🥇 BANNER Winter camp Gold!

[JDug]

The other day I was digging in the frozen ground a winter camp and had found 4 bullets and some camp lead in about 2 hours. Then I broke my shovel trying to pop out a large plug. It was a iffy signal with the GPX, either iron falsing on both sides of the target or 2 targets. Anyway I came back the next day and opened it up only to find a square nail. Without checking for another signal I started digging down to the plow line to see if the sub-soil was where it was suppose to be because I've found several Fire-pits there. When I threw out the 1st scoop the clod broke apart and out popped Gold, clear as day. After freaking out for several minutes, videoing and washing I decided to keep detecting and found another fire-pit just 10 feet from the Gold 2 1/2. From that I got 4 buttons, 1 J-hook, a bullet worm, a firing cap, bone and lot's of iron. The Eagle I is of the rare variety w/ the arrows on the left and the 2 1/2 Gold is in the best condition of any coin I've ever dug and it's a S mint mark, which only 24,000 were made. HH all!

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

DR.ÖTEK Metal Detector, Waterproof Gold Detector, Pinpoint & Terrain Modes, Professional Metal Detector - Grab it through Amazon!

[flatbutton]

Man that piece looks like it just left the mint! Love the vid. Even better than the one for the gold piece you found last year I wanted to vote, but you're already up there, CONGRATS on the well deserved banner!

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

DR.ÖTEK Metal Detector, Waterproof Gold Detector, Pinpoint & Terrain Modes, Professional Metal Detector - Grab it through Amazon!

[Valley Ranger]

Banner. Way to go. Which machine were you using?

 

[Gary1963]

Congrats!

 

[mikeraydj]

Welcome to the wall of fame. Congrats!

 

[VERMONTPACKRAT]

I am glad that you had your camera with you! I am still waiting to dig my first gold coin. CONGRATS on the BANNER!!

As far as value and new or old reverse, I own an 1861 2 1/2 Dollar gold coin. PCGS graded AU 55, NEW REVERSE. I will add a couple pics so you can compare the reverse on yours. Mine has been for sale, $485.00 OBO for a while now. I have gotten a few offers but nothing I was willing to accept.

Once again KILLER FIND !!!

VPR

 

[BuckleBoy]

First off great find brother! Secondly like you said, what the hell are we supposed to do with these coins? Levitate them around so the don't touch anything? Are they sure those scratches are new and weren't there from moving around in the dirt for years? It just seems like it doesn't matter how careful we are. And if you had left the dirt on it did they have some secret cleaning method that we don't know about.
Regardless of any of that it's an incredible find with awesome historic signifigance and I'm psyched for man. Don't even worry bout the value

I'll share my method. I blast with water in the field to get as much dirt off as possible. Then at home, soak and blast under the sink (with drain plug in), then take an ultra soft ladies' makeup or rouge brush and gently stab at the coin while it's under the running water to get the dirt out of the crevices and details. The water whisks the abrasive dirt away without scratching. Gold and silver scratch very easily, and the higher grade they are the worse they seem to scratch.

That said, this is one KILLER find! And the video was one of the Best videos I have EVER seen!

Congrats!!

 

[Ron (CA)]

WOW- Congrats on the 2 1/2 Gold !! That is fricken awesome to see gold pop out!!

My opinion on the BS the coin shop told you. That coin was in the dirt for a long time. It already had micro scratches all over the surface. Yes, you should treat it delicately but you did not reduce the value by the amount they stated, (in my opinion)

Anytime a nice coin is found on video you will get comments from people about "Ruining the coin by rubbing it", or "I was sick to see how you cleaned it"

But you know what-- You found it so do what you want!!

Just reply:

"When you find YOUR gold coin you can handle it anyway you want. I found this one so it is mine to treat however I want!!" LOL

Now, I am not a proponent of ruining nice coins or reducing a coins value, but I detect as a hobby and for the thrill of the find. Value is secondary so the next time you see me rub a coin please remember the statement above! LOL

I'm happy for you and loved the reaction!

 

[CRUSADER]

Nothing like gold & that one is is super condition - big congrats on a well deserved banner. Shows you need to dig all weather/conditions to increase your chances.

 

[g-olden years]

Big Congrats! Love the coin, love your video - Pure Joy! Andi

 

[JDug]

That was great. I had to laugh when I heard you laugh. Great coin and at the at the first of the video I laughed when I saw the earth worm had " Photo Bombed" that great coin. So it was shallow? I saw the depth of you other holes on the fire pits. Nice hunt once again. You have my vote.
TnMtns

Thank ya sir! It was pretty deep by normal standards but not fire-pit deep let's just say worm deep.

 

[JDug]

Holy cow. what a find!.Gold coins of any denomination are rare to find, "extremely' rare to find on civil war sites.Don't worry,you didn't hurt that coin any.They where probably just hoping you wanted to sell it.I love the 1861 date and everything about it.Nothing like a beautiful period Gold coin to display with your relics.Congratulations to you!

Thank you,
Ya I feel like every coin ask them about their response is the beginning of negotiation.

 

[JDug]

I'll share my method. I blast with water in the field to get as much dirt off as possible. Then at home, soak and blast under the sink (with drain plug in), then take an ultra soft ladies' makeup or rouge brush and gently stab at the coin while it's under the running water to get the dirt out of the crevices and details. The water whisks the abrasive dirt away without scratching. Gold and silver scratch very easily, and the higher grade they are the worse they seem to scratch.

That said, this is one KILLER find! And the video was one of the Best videos I have EVER seen!

Congrats!!

Thanks for the advice and kind words BB.

