Mine was a colt derringer pistol, circa 1880's I do mostly old home sites not to much beach hunting they are so far away. The gun was even cocked, immagine that. :lol:
You will like it here, We have 75 degree weather here today, did a little hunting this morning nothing but iron today, but you never know. Texas has proven to be good hunting for me, everything from civil war stuff to buttons to slave chain to the oldest coin being a 1831 large cent. Not to bad I have only been detecting for a year. Of course half the credit goes to the garrett.
A lot of the coins I've found were special to me for reasons that might not seem special to a lot of other folks. My first coin from the 1800s, an 1898 Barber dime. Then in Autaugaville, Alabama, a small rural community near Selma, a 1913 Canadian large cent at the school. How the heck did that get there Some kid robbed his dad's coin collection, maybe? Y'all know what I mean. Some coins you can remember exactly where you were and when. That's the fun of metal detecting.
Mix
My most exciting find was a 1782 Spanish Half Reale right in my own back yard. Since then I have found four others but that first one still remains my favorite, and it definately was the find that got me HOOKED
Lance
I'm going to print up t-shirts with the most often asked questions on them and this will be number one! I want to list the three most often asked questions and put an answer next to each one so when the tourists ask the same question over for the ten thousandth time, I can just point to my shirt and say "#1" or "#2".
Its hard to decide, I have been detecting since 1954, started with a WW2 mine detector made by Boluva watch Co. and I have made some good finds but two of the best were a diamond/saphire ring that I thought was gaudy junk till my daughter took it to the jewelers and they appraised it at 5K.
The other was a Mills 25 cent slot machine that still had the jackpot and all inside it although it was mighty rusty, it had $134 in 25 cents pieces in it and the newest was 1928, the good thing about it was the penny peanut machine buried next to it, it still had the round glass globe intact with remnants of peanuts in it and when the bottom was opened 106 of the pennies in it were Indian heads, I did not sleep for a week.
8) Great Dig's Desertdigger Nice coins and relics at the same time.Must of had some nice mint coins that way.I think i would have slept for a week just from passing out from the excitementHH-jARMAN
ashton9, I am sending you a PM with a sure fire old coin bonanza if you ever get out west to the desert. Meanwhile check out www.czyuma.com for some desert finds.
Good Luck
1/4 karat diamond ring in my 3rd month of detecting. used a whites classic II and upgraded to XLT one week later. All doubters including my wife wanted a piece of the action then. lol HH Dave
The print's a bit vague so here goes:
" In Senate of the United States.
Thursday, February 18, 1847.
Resolved, That the Secretary be directed to procure for the use of the Senate two thousand copies of the authentic copy of the Constitution, with an analytical index, and compilation of other public documents, recently printed and placed in the hands of the members, provided the price shall not exceed the sum of one dollar and twenty-five cents per copy.
Resolved, That ten thousand additional copies of the authentic copy of the Constitution, with an analytical index, etc., be procured for the use of the Senate, provided they will be furnished at a deduction of twenty percent, on the price above stated."
It took them until 1853 to get this copy/index out. Took me a mintue to rescue it from a house being demolished. A lot of other books from the period were not salvaged, they went into the landfill somewhere. This particular copy may have came from Hestor Lockhart Stevens (D-Mich, 33rd Congress) to a family member, it appears then down the line until forgotten in an old study of an old house in Elgin I came across as it was being demolished. Got some nice coinage in the yard too.
8)2 YEARS AGO,I FOUND 4-RINGS BURIED IN THE GROUND IN A 12"CIRCLE-3 SILVER,1 GOLD WITH DIAMONDS-OH,BY THE WAY,I AM LEAVING IN A WEEK FOR MY ANNUAL METAL DETECTING/CAMPING TRIP TO THE VERY SAME PLACE I FOUND THOSE RINGS;GONNA BE THERE A WEEK!!!!!!AS THEY SAY IN THAT COMMERCIAL;"OH,THE POSSIBILITIES!!!!!!"
My best find would be a field i worked very close to James Town Island in Virginia where i found 8 1773 Virginia Half Pennys copper peices with a pic of King George III and a shield with a 7 string harp and other symbols, 6 1760's Pillar shillings shaped like a pie peice and pure silver, and 2 1604 coins that are also silver but i havent found there name out yet or what kind. I also found about 300 Mini Bals in this same area as well as pieces of brass that have designs engraved in the and key hole cut in to them for a small skeleton key which i only found 1 of. If anyone is interested and lives in the state of Virginia let me know i would like to see other varites of metal Detetors work this very large field befor the demolish it and put up houses like they plan to do. thanks!