to you). Here are times it happened to me.

I was in the woods of a school from the 1950s that I mainly detect because it used to be a backyard of a of a old house. The house is still there but the houses property was cut when they devolved the the school. I can still find 1800s items there because they never added any dirt. I found a really old iron cap gun, A old heavy clothes iron that is pre 1920s according to my research, a coin spill with a 1904 dime, a 1919 nickel, and a AU 1915D penny (Because it is AU that probably means it was dropped in the early 1920s), Dropped bullets which are probably from before the school, and much more from before the school. Well anyway the object I almost did not dig was probably dropped during the early days of that school. I was out detecting at that school and I was not getting any good signal when I got a zincoln signal (which I now discovered could be Indian cents so I now dig them) which I did not want to dig but I did. At 2-3 inches I see a nickel I look on the back and see a buffalo when I get home I look for a date, it's a 1929, good thing I dug it. Another thing I dug is probably before the time of the school. Anyway, I got this silver sounding signal and I started digging. A foot later I'm about to give up and I decide to take one last scoop, when I take that scoop a iron gun emerges from the hole. I do research, I can't find any markings but the style seems to be from the 1890s through 1920s. I would have never gotten any of these finds if I did not take a chance on digging. The point is to have perseverance and take a chance, you never know what you will find.

Good luck,

 

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[BVI Hunter]

cool!!

I learnt my lesson VERY early - I dig EVERTHING now!

 

[RobRieman]

I was in a park detecting a large hill used for sled riding trying to find jewelry. I dug about 50 pull tabs, the newer squarish type tabs, and they all ring in about 22-25 on my V3i. I got another signal at 23 and said screw it, I'm done with trying to find jewelry the tabs were driving me nuts. Walked away and had the wierdest feeling and returned to dig "one last time" as I told myself for the last 20. Lol. Cut the plug and fold it back and the sweetest 14k gold ring with a stone in it was staring at me. You would think it would be a lesson learned but I still cherry pick.

 

[mr helton]

The other day I was hunting a newer park for the 5th or so time and was just about to give up and not go to the park again when I decided to stop at a pavilion by my car just for the hell of it. About 30 seconds in I found a good looking 1945 washing quarter, then less than 2 minutes later I found my first walking liberty half, and it great condition. I was so excited!

 

[Tom_in_CA]

reply

coinman and Rob, it's a trick of selective memory. Each time we all stop to dig something, we think "this one sounds different". Or each time we go to dig something, we might think: "this one sounds iffy, but I'm going to try it anyhow". Or we walk away, but then get a nagging feeling to return. And so forth. And each time, if it turns out to be junk, we then re-adjust ourselves and say to ourselves: "come to think of it, .... it DID sound kind of junky."

However, when the ONE time(s) it DOES turn out to be a goodie, only THEN do we remember our premonitions (of it sounding "different" or sounding "iffy"), and then we say to ourselves: I KNEW IT!

The same pyschology at play when we think our dreams at night come true. You know, like you wake up in morning to your radio alarm clock, and it's playing the EXACT song on the radio that you were just dreaming about. Or you get woken up by a phone call from the EXACT person you were just dreaming about. When such things happen, we think to ourselves: "I must be psychic!". But the truth is, we're dreaming thousands of dreams a night, none of which come true. And when you wake up, you promptly forget them all. However the one time one coincidentally comes true, we THEN remember the dream, and think: "I'm psychic".

It's the same selective memory at work in our digs. You know, the guy who digs 1000 pulltabs and foil wads, each time hoping the next one is going to be a gold ring. Then finally, he digs a gold ring, and says to himself "that one sounded different". The truth is, that each time we stop to dig, we're probably thinking "this one sounds different". But with the trick of selective memory, we just poo-poo it when it turns to be junk, and only remember our premonitions, when coincidence goes in our favor.

I know I know, I'm being a kill-joy, eh?

 

[RobRieman]

No Tom, not a kill joy at all! I thought it sounded like junk and just happened to go back and try another one. That's the reason I wind up cherry picking and find little gold, all the tabs sound like tabs to me and I get bored quickly digging them.