2 fine weeks of treasure hunting

[whites6000inPa]

You hear folks talk about the "good old days".......they are right now.

I've been working the local park here a few hours a day for 2 weeks now, having started on July 21st. In that time, I have dug 19 silver dimes, 3 mercs and 16 rosies, 9 silver quarters, 2 standing liberty and 7 washingtons.

That's not the best part.......even though that's pretty good. I have also dug very close to 85.00 in clad, which I have turned into:

1.....1923 Peace dollar
1.....1929 Standing Liberty quarter in VG-8
13....walking liberty half dollars dated in the 40s
1.....1906 Barber half dollar in VG-8
1.....1958 Franklin half dollar
1.....1921 Buffalo Nickel in F-12
1.....1927 Buffalo Nickel in VF-25

That's 45 pieces of silver (and 2 buffalos) into my treasure chest in 14 days of hunting, and just a few hours per day as a rule. I did spend one entire Sunday. The bullion weight of that which I have bought...far exceeds that which I have found with the detector.

However I can put silver in my chest from this hobby.......is how I intend to do it....though I'd have to admit that the thrill of digging coins is greater than the thrill of buying them. It does make going to the mailbox more fun than it's been in awhile though.

Just to remind everyone...."Every Clad has a Silver Lining" ....Turn that clad into treasure....don't just roll it and stuff it in jars. This hobby has always been about collecting the good stuff.....and it still is. It's just a little more work now than it used to be when silver was lying around everywhere.

Here's a picture of some of the clad purchases which have arrived already.

Wyatt

 

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[Boobydoo]

I like your good old days Wyatt. Congrats big time!

Awesome post and smart buying that silver with your clad.

Keep it up, you'll have all the silver!

Smiles!
BDoo

 

[Proolio]

nice finds you got there. looks like you got a nice spot. keep hunting there

 

[whites6000inPa]

I guess what I was trying to say is..."We can't go back to those days...they are gone", so make the best of what you have to work with.

In this area....there was a burst of interest in this hobby in the early 80s.....and since then....nothing. The "hunted out places" have had 20 winters of frost pushing things around in the ground and many old "worked out" sites are almost as good as they were in the "good old days".

Try going to a place you haven't been to in 15 years and see if I'm not right.

Wyatt

 

[mxtswinger]

Nice job there Silver Slayer. I'm still looking for a place like that. WTG!

 

[whites6000inPa]

There should be plenty of parks in Kentucky.....the ones with swimming pools and pavilions for family gatherings are the kind that do well for me. Even places guys deem to be "hunted out" still produce. I got into the old schoolyard here last fall and pulled 40 silver coins from that site, some as shallow as 2 inches.

Stuff moves around in the ground with freezing and thawing....I'm thoroughly convinced of that.

The park I'm working now......I did 13 years ago.....and I swear you couldn't "buy" a sniff at a silver coin....13 years later.....the place gives up 28 silver coins in 2 weeks.

Wyatt

 

[buscadero]

Do you think that you have discovered the rarest of the rare.... A near virgin MD site? You bring hope to us pathetic clad catchers!!

 

[whites6000inPa]

The school I euded to had been hunted to death.....and I, myself hunted this same park really relentlessly 13 years ago. Coins move in the ground.....maybe these 28 coins were all on edge 13 years ago? For whatever reason, I sure didn't find them all.

I'd bet anything that I could wait 10 more years and go back to these same places, and find a new batch of silver waiting.....that had been waiting all along.

Wyatt

 

[buscadero]

I take my hat off to you sir, You have one heck of a MD & you sure know how to use it

Excellent work!!!

 

[Gribnitz]

Where do you buy your coins online from ? Seems like a fun enough idea to get rid of the cruddy clad. I was saving to buy a gold coin, but I will never get there.

 

[coolcash2004]

Did you ever read my "rules of clad" post? If not here it goes.

for every clad dime = wheat cent

for every clad 50 cents = buffaloe

for every clad 1.25 = mercury dime

for every clad 3 dollars = silver quarter

for every clad 6 dollars = silver half

for every clad 10 dollars = silver dollar

GOOD LUCK AND HH

-CC

 

[birdman]

That is an amazing haul!!!!!! It gives us all something to shoot for.

 

[whites6000inPa]

I have been buing coins on eBay for a number of years. I don't buy anything hi grade....in fact I just buy common date silver for bullion value. You can occassionally find a seller who is selling coins below spot value of silver...if you search eBay enough.

As to the clad conversion chart. I have seen it. I still don't now where those 10 dollar silver dollars are at....haven't found those. For me....the price of the coin includes postage, and that puts most silver dollars...even 22's and 23's at somewhere in the neighborhood of 14.00 - 16.00. I found the 23 I bought for 11.00 ppd....and after a quick ammonia soak to remove some PVC residue from the old flip that it had been stored in, it still has a good bit of mint luster.

Wyatt

 

[coolcash2004]

I get my silver dollars at a newrby coin show (once a month) they sell silver peace dollars for 8 to 9 dollars each, plus tax. As you can immagine i always get as many as i can.

-CC

 

[Michigan Badger]

I guess what I was trying to say is..."We can't go back to those days...they are gone", so make the best of what you have to work with.

In this area....there was a burst of interest in this hobby in the early 80s.....and since then....nothing. The "hunted out places" have had 20 winters of frost pushing things around in the ground and many old "worked out" sites are almost as good as they were in the "good old days".

Try going to a place you haven't been to in 15 years and see if I'm not right.

Wyatt

You're right, Wyatt. What's even more fun is to return to those old worked-out sites with a super deep machine. I'm doing that now and I can't go 6 feet without digging a keeper.

Badger

 

[whites6000inPa]

The topsoil layer ends, and the hard clay starts at about 6 inches in this area....so deeper coins are really the exception around these parts......but I can imagine that there are areas where it would be great to use one with greater depth capability.

Somebody needs to build one in an analog version....cuz I hate digital machines. They just don't "do it" for me. I'm too old school....and watching all of those numbers stream by changing endlessly.....it's hard for me to make any sense of 'em.

I'll hold out until they come out with a machine that features "imaging".....and sit out the whole digital revolution.

Wyatt