First Farthing, Old Key, Random Finds

[Ahab8]

Got out for a quick hunt today and found my first farthing. It's very ugly but I'm happy to check off a first. I also found what looks to be a very old key. I had found another copper at this site a few days ago but it's the worst I've ever seen. I've been hunting in all metal lately and have pulled some deep keepers from sites that I and others have hammered. I'm really getting used to it and am realizing that there's a lot of very deep stuff that I've been missing.










I also recently found and returned this ring. Met Stephen Sunday and he was pretty psyched to have his class ring back.

Damn I've dug some ugly coins lately lol
Hitting a very old site Sunday that I've never hit before. Hoping for some nice old finds from this place. Good luck out there guys

 

[I-DIG-IT]

Nice digs. good return.

 

[Ahab8]

Nice going on the farthing bud. Those are definitely hard to come by down this way. Good luck on Sun.

It's amazing that we don't find more of these. As IP said it's such a small denomination and you'd think there's be quite a few around. I suppose not every site is old enough for them but you guys and us northeast hunters certainly get on lots of sites that should have them.
Excited to see your finds this winter while I hibernate for 4 months lol

 

[Bill D. (VA)]

It's amazing that we don't find more of these. As IP said it's such a small denomination and you'd think there's be quite a few around. I suppose not every site is old enough for them but you guys and us northeast hunters certainly get on lots of sites that should have them.
Excited to see your finds this winter while I hibernate for 4 months lol

This season isn't shaping up very well for us so far. Immediately after the fall harvest just about every farmer down here is planting the dreaded winter wheat which makes the fields off limits. And hunting season is now in full force including Sundays for the first time here in VA. With all that and the forecast for another cold and snowy winter I may be spending a lot of time at home too. Quite a major bummer.

 

[Bill D. (VA)]

After watching one of Beau Ouimettes videos I've been setting mine up the same way. He first goes I to the disc menu and cranks the sens to 99 and the disc down to 0. He then goes to the all metal mode and cranks the sens up to the mid 90s. And yes a manual gb with threshold a little on the positive side(so you can hear it a bit). I have no idea why he sets it up with the disc mode first but he swears it makes a difference and I don't question that guy lol. The sites I have used it at have proven that I've been missing some deep targets. And yes I have started using it on trashy and irony sites. I'm finally getting used to it. It will give you a headache eventually though. And you absolutely have to keep one eye on the vdi. I'm always learning and open to any suggestions but I have been very impressed with the all metal set up. Some of the finds at some of the depths are pretty impressive

I've messed around a little with all metal with my F75 and haven't really seen any significant increase in depth. About 95% of the time I hunt in JE/99/0, only occasionally dialing back the sensitivity if the iron is heavy. I should be getting one of the brand new F75 Ltd machines soon, and am planning to play around with some of its new features, especially the FA mode which ramps up the processor speed which hopefully will be of some benefit in the heavy iron. The first big test will be to take it back to some old pounded sites and see what it can do in the heavy iron patches. But to be honest, I think there's much more to be gained by doing thorough research and putting yourself onto a good site than by buying a fancy machine and trying to tweak it to get an extra inch of depth. I'd have to say that 80-90% of my finds could be found with just about any middle-of-the-road machine. Its all about location. Just my 2 cents .....

 

[Carolina Tom]

Very nice finds Abe. Congrats. GL&HH.

 

[Vino]

These are the only ones i can find in my pics..

 

[Scrappy]

Nice finds bud! Your copper is a beauty compared to my last toasted one. I could fillet a fish with the corroded edge...

That key is wicked cool and a nice grab especially since you said that site was pounded. I avoid all metal mode on my T2, but now you got me thinking.

Good luck Sunday

 

[Ahab8]

I've messed around a little with all metal with my F75 and haven't really seen any significant increase in depth. About 95% of the time I hunt in JE/99/0, only occasionally dialing back the sensitivity if the iron is heavy. I should be getting one of the brand new F75 Ltd machines soon, and am planning to play around with some of its new features, especially the FA mode which ramps up the processor speed which hopefully will be of some benefit in the heavy iron. The first big test will be to take it back to some old pounded sites and see what it can do in the heavy iron patches. But to be honest, I think there's much more to be gained by doing thorough research and putting yourself onto a good site than by buying a fancy machine and trying to tweak it to get an extra inch of depth. I'd have to say that 80-90% of my finds could be found with just about any middle-of-the-road machine. Its all about location. Just my 2 cents .....

Bill, I could not agree more about the research and the sites. But I will say the T2 gains a fairly significant amount of depth. I've done a lot of testing in my little test garden and it's a decent difference. I also have a couple of sites where things are very deep as a rule and the all metal has pulled quite a few keepers that I missed in disc mode. I still think the best use of it is to just use it after you have thoroughly searched a site in disc mode. You may just nab a few more deep ones

 

[Rick (Nova Scotia)]

Good catch.
Yes the farthings are elusive. Off top of my head the ratio of farthings to half pennies is about 1 to 100, at least that is about what I got around here. I have a few "discs" that are farthing size, only 2 are ID able, the best one is 1799.



No doubt what your saying about a bit more depth in AM mode, but you've said before about finding coins at 12-13 inches deep in DISC mode, "probably" the buttons you missed before, you just missed. We got 3 coins yesterday at a smallish site we pounded good a few times, none of these new coins were at record breaking depths, we just missed them.

Guess I should ask were any of the new finds deeper than 12-13 inches ?

