Beginners luck? Newbie finds gold!

[bdhoward]

Hey guys. I'm pretty new to this forum and this wonderful hobby. In fact I just purchased my first detector last week (Garret GTI 1500). I went out for a few of hours to test out my machine and get some practice twice last week and I finally had a full NICE day to detect today. The day started off slow (1 clad dime) in 5 hours and 4 different locations (tons of junk!). I gotta admit, I was feeling pretty defeated, but I stuck with it. I hit my last spot of the day around 4:00pm and within 30 mins I was starting to collect alot of Lincoln cents and some clad. Then my very FIRST SILVER ever. A 1947 rosie! I kept going and within 5 mins I collected my FIRST EVER 1944 silver war nickle! I kept my nose to the grindstone and was starting to learn my machine even better and was finding myself getting more and more proficient with every signal. I kept pulling more pennies, a regular nickle, 2 clad quarters, 4 more clad dimes, 2 wheaties, a small coin from the caymen islands, and ANOTHER silver rosie. I must admit, I was feeling more confident and excited at this point. Then it happened... I got a fairly strong signal that registered as a pulltab at about 5 inches. Although I dug ALOT of junk today I figured "what the hell, you never know". I dug my plug and scanned over the surface to pinpoint my target. BEEEEEEP, It was close. I quickly sifted through the dirt and was expecting to find that silver toned beer tab, but to my surprise I saw a golden horse head with 2 rubies for eyes staring back at me! Could it be?? I quickly cleaned of the dirt from the inside of the ring and there it was! 14K stamped! WOOO. This was only my 3rd time out using a detector! I'm guessing I was really lucky. The ring is pretty heavy. Approximately 6-7 grams! I just thought I would share my first ever awesome experience with everyone. I'm hooked! Bryan H.

P.S. Does anyone have any tips on how to clean these finds with houshold cleaners? What methods/products work best??

 

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[leslie(nova scotia)]

yo

From the land of the Bluenose.....congrats on the gold and hopefully many more will fall under your coil. Try the macro setting on your camera me bouy fur dos close up photos!

 

[Felinepeachy]

That is outstanding and a great way to start out in this hobby. I hope there are many more to come!

 

[artzstuff1]

I would run out to the local horse track,, and bet big!!!!,,,thats nice ,,,maybe a better pic would be cool

 

[Blind Squirrel]

Congrats on the finds, and welcome to Tnet!!!

 

[steelheadwill]

Beginners luck is no myth, mine lasted a good 3 months.
Congrats on a unique piece, bet you got the fever now!
Strike while the iron is hot, Welcome to the Obsession

 

[DirtDigler]

Great looking ring! Looks like ruby eyes, maybe? If you research it and get more info, I'd love to hear the story. Intriguing!

 

[Dano Sverige]

Nice! Welcome to the hobby and the forum.

Felinepeachy's horse has just had a new foal and i think she'd love that ring as a keepsake/reminder. If you never ever want to be banned here, never have a post deleted or edited, get exclusive "bikini shots"...you'll listen to me and mail it today!

 

[cntrydncr1]

wow that is a unique ring! congrats and hope you have many more

 

[TerryEastTexas]

Cool ring and congrats on the silver.

 

[spitfire55]

Hang in there and "CONGRADULATIONS" on your find. That's a very nice gold ring and there's still lots more out there like that and or even better and bigger.

 

[DrJoePrime]

Hey..Nice Ring! Congrats!

Since you'll be finding more and more...better get practicing with your camera too.

HH Joe

 

[Wldbil]

Congrats on the Gold!!! Been hunting for a few years now and I still have not hit gold.

 

[scaupus]

Woo hoo!! nice, really, really nice day, I can only imagine the sweet thrill of discovery, culminating with the ring, after the discouraging tedium of hours of nothing but trash...

 

[Twisted One]

Well this is the closest I could find to compare it to with a quick search. If it is anything close to this one you just found atleast half of what you paid for that detector. Hard to beat that.

http://www.equestrianjewelry.com/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=HRSC0201

 

[Tuberale]

Welcome to TNet! Good to have you on-board!

Sounds to me like you have the bug. That gold ring is really nice, but those silvers on your 3rd hunt are impressive, too. Sounds to me like your skill level went upward really fast, compared to most new detector users. Experience is the real teacher in MD'ing, and I suspect you continue to find more goodies.

Regarding your request for cleaning methods: household cleaners are find for most of the stuff you come across. Most of them will be mostly toast to begin with, but it will take a few more days of finds for you to realize that.<G>

But for the really good stuff you are starting to come across, I'd suggest cleaning the better coins with acetone and Q-tips. Acetone reacts ONLY with organic material, and will not affect silver or gold. Dip the Q-tip in acetone and gently twirl the soaked cotton over the coin surface and sides. This should remove almost all organic debris/gum/tar without affecting the patina of the coin. It is the least damaging coin cleaning method, and among the cheapest ways too. A pint of acetone (about $8 at a Home Depot) should last you for at least a couple of years when used judiciously.

That horse-head looks REAL heavy, but doesn't look heavily worn. You might want to have a jeweler look at the rubies, as they may be higher quality. Usually stones are inset, but cannot tell from the photos.

A hint about close-up photos: many cameras will take a few seconds to auto-focus at close range. Try focusing on your thumb while holding the ring, then pulling back just slightly when the auto-focus kicks in: should give you stunning photos when patient. Photos are an art, not a science. When your eye is happy with what you see through the viewfinder, your photos should be happy too. Kind of like when your detector is humming, you will be also. It sure seems you're humming along!

 

[Twin Digger]

Nice!!! Love the Horse..
Keep Hunting!!!

 

[search and recovery]

Great start on your MDing! . I work 12 hour days so can understand how it feels to want to go out but can't. But in my case, I do get seven days off once a month to feed my need to go detecting. HH!

 

[Tuberale]

Like your new avatar! Great photo!

 

[m bryan]

Awesome day of detecting! lots of goodies!