Found gold coins. What next!?

bonedoctor

Jr. Member
Aug 25, 2019
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Hello! Im new here. Im also an amateur. Ive lived on a historical property for about 13 years. I bought a detector a few years ago but never got into using it until recently. I met someone who was really into it and told them about my place. They are very trustworthy and I decided to let them come hunt my place with me. Thought it would be a good experience.

Here is the background. My house sits in the oxbow of a well known creek. The house dates to 1936 and was built buy a fairly famous figure. a few decades later, a senator lived here. Their dad actually was a nominated presidential candidate in the 30s. There are many cool things related to this, but earlier history is more fascinating to me.

The first white man in my area is considered to be the father of our city. He had a trading post on our property, which was several miles outside of the city. It was on the creek, on my property. This would have been 1862. In 1870, there were about 50 people in the city. His post was only here a few years and it was mainly indian trading. It was removed around 1880. I need to find the exact date. There is a newspaper article about it.

When my house was built about 70 years later, it was placed in the center of the oxbow, and each end of the oxbow was cut off in the 40s. During this, I was told bodies were dug up in the process. Not much info on this.

We started to metal detect a few weeks ago. One of the first areas we hit gave us a copper arrowhead and a dime dating 1860! That was very exciting! Since then, we have mainly found a bunch of civil war ammo and some civil was era boot tips. We have found 5 rings in very random places.

A few days ago, I randomly decided to hit an area between my house and the old oxbow. I was shocked! We located an 1882 $5 gold piece! It was right at the top of the "bank" of the oxbow. Maybe 2' from its downward slope. We looked some more and found an 1880 $10 gold piece 15' away, and down the bank to the oxbow! The one on top of the bank was 6" deep, and the other down the bank was 2" deep.

Im not sure what to make of this. These coins were after the post, but before my house. Also, who would have had this gold on them, just walking through a creek area? This general area has also brought up a few things, such as some victorian era buttons and a cameo ring. We also dug up a confederate civil war bullet.

What are your suspicions? Do you think it was a fluke and someone dropped some coins? Do you think there is a cache?

Furthermore, what path does a gold coin take? Does it move up or down with time? In other words, at 2" and 6" depth, am I likely to find something much deeper? There is a 1940s wire fence in the area, and its a good 1' deep. So, I just dont know how extreme to go. After about a foot, the area gets sandy. The oxbow hasnt flowed since the 40s, but water occasionally fills in when it rains heavily, then it sinks into the ground. It is extremely heavy with ivy ground cover, and in the trees.

I have an excavator at my house today. Any opinions from the experience would be great!!

I should also mention, this area had figures like Jesse James, and many other famous outlaws. Also, the Chisholm trail goes through our city, and a branch of the trail goes through a portion of my property. Maybe 500' from the gold find.
 

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Hillbilly Prince

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Aug 9, 2018
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I almost cried reading this post :p You are in metal detecting paradise. Not to mention the other possibilties. Arrowheads and what not.
You ask a lot of good questions. There may indeed be caches around. Were there battles in your area? I have read Union soldiers often threw the rifles of captured Rebs into the nearest creek.
The house might have some coins squirreled away in hiding places.
I would keep quiet about your finds to locals. Otherwise you may be overrun with folks looking for stuff.
How deep you find a coin depends on a lot of factors such as weather, type of soil. Someone more knowledgedable about that will come along.
Old maps would be invaluable, I think. Internet, local libraries and historical societies may help you research. This forum will be of immense help with any questions you havel.
You are very fortunate to have such an area to hunt. Keep us updated :)
 

cudamark

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I'd start by gridding every inch of ground I could. This would include getting wet in creeks if necessary. Only then would I consider pushing dirt around to find more. Oh, and we need photos of all those finds too! :icon_thumright:
 

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CjG3

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Aug 25, 2019
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Albuquerque NM
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I have to say I'm pretty darn jealous. I'm fairly new to detecting myself. How does everyone go about cleaning coins? I have a handful of wheat pennies that need a good scrub but I don't want to mess them up. I haven't found any silver or gold so I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get there.
 

Hillbilly Prince

Silver Member
Aug 9, 2018
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I have to say I'm pretty darn jealous. I'm fairly new to detecting myself. How does everyone go about cleaning coins? I have a handful of wheat pennies that need a good scrub but I don't want to mess them up. I haven't found any silver or gold so I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get there.

Try this forum.
Cleaning & Preservation
 

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bonedoctor

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Aug 25, 2019
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Thanks for the replies! I’ll post some pics in a bit. One of the questions I have about detecting...the detectors ignore iron signals. If a person hit a large load of gold, won’t the signal also be ignored because of the strength?
 

