Another First & Another Bucket List Find....1857 Flying eagle Cent....

[Garrett424]

I went back to my abandoned house site where I recently found a lead soldier. The place is so loaded with trash and the weeds are gettin' so high it's almost not even fun (with the emphasis on almost).

I dug targets for at least 4 hours and almost all of them were trash, including lots of shell casings, a few bullets and other assorted random hunks of lead of many shapes and sizes. I'm beginning to think that these people scavenged metal or something. It's horrible.

So I decided to hit the driveway where I've pulled a few Wheaties in the past one last time. I got a very questionable hit I still can't quite figure out.

This coin rang up in the mid 60's like aluminum or a possible nickel but after digging through the layers of PACKED gravel (a freakin' PITA), out popped this baby:



It's an 1857 Flying Eagle cent and only the second in my collection. My first is an 1858 but I didn't dig that one. My uncle gave it to me when I was a kid.

I'm really happy with this one to say the least. It surely saved the day. It looks shiny because after lightly rinsing it I smeared it with olive oil to try and get a good shot. Overall, it's not in bad shape at all for being in the dirt for all of these years. It looks even better in person.

I also dug a 1925 Wheatie:



I worked really hard for those two small coins. I dug a few other modern Lincolns and one 1989 dime but that was about it coin wise. It's a really tough site and although I keep telling myself that silver HAS TO show up, so far it remains elusive. I'm really thinkin' it may have been cherry picked long ago because it's not exactly a secret location.

Still, I know that Flying Eagles don't show up often or easy so all in all, I'm pretty darn happy and consider this a great find and a great hunt. I can now scratch this one off the list.

Thanks for lookin' and HH.

*****EDIT*****

The mystery of the strange signal on the Flying Eagle is solved. They're not pure copper but copper & Nickel. I had no idea.
Hmm. Learn something every day.
Thank you PlzBSeated.

 

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[Loco-Digger]

Congrats on those 2 coins. the Flying Eagle has eluded my coil.

 

[kingskid1611]

My favorite coin is the flying eagle. Congrats!

 

[Argentium]

Yeah you scored ! Flying Eagle cents are a very tough find .

 

[PlzBSeated]

Nice find! The odd signal is due to the cupro-nickel composition of the flying eagle coins. They will ring in lower than the IHPs. Dig all signals!

PBS

 

[Garrett424]

Dig all signals!



PBS

Amen to that brother!!

You NEVER truly know until you see it with your own two eyes no matter how fancy your machine is.

I dug so much junk today I can't tell you. But, I'm always telling myself, "it could be gold", or, "could be highly oxidized and misleading me", etc.

Had I relied only on what the machine was telling me I could have VERY easily left this one behind. The gut feelings don't hurt either. Sometimes you just "know" it's something good.

I know I'm glad I didn't pass over this one.

 

[Ahab8]

Another great find for you bud. That's a tough one to check off the list

 

[jwarner51]

I scratched one if those off of my bucket list a few months back! Beautiful coin tough find!

 

[Old Dude]

Awesome! That is one copper I want very much to find.

 

[Garrett424]

Awesome! That is one copper I want very much to find.

Thanks.
And keep in mind when you're out there lookin, it's not pure copper. It rings up between nickel and aluminum on my Delta. I truly almost missed this one.

So if you get a "can slaw signal", it could be a Flying Eagle. I didn't know that myself until today. That could very well be why they're a rare find.

 

[The Aluminum Monster]

That's a great find, man. A great reminder that persistence pays off. Just hammer away at those P.I.T.A. sites and you are bound to be rewarded. Congrats and GO FIND THAT SILVER!

I just keep saying that to myself as well. "There's GOT to be silver here!"

GL and HH!

-Jay

 

[CASPER-2]

 

[cjon455]

Very cool, nice flying eagle! !

 

[I-DIG-IT]

Nice flying eagle.

 

[JeffInMass]

That is one sweet Flying Eagle- Congrats!! I've found a couple and they're both toast- the copper/nickel coins don't seem (at least the ones I've found) to hold up very well at all. Yours is a beaut!

-- Jeff --

 

[treblehunter]

Very cool, its on my bucket list too. I bet I walked over at least a couple of those. Some sites it pays to dig everything.

 

[Garrett424]

Very cool, its on my bucket list too. I bet I walked over at least a couple of those. Some sites it pays to dig everything.

Yeah, now I'm wondering how many I've passed by.
I've passed on so many of those "aluminum" signals I can't count them.
Of course, my machine is pretty good on ID and when I do dig them, it usually is aluminum or other trash. It does make you wonder though.

Also, digging everything is great in theory but at this site, that would take 20 years. It's the worst place I've ever hunted trash wise.

I also found a nearby cellar hole I want to hit. I gave it a quick once over and it too is LOADED with iron, both inside and all around it.I just can't imagine why anyone would put so much metal in the ground the way they did at this place.

All of the earlier coins I've found at this site have been pennies with the exception of one 1946 nickel. Maybe they just didn't have it to drop or took very good care of what little they had.

 

[Garrett424]

That is one sweet Flying Eagle- Congrats!! I've found a couple and they're both toast- the copper/nickel coins don't seem (at least the ones I've found) to hold up very well at all. Yours is a beaut!

-- Jeff --

I think the fact that it was in gravel as opposed to pure dirt really helped preserve this one.

 

[OBN]

Very nice catch on the flying eagle.. One beautiful designed coin. I have yet to find one in the water, did one early on with a old Explorer xs in my few dirt years... could have swore it was bronze, thanks for the info...

 

[46Wheat]

Very nice