My favorite coin find

[mlw67]

I thought I would share my favorite coin find.

I found this 1909-S VDB cent at about 3" deep in the grass outside an old bar in the St. John's area of Portland, OR, in about 1994 or 95.  Around here the coins aren't ever too old, so we have to hunt for the rare ones instead! 

Note the large scratch down the face of it.  The ground was rock-hard sun-baked clay, and I was chiseling my way down when--scriiitch--there it was.  I knew the date right away as a good one either with or without the VDB, but there was some stuck dirt covering the VDB area so I couldn't tell if it was the 'right one' or not.  I had to stop detecting immediately and rush home to check.  When I saw those letters on the back I about went ::THUD:: on the floor!  I kept it for a few years, then sold it on Ebay awhile back for $405.  I figure that scratch on the face of it cost me at the very least $100, probably more.  But hey, how many people get to say that they scratched Lincoln's nose for $100??

Happy Hunting!

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[j2fun4u]

cool find, I found one at a playground (kid takin dads collection to school prob?) And I found one at a construction site...gave one to my dad and i kept the other...

[Will_detect4food]

nice find and better sale,

I always torn between the treasure and the sale. do I keep it or cash it?

[mlw67]

Thanks!

I got to keep it a long while, and enjoyed showing it off to my family and friends, but it was time for it to move on.

I first got used to selling off my finds back around 1980 when silver was around $50 an ounce. Not only were the silver coins selling well, but there were more of them to be found out there, as well. Then after a robbery in 1988 cleaned me out of all my prized coin finds from the previous decade (I started hunting in 1977), selling my coins was that much easier. I haven't had good luck keeping them. Another robbery (different state, totally different circumstances) in 1997 left me minus a quart jar half full of my silver and gold finds, and even more painful, minus my Spectrum XLT. Fortunately I was smarter by the second time, and my primo finds were stashed away where the thieves wouldn't find them. The 1909-S VDB was one of the coins I saved!

[Mona Lisa]

Welcome to the forum, mlw. Thanks for the well-written post on the penny.

I'm sorry to hear about your misfortune with your collections. And those sickos stole your detector, too? That would put me in a bad mood for a few years.

[mlw67]

Thanks Ms. Lisa!

Yeah, my feathers are still ruffled over the loss of my XLT. I've got another detector now but it's nothing compared to how I loved that XLT. I've got a few more pennies to dig before I can trade up again, but it shouldn't be too long. True though, I found some of the best finds of my life with an old-school non-discriminating Compass 77-B, so it isn't *all* in the machine.

I think I used to post on this site a loooong time ago. I say *I think* because it looks vastly different. Were the pages all yellow before? Like about 6 years ago?

Nice to meet you all.

[Southcacalaky]

Great find, HH Art...

[mlw67]

Thanks!

[trk5capt]

Welcome To The Forum, Congrats On Your Find, Best Of Luck & Good Hunting. trk5capt...

[mlw67]

Thanks trk!

[johny mc.]

absolutely amazing and incredible find....I have found over 500 wheaties and long for the day.......way to go on that baby!......aloha johny mc.

[mlw67]

Thank you, Johny!

Keep looking, there's got to be more of them out there!

[romeo-1]

Nice Wheatie! Too bad about the thefts...you should bury your coins in an old Mason jar in the backyard...then forget where you buried them so future MD'ers can get the satisfaction of finding a great cache.

[mlw67]

Thanks Romeo!

Funny you should say that about burying the coins--because I've already done that!  Years ago I filled an old blue mason jar full of dug wheats and buried it *somewhere* in Yakima County, specifically so someone, someday could have the thrill of finding it.  I'll bet they really get puzzled trying to figure out why all the coins inside the jar are filthy dirty!  LOL

[christophernixon]

I love finding wheats - still havent found the '09 yet though - I found a very rough 1911 and couldnt get the smile from my face for days!!

Too bad about the jerks who took your stuff though - wouldnt you like to find them

[whitesid]

thats a very rare date!!! im sure that would be alot of peoples fav. find if they found one

[mlw67]

Thanks you guys!

Sorry I took so long to post--I hadn't been to this thread in awhile.

[lordmarcovan]

Crikey! (As the late Steve Irwin would say- he'd also say, "Beauty"!)

I've dug three, maybe four VDBs... but none had S-mintmarks.

Probably the closest I've come to a better-date Lincoln is a 1911-D.

Congrats!

[mlw67]

Thanks Lordmarcovan!