halfdime
Silver Member
I live in an old town. Parts of it go back about two hundred years, with most of it added in dribs and drabs over that time. What you often have in an old town are old buildings, houses mainly, and a few still remain. Depending on your point of view, progress has dictated that many of these old houses be eliminated. I guess one man's progress is another man's shortsightedness. I, for one, hate to see the grand old symbols of the past destroyed. On the other hand, we still live in a society where a person can decide the fate of his own property, within reason, and it's often reasonable to remove something and replace it with better. Because of neglect and age, sometimes the best course of action is to start over. Our borough is in the process of doing just that. Recently, Zelienople acquired property close to our municipal building; these lots have a few old houses on them. Not two hundred years old, but some with stone foundations, slate roofs, houses that have seen at least two world wars, maybe the Spanish-American war and maybe even the organizing of the first professional baseball team in Cincinnati in 1869. In search of space to add parking in our busy town, the borough found property that had suffered from age and neglect for quite some time and purchased it. Most people see saplings growing out of the gutters, brush growing too large against the house, newspapers piling up by the front doors. They've served long, hopefully well, but their days are nearing an end. The buildings will be demolished, two burned to help the fire department with their training and parking built. I see what everyone else sees, but I also "see" what they do not. Since I started metal detecting eleven years ago, I've discovered that old houses almost always have old coins in the yard around them. And not just coins, there can be clay marbles, bottles, old toys, jewelry, almost anything. After some discussion with members of the Zelienople Historical Society, I sought permission to search these properties as much as possible before they're altered; there just might be things of value and/or historical interest hidden on the premises. I got some permission this morning. I can search the grounds outside the buildings but insurance issues will not allow me inside. Hey, you appreciate what you can get, right? The other stipulation is that the borough keeps the finds and will forward (if appropriate) items of historical interest to the Society. I agreed, just wanting to be part of (perhaps) something interesting. I had a little time this afternoon and my first good find was a 1905 Indian head penny. I know that description might cause some gnashing of teeth but they're called what they're called. I would have to do a pretty intense search to discover the last time I found three Indians on the same day, but I ended with 1899, 1902 and the '05. Also found 1911, 1920 and 1941 wheat pennies. I didn't even have to dig for this clay marble; it was protruding from the surface close to the '41. These places may have been detected before; I would expect some silver to have been lost as well. Some guys will pass over weaker signals, just digging those that are typical of silver. Their loss. I'll probably do some sifting close to the houses; this is the best way to gather a nice little flock of clay marbles. These are all common dates, so far, and I don't have any remorse handing them over. The real struggle will come if I have to turn over a piece of gold or nice silver, but that's the deal. If it happens, I'll just have to enjoy the discovery!
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love to see them in the plug.
Donald Trump would call it like it is. Nice find on the Indian Head Pennies. Guess me and Trump have a lot in common.
