BuckleBoy
Gold Member
Hello All,
I am posting this in "Today's Finds" because I just noticed this recently. I always keep meticulous records in my journal of where I hunt, what I find, how long I spend, and my detector settings for each hunt. I usually even keep a rough map of the site and mark where good finds are made.
Anyhow, I was going back through all my recovered Indian Head Cents (they are housed in those blank, blue-colored, Whitman coin boards with a date of recovery written under each) and I saw the first Indian I had ever recovered back in the early 90's. I realized that it looked strange. The reverse was tarnished with an even green patina. About 80% of the reverse, however, looked like it had never been dug.
When I saw this my heart skipped a beat! I was so new to detecting in general back then that I had no idea what I'd found. Since then, I have recovered many pocket spills from old to modern, and the coins frequently bear these marks where they were laying on top of each other in the ground. I was shocked! I would certainly have remembered if something else came out of that hole, since this was my first Indian. In fact, I was probably so excited that I forgot to re-check the hole! I took the penny out of the coin board and put it on the desk where I could get a better look. I got another dug penny and put it on top of the Indian. It was too big for the coloration marks on the coin![:-\](https://www.treasurenet.com/smilies/undecided.gif "Undecided :-\")
Then I got a dime and placed it on top of the penny. It fit perfectly. 
Now, the good news is that there is a good bit of wear on that Indian, so the coin resting on top of or underneath it was likely a Mercury Dime...but who knows. It could've been one of these:
So what ELSE did I leave in that hole in the Virginia soil 15 years ago? I may never know. But I do know where the coin was found, and I will return there. The property owners were quite aged, and it is hard to tell what I will find when I get there to check it out...but when I go back to Virginia for a Civil War relic hunt, you can bet I'll be stopping by to knock on their door. When I do, I'll also update this thread...and until then, always remember re-check your holes.
Regards,
Buckleboy
I am posting this in "Today's Finds" because I just noticed this recently. I always keep meticulous records in my journal of where I hunt, what I find, how long I spend, and my detector settings for each hunt. I usually even keep a rough map of the site and mark where good finds are made.
Anyhow, I was going back through all my recovered Indian Head Cents (they are housed in those blank, blue-colored, Whitman coin boards with a date of recovery written under each) and I saw the first Indian I had ever recovered back in the early 90's. I realized that it looked strange. The reverse was tarnished with an even green patina. About 80% of the reverse, however, looked like it had never been dug.
When I saw this my heart skipped a beat! I was so new to detecting in general back then that I had no idea what I'd found. Since then, I have recovered many pocket spills from old to modern, and the coins frequently bear these marks where they were laying on top of each other in the ground. I was shocked! I would certainly have remembered if something else came out of that hole, since this was my first Indian. In fact, I was probably so excited that I forgot to re-check the hole! I took the penny out of the coin board and put it on the desk where I could get a better look. I got another dug penny and put it on top of the Indian. It was too big for the coloration marks on the coin
Then I got a dime and placed it on top of the penny. It fit perfectly. Now, the good news is that there is a good bit of wear on that Indian, so the coin resting on top of or underneath it was likely a Mercury Dime...but who knows. It could've been one of these:
So what ELSE did I leave in that hole in the Virginia soil 15 years ago? I may never know. But I do know where the coin was found, and I will return there. The property owners were quite aged, and it is hard to tell what I will find when I get there to check it out...but when I go back to Virginia for a Civil War relic hunt, you can bet I'll be stopping by to knock on their door. When I do, I'll also update this thread...and until then, always remember re-check your holes.
Regards,
Buckleboy
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