Finally got back to the hunt -- Recon results:

[mlw67]

I finally got back out Friday to do some hunting.  Yep, I'm still looking for that 1850s coinage payday.  Nope, I still haven't found a single old coin out there.  I have 4 spots picked out as highly probable good spots, but they can't be hunted properly until next year when the "War of the Plants" is over.  Oh yeah, and there is that ground condition factor....We ended up literally having to drill for some of the targets, using a small but sharp garden shovel.  The shovel has a nice perpendicular, easily-gripped handle on it, which allows me to spin it back and forth while my assistant pours water in the hole, thus allowing us to drill down to some of these signals I've been previously leaving behind.  Yeah--its *that bad*.  After hiking for about 6 miles doing 'recon', and after spending hours chiseling things out of the rock known as 'soil', we came up with the assortment of thingies shown in the photo.

The area I have permission to hunt covers a massive area, so I'm not ready to give up yet.  There is a lot more land out there that I have *not* checked out than there is land that I *have* checked out.  It does indeed suck to not be digging up all the coins like I am used to doing, but I figure I am sacrificing quantity for eventual quality??  I hope?? LOL  I'm tired of NOT making the face, but I figure the face I make when I am holding my first large cent will be one to be remembered to be sure. 

The brass widget on the left is my favorite find for the day.  I posted it in the whatzit forum.  The 1901 Repeater shell is my second favorite find for the day.

Oh yeah!  A first for me:  I dug up a tagged-bird leg-band.  I googled the name on it and found a 1-800 number I could call to report the band.  I did, and they are going to send me a certificate that says what kind of bird it was and also where and when it was tagged.  I thought that was pretty cool!

 

[Proolio]

nice selection of things you got there mlw. I feel you'll get those old coins soon

 

[mlw67]

Thanks Renegade!

As much ground as I've covered, I figure I am over due? Next time I may just bring home 3 old coins.

If nothing else, by next spring I will have all the good spots 'marked' and will be able to hunt some of these spots I can't hunt now.

 

[DPBOB]

I found 1 of those leg tags a month or so ago and didn't know what it was til a week ago... I lost it...I can't find it.....maybe next one...

Keep on digging cause......you


GOTTA LOVE THIS HOBBY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Boobydoo]

Nice post mlw! Interesting stuff,
I hope you get some good hits soon.
A man with a plan, gotta love it, good luck!

Smiles!
BDoo

 

[stud564]

nice finds

 

[Green1]

we got some tough ground in mass, but nothing like what you have,,

 

[mlw67]

Thanks you guys! I appreciate the encouragement.

Green: Fortunately the ground isn't that hard all over the place, but in some spots--my word! There were a couple of signals I couldn't even drill down to get. They will just have to wait until spring. Of course, by then it will be mud and I will have to wear boots......but the coins will sure come out easier!

 

[Mirage]

Yeah, Nate and I were out today. Some of the places the ground was like cement and some were ok.

A word on the old site - My mom's property covers about 3 acres. We searched most of the 3 acres randomly for about a year(maybe couple hours every other week or so) until we found our first "old" coin. Funny cause the spot that produced the old coins was way in the back of the property and limited to a fairly small area. We did find old "stuff" all over the property but the good stuff was limited to a smaller area.

Good luck.

Bob

 

[Michigan Badger]

Interesting finds there! I really like this sort of thing.

When you mentioned drilling for targets it reminded me of a new digging tool a guy developed for digging coins. It works kind of like an auger or posthole digger.

I haven't tried it yet because I figured it would damage coins. But, with knee surgery coming I need to move to some sort of standing-up digger.

Best to you,

Badger

 

[mlw67]

Yeah, Nate and I were out today. Some of the places the ground was like cement and some were ok.

A word on the old site - My mom's property covers about 3 acres. We searched most of the 3 acres randomly for about a year(maybe couple hours every other week or so) until we found our first "old" coin. Funny cause the spot that produced the old coins was way in the back of the property and limited to a fairly small area. We did find old "stuff" all over the property but the good stuff was limited to a smaller area.

Good luck.

Bob

Thanks Bob!

That is what I think this spot will be like--good stuff in one or more small select spots.

Mathematical Hoopla: Lets see here, I am hunting about 6 times faster, at 6 hours per week compared to one. Wait--no, three times faster because I am swinging one detector not two. So at that rate it would take me four months to hunt 3 acres. So at--uh--640 acres divided by 3 acres is about 213 times more land, so four months times 213 equals 852 months, or >GULP< ...71 years that it will take me to hunt this site. Wonderful.

Interesting finds there! I really like this sort of thing.

When you mentioned drilling for targets it reminded my of a new digging tool a guy developed for digging coins. It works kind of like an auger or posthole digger.

I haven't tried it yet because I figured it would damage coins. But, with knee surgery coming I need to move to some sort of standing-up digger.

Best to you,

Badger

Thanks Badger!

You can stand up with this digger, but it wouldn't be good in a city or someplace where you had to be careful.

 

[Nana40]

Neat find on the bird leg band ML!

 

[mlw67]

Thanks Nana!

The web site says this is an 'older' one, but compared to what or what that means I don't know.

It looks like it belonged to a good sized bird, I would think?!

They said I would get my certificate in a couple of weeks.

 

[dave-enc]

wtg on the finds
hh
dave+bobbie

 

[Blackjack77]

ML- nice finds, too bad about the concrete digging. Thats how it was here till august when it finally rained . Every post you do , I hope its the LARGE cent one. Soon, it'll happen soon. Keep the faith!!
HH--I enjoy your stories!!

 

[funkman]

good finds there mlw67. I know there is a large cent out there with your name on it. That seems to be your goal. After I found my 2 large cents, now I am old coin biggoted and when I dig clad up, I don;t feel as happy as I did with those two old ladies. I found 34 cents this weekend in clad and thought big deal, now show me something old!!

Keep digging and they will appear.

Funkman

 

[mlw67]

Thanks to all of you for the great replies!

I will certainly let you know what the bird was that wore that band.

Funkman I read your posts and I know you found one of those large cents just laying there right on top.
Good gracious sakes alive--that just isn't fair! lol

Even though I've been hunting for 30 years, I really haven't tried to find a large cent. I'm sure others have been found in my region, but I really doubt there are too many being found, especially this late in the game, so to speak. So for all these years I've been satisfied just to dig up tons of later coins. Heck, digging up indian heads around here is probably at about the same difficulty rating as finding a large cent back east--and I've found hundreds of indians. But now, I'm on a mission. LOL I just can't stand to watch all you east-coasters have all the fun!

 

[Bavaria Mike]

It can take a long time to pin point hotspots! I have been looking for an extinct town that died in 1613 of a plague, later the locals in the area carried away the towns ruins to build elsewhere. After 15+ hours I found out the town is over 1/2 mile away from where I'm searching. Then a WWII bunker got in the way near the site so I had to detect it. I'm over due for a good picture post. HH, Mike

 

[Mona Lisa]

Matt, I hope your trusty assistant has the camera ready when you find your first large cent. I wanna see "the face"! :P

You know that anytime you feel you need help....I can call in the troops for you.

Good luck on your mission! 8)

 

[mlw67]

Thanks Mike and Lisa for the great posts!

I hope it doesn't actually take me 71 years.