Ben Franklin Finally Showed Up!

[Carolina Tom]

I went out to a local elementary school on Friday after work. The place is old and has given a up a silver or two. I was walking around, bottlecap here, pull tab there, some clad.... and a big round piece to a junk necklace. I get a nice hit... really nice... like an aluminum can. It had been raining and the ground was soft, so I went to dig, and noticed that someone had already dug here... then I remembered trying to dig this target up another time. I got about 6" down, but the ground was too hard, and I was sure it was a can anyway. The pinpointer went off at 6"... I dug to about 10", stick the pinpointer in... and nothing. I checked the dirt and sure enough... a big gray electrical box knockout plug... it's a slug... but wait a mintue... it has a little patch of silver on it... as I wipe it off, it's got Ben Franklin's face on it... I just couldn't believe my eyes... What an awesome feeling...

I put a couple of toy guns in here, for those of you that do not like awesome giant silver coins.

Thanks for looking.

 

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[beez0404]

The area where Tom is finding all the BIG silver coins is a very old school. When it was an active school they took very good care of the landscaping. Always fertilizing the soil and watering. I have to figure the coin has been in the ground for a length of time under those circumstances the chemicals can do a number of it.

 

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[dirtlooter]

Ole Ben looks mighty fine to me, congrats

 

[Burnt Chimney]

You're on roll ! Nice save

 

[Pointman]

Carolina Tom, I think you found the walker a few weeks ago that looked really similar with the red clay? Was it at the same spot as this half?

So the trend is your going to dig halves every couple of weeks?

 

[Carolina Tom]

Carolina Tom, I think you found the walker a few weeks ago that looked really similar with the red clay? Was it at the same spot as this half?

So the trend is your going to dig halves every couple of weeks?

Pointman, you are correct. I found the Walker probably 70 Ft. from where I found the Franklin. The Walker had been in the ground a lot longer, it had REALLY bad corrosion on it... green crystally nodules... see attached pic. The ground is heavily fertilized, so the silvers take a beating.

As for digging halves every couple of weeks... that would be nice, but to be honest, I am just lucky... dumb luck to be exact. I hunt as much as I can, but I am a bit of a hack, too lazy to dig deep targets, I aimlessly walk around, no gridding for me, I get hot and frustrated easily, then I just quit and go home mad. Ask anyone that has hunted with me, they will tell you. It is just luck, it makes me look way better than I really am. Thanks! GL&HH.

 

[Ahab8]

Atta boy CT! That's a real looker bud. Nice find

 

[BigWaveDave]

outstanding .. good job by you!

 

[cjon455]

I put a couple of toy guns in here, for those of you that do not like awesome giant silver coins.

I like super awesome giant silver coins!!

heck of a job, cant wait to hit my first silver half of any era!!!

 

[jfeeney]

Cool find... Old Ben is on high on my list of most wanted coins.

 

[MANFROMCLAD01]

i cant even find a silver coin! period! wtg!

 

[TrpnBils]

Well I'm officially inspired by this thread for two reasons. At an elementary school I've been working and digging some silver (mercs and a barber dime), I've got two signals I've given up on multiple times now.

1) High hit, deep, and the pinpointer still picks something up dug down 8" or so. I've never found a pop can there, but I just assumed something that big and deep would be junk...now I want to get back and dig til I get there to see what it is! I may have to take a gallon of water and dump in the hole though at this point to soften the dirt up enough to dig though!

2) Same site, next to where I dug at least one merc and the barber, there is a dime-level hit I'm getting beneath two huge roots. Soil is super hard there because grass won't grow at the base of this tree, but it's got to be silver. Not sure how I want to approach it yet though....but I will get it out! I want to go easy though because I DESTROYED a thin silver ring (like literally broke the band) pulling it out of a hole under a root of the same tree.

That said, Franklins are one of my favorite coins, although I only own one (bought it when I was actively collecting) and it's in terrible shape. Nice find!

 

[Carolina Tom]

I like super awesome giant silver coins!!

heck of a job, cant wait to hit my first silver half of any era!!!

Thanks CJON. You have gotten a lot of nice coins this year, I am sure that a half will show up before much longer. I have been really lucky to find 2 of them this year. I will tell you, it is one awesome feeling when a coin that large comes out of the hole... they are thick and heavy... it boggles the mind... you sorta look at it and think that it just can't be a coin... then you see the image... and you can't believe what you are seeing... it takes your breath away... just wait...

 

[valleyglen]

The soil in NC. is mostly red clay type soil. That coin had to be in contact with something
other than just the soil, Nice find regardless...

 

[smittyman]

Tom - if you didn't have a job - you'd hoover up all the silver in Mecklenburg and surrounding counties. Congrats!

 

[beez0404]

Tom - if you didn't have a job - you'd hoover up all the silver in Mecklenburg and surrounding counties. Congrats!

He better stay out of my county till I find at least one silver half dollar!!!

 

[Carolina Tom]

He better stay out of my county till I find at least one silver half dollar!!!

Come on Beez... I have hunted up there three times, and have not found any silver at all... not to mention a silver half. I am no threat to your big silver aspirations... Smittyman is the real enemy... He must be watched carefully and monitored closely. When Smittyman is around all of our silver dreams are in dire jeopardy. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer!

I am ready to come up and hunt whenever it is good for you... and you are always welcome at my house. We really do need to set up another hunt around Charlotte. I had a lot of fun last time... and we both found silvers! GL&HH.

 

[l2hunt]

only found one franklin, a 62, made a coin ring out of it, love wearing it! HH

 

[Garrett424]

Pointman, you are correct. I found the Walker probably 70 Ft. from where I found the Franklin. The Walker had been in the ground a lot longer, it had REALLY bad corrosion on it... green crystally nodules... see attached pic. The ground is heavily fertilized, so the silvers take a beating.

As for digging halves every couple of weeks... that would be nice, but to be honest, I am just lucky... dumb luck to be exact. I hunt as much as I can, but I am a bit of a hack, too lazy to dig deep targets, I aimlessly walk around, no gridding for me, I get hot and frustrated easily, then I just quit and go home mad. Ask anyone that has hunted with me, they will tell you. It is just luck, it makes me look way better than I really am. Thanks! GL&HH.

I like your honesty.

Either way, luck or not it's a beautiful coin and an awesome find.

 

[d3t3ctr0n]

Well done! I love the thrill of the hunt!