 

[beez0404]

The key is actually iron so I'm not sure how well it will clean up. Might throw it in some ACV and see what happens. Happy with the farthing. If love to find a nice one some day

Abe, I've been cleaning some iron buckles and square nails in regular white vinegar. Although it takes a lot of time it does really take off the rust. You just immerse the item and when the vinegar turns black take it out and brush it lightly with a brass brush and put it back into some fresh vinegar. Just rinse and repeat till you get the desired results.

 

[Ahab8]

Good catch. Yes the farthings are elusive. Off top of my head the ratio of farthings to half pennies is about 1 to 100, at least that is about what I got around here. I have a few "discs" that are farthing size, only 2 are ID able, the best one is 1799. <img src="http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1075792"/> No doubt what your saying about a bit more depth in AM mode, but you've said before about finding coins at 12-13 inches deep in DISC mode, "probably" the buttons you missed before, you just missed. We got 3 coins yesterday at a smallish site we pounded good a few times, none of these new coins were at record breaking depths, we just missed them. Guess I should ask were any of the new finds deeper than 12-13 inches ?

The place where I recovered the buttons I def wasn't getting to them in disc mode. It was a very small area that I hit from both directions more than once. Then when I got the signal in all metal I switched back to disc and there was either nothing or a very faint terrible signal. Some stuff I may have just missed but I've found that it's not just about getting super deep. Some tiny things like the merc dime or the indian head may not have been super deep but were completely on edge and the am made them sound much better. I think sometimes when we talk about all metal we get strictly hung up on the depth. What I've found is that there's a lot more to it than just straight depth. There may be a very small button or coin that's semi deep or sitting funny that you may miss. As stared previously I still am thinking all metal is best used to clean up an iffy signal it to go over an area after you've covered it in disc. But I have def found things that I simply would not have dug in disc mode. I have a couple of sites in particular that just seem to swallow whatever is in the ground

 

[Ahab8]

Abe, I've been cleaning some iron buckles and square nails in regular white vinegar. Although it takes a lot of time it does really take off the rust. You just immerse the item and when the vinegar turns black take it out and brush it lightly with a brass brush and put it back into some fresh vinegar. Just rinse and repeat till you get the desired results.

Yes I've used the vinegar with good results

 

[Iron Patch]

These are the only ones i can find in my pics..

Then you will not be claiming the 1 million dollar prize... and for the record the George II is a halfpenny, not a Farthing. (and the other looks to be a halfpenny as well)

 

[joeyfresh]

After watching one of Beau Ouimettes videos I've been setting mine up the same way. He first goes I to the disc menu and cranks the sens to 99 and the disc down to 0. He then goes to the all metal mode and cranks the sens up to the mid 90s. And yes a manual gb with threshold a little on the positive side(so you can hear it a bit). I have no idea why he sets it up with the disc mode first but he swears it makes a difference and I don't question that guy lol. The sites I have used it at have proven that I've been missing some deep targets. And yes I have started using it on trashy and irony sites. I'm finally getting used to it. It will give you a headache eventually though. And you absolutely have to keep one eye on the vdi. I'm always learning and open to any suggestions but I have been very impressed with the all metal set up. Some of the finds at some of the depths are pretty impressive

I've been lucky enough to hunt with the all mighty Beau but it was a little difficult to pick his his brain because he was in Beau mode, lol. I find it near impossible to hunt in all metal in iron infested areas. I do hunt in zero discrimination and adjust the sensitivity accordingly. I do use zero discrimination in a null field to find the random deep targets but am reluctant to use it in iron....but I'll try it if I ever find time to get out again.

 

[Ahab8]

I've been lucky enough to hunt with the all mighty Beau but it was a little difficult to pick his his brain because he was in Beau mode, lol. I find it near impossible to hunt in all metal in iron infested areas. I do hunt in zero discrimination and adjust the sensitivity accordingly. I do use zero discrimination in a null field to find the random deep targets but am reluctant to use it in iron....but I'll try it if I ever find time to get out again.

It's damn hard to hunt that way. I'm still playing with it but I'm pretty sure the ideal way to hunt in a perfect world is to hunt a site in your preferred disc thoroughly then go ahead and hunt it in all metal and see if you can hit a couple of keepers that you missed. It is a hell of a lot nicer on a trash less colonial site. Like say The Lord Baltimore field by the sounds of things. Good luck out there bud. Hope you find some time

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Very nice finds Abe, looks like you've got a great site there too!
Kudos to you for returning the ring, that deserves an 'Honorable Mention' as far as I'm concerned!

Dave

 

[timekiller]

Nice, dug one my last hunt.It turned out ok for me pitted a bit but was happy just to get a date.Bill & the guy's are right down this way don't see the coins you guy's north do. Not sure why, for here south coast N.C. you are as likely to dig colonial silver. That said either are not very common,but neither is finding sites that that push the 1600's range or earlier. I've got sites that will but they can be counted on one hand & there is no history of them.They have only been found from years of hunting native American sites.The good thing about finding a coin here is that half the time you never know what it might be. Meaning a good chance it wont be a normal type coin find.You can find the artifacts on these sites but coins come slow.Keeps it interesting in a way you know.The other thing I see is when you find a coin it dates with the site not the early coin on a newer site deal I notice some from others.
Good find,
Take care,
Pete

 

[Dirtwisher]

Hey all this all-metal talk has me curious. Are there any Deus guys out there who hunt in all-metal (pitch?) mode? I've played around but not hunted that way. I can see the benefit in an area with good, but few, targets where the threshold to actually achieve a standard tone may be higher. Just wondering.