 

[JDug]

WOW- Congrats on the 2 1/2 Gold !! That is fricken awesome to see gold pop out!!

My opinion on the BS the coin shop told you. That coin was in the dirt for a long time. It already had micro scratches all over the surface. Yes, you should treat it delicately but you did not reduce the value by the amount they stated, (in my opinion)

Anytime a nice coin is found on video you will get comments from people about "Ruining the coin by rubbing it", or "I was sick to see how you cleaned it"

But you know what-- You found it so do what you want!!

Just reply:

"When you find YOUR gold coin you can handle it anyway you want. I found this one so it is mine to treat however I want!!" LOL

Now, I am not a proponent of ruining nice coins or reducing a coins value, but I detect as a hobby and for the thrill of the find. Value is secondary so the next time you see me rub a coin please remember the statement above! LOL

I'm happy for you and loved the reaction!

Thank you, well said!

 

[scaupus]

Most of us never find really valuable coins. Here in south florida we mostly hunt for beach jewelry. But, if I thought I might find a valuable coin, I'd be in the habit of carrying a small plastic container, packed with cotton wool. That will keep a coin snug, hopefully without so much pressure that it would cause grains of sand to dent the surface. If a coin were worth potentially many hundreds, even thousands, I would do no more than soak it in distilled water, changing the water every couple weeks or so, until it cleaned up. Distilled water actually works on an ionic level to clean, it's not just softening the dried up gunk, and over time it's a powerful, but gentle cleaning agent. Of course, that won't help the scratches you put into the coin when you dig it up. To really do as little damage as possible to the coin, we'd pull the coin out in a plug, then soak the plug! That's really not beyond what some of us could manage to do in some circumstances, I think.

 

[JDug]

Nothing like gold & that one is is super condition - big congrats on a well deserved banner. Shows you need to dig all weather/conditions to increase your chances.

Thank you, I went yesterday and shoveled snow off of fire=pit so it would dry out and I can go back and finish it today. You can't dig relics on the couch.

 

[Vonclemen29]

Freakin awesome!!! Holy smokes, I would've fainted. Lol, congrats man love it!!!

 

[JDug]

Most of us never find really valuable coins. Here in south florida we mostly hunt for beach jewelry. But, if I thought I might find a valuable coin, I'd be in the habit of carrying a small plastic container, packed with cotton wool. That will keep a coin snug, hopefully without so much pressure that it would cause grains of sand to dent the surface. If a coin were worth potentially many hundreds, even thousands, I would do no more than soak it in distilled water, changing the water every couple weeks or so, until it cleaned up. Distilled water actually works on an ionic level to clean, it's not just softening the dried up gunk, and over time it's a powerful, but gentle cleaning agent. Of course, that won't help the scratches you put into the coin when you dig it up. To really do as little damage as possible to the coin, we'd pull the coin out in a plug, then soak the plug! That's really not beyond what some of us could manage to do in some circumstances, I think.

Sounds good to me!

 

[discoidal roller]

Awesome find, neighbor! I'd be interested in finding out more about your rental services. I've got quite a few good spots scouted out, but no machine to work with.

 

[SGT Claddy]

Awesome gold coin love seeing them on here during the winter months makes me wish the ground was thawed

 

[testing123]

WOW- Congrats on the 2 1/2 Gold !! That is fricken awesome to see gold pop out!!

My opinion on the BS the coin shop told you. That coin was in the dirt for a long time. It already had micro scratches all over the surface. Yes, you should treat it delicately but you did not reduce the value by the amount they stated, (in my opinion)

Anytime a nice coin is found on video you will get comments from people about "Ruining the coin by rubbing it", or "I was sick to see how you cleaned it"

But you know what-- You found it so do what you want!!

Just reply:

"When you find YOUR gold coin you can handle it anyway you want. I found this one so it is mine to treat however I want!!" LOL

Now, I am not a proponent of ruining nice coins or reducing a coins value, but I detect as a hobby and for the thrill of the find. Value is secondary so the next time you see me rub a coin please remember the statement above! LOL

I'm happy for you and loved the reaction!

I really don't agree with this statement at all. Ask anyone this question, "Would you rather have a scratched up coin, or one with less hairlines?" I think you know the answer to that question. Most of the time it comes down to having a little patience in the field and not rubbing the coin then and there. That's it. Remove the dirt at home. The video watchers will understand and we don't need to get a date, mm, reed count, feather count, complete luster analysis, etc. then and there. Of course the person can do whatever they want to their coin, but sometimes they just need a heads-up that there could be an alternative cleaning method. If the finder wants to take it and run it over with his/her car, then so be it. But why risk permanently damaging a coin just for a few seconds of video? Granted, there are times when I get the coin home, rinse it off and still find hairlines from the dirt. Nothing that can be done with that, but you can tell sometimes where someone rubbed a coin then and there. Why would you risk losing hundreds of dollars in value just because it's your coin? If someone was going to burn a $100 bill, I know I would be inclined to stop them, and inform them of what they are doing. If they want to burn it after that, go ahead, but at least I said my part. I guess, what I'm saying is, the owner should first be informed that he may have caused some scratches. And that those scratches could have reduced the value. It may cause him to reflect what had happened and change next time. If, after hearing it, still says, "you know what, it's my coin, and I'm going to rub it" then it is what it is. But maybe he will say, "you know, last time it may have dropped the value by a hundo or two by rubbing it in the field, maybe I'll leave the audience in suspense in the video and take the dirt off in a more controlled environment." Other members shouldn't get angry when some members try to state a coin has potentially been damaged. Isn't that part of the hobby...expressing our opinions on how to better preserve items? We are all part of preserving history.