Megalodon

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May 13, 2018
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Thanks for the replies! I’ll post some pics in a bit. One of the questions I have about detecting...the detectors ignore iron signals. If a person hit a large load of gold, won’t the signal also be ignored because of the strength?

Only if its in an iron pot and you are discriminating out iron!

Its way too soon to start moving soil around. Hunt slowly and overlap your sweeps. Think of each sweep as an inverted cone under your searchcoil for good coverage. Use minimum discrimination and go slow.

I agree with Hillbilly Prince. Metal detecting paradise indeed.
 

smallfoot

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One thing is for certain, if native Americans were there for a period. It was considered a good place to camp for the same reasons anybody after them would have considered it. An oxbow in the river,,,priceless...hunt the heck out of it.
 

Hillbilly Prince

Silver Member
Aug 9, 2018
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SW Missouri
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Thanks for the replies! I’ll post some pics in a bit. One of the questions I have about detecting...the detectors ignore iron signals. If a person hit a large load of gold, won’t the signal also be ignored because of the strength?

What detector are you using? You can get advice on the forum on how to get the most out of it.
I would not want to ignore the iron signals completely due to the nature of the area's history. You might find some valuable relics.
 

cudamark

Gold Member
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Mar 16, 2011
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XP Deus 2, Equinox 800/900, Fisher Impulse AQ, E-Trac, 3 Excal 1000's, White's TM808, VibraProbe, 15" NEL Attack, Mi6, Steath 920ix and 720i scoops, TRX, etc....
Primary Interest:
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I have to say I'm pretty darn jealous. I'm fairly new to detecting myself. How does everyone go about cleaning coins? I have a handful of wheat pennies that need a good scrub but I don't want to mess them up. I haven't found any silver or gold so I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get there.

Start by checking dates and mintmarks. If rare, don't try to clean until you know what method will improve the appearance. If they're fairly common date ones or semi rare, but, in excellent condition otherwise, same advice. Common wheats, cleaning won't effect their value. If you like the shiny, like new look, a vinegar or lemon juice soak will remove most, if not all, of the dark patina and much of the corrosion. Same with electrolysis. It will also take some of the detail away too. Some people even tumble their common wheats along with their memorials. Kind of your choice on that.
 

cudamark

Gold Member
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Mar 16, 2011
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14,457
San Diego
🥇 Banner finds
1
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3
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XP Deus 2, Equinox 800/900, Fisher Impulse AQ, E-Trac, 3 Excal 1000's, White's TM808, VibraProbe, 15" NEL Attack, Mi6, Steath 920ix and 720i scoops, TRX, etc....
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Thanks for the replies! I’ll post some pics in a bit. One of the questions I have about detecting...the detectors ignore iron signals. If a person hit a large load of gold, won’t the signal also be ignored because of the strength?

Most detectors have the option of discriminating iron out or not, What machines are you and your friend using?
 

ROIGuy

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Jun 9, 2019
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I almost cried reading this post :p You are in metal detecting paradise. Not to mention the other possibilties. Arrowheads and what not.
You ask a lot of good questions. There may indeed be caches around. Were there battles in your area? I have read Union soldiers often threw the rifles of captured Rebs into the nearest creek.
The house might have some coins squirreled away in hiding places.
I would keep quiet about your finds to locals. Otherwise you may be overrun with folks looking for stuff.
How deep you find a coin depends on a lot of factors such as weather, type of soil. Someone more knowledgedable about that will come along.
Old maps would be invaluable, I think. Internet, local libraries and historical societies may help you research. This forum will be of immense help with any questions you havel.
You are very fortunate to have such an area to hunt. Keep us updated :)

If he finds a golden angel's harp, I want pictures or it didn't happen! :laughing7:
 

Terry Soloman

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May 28, 2010
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Don't ignore iron. Many buried their gold and silver in thick iron pots (like Dutch Ovens), and in old Bean Cans. Dig it all baby!:skullflag:
 

trdking

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Feb 28, 2015
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Agree with all Go slow and dig everything Every signal We need to see photos We need to see photos We need to see photos We.....
 

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bonedoctor

Jr. Member
Aug 25, 2019
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Here is a pic of the gold

4BF9336F-F154-4260-8EBF-73493B2E2F56.jpeg
 

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bonedoctor

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Aug 25, 2019
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Here is a confederate 3 ring found within 100 ft of gold

FC39C455-AD8E-4832-AEB5-BCA080A22751.jpeg
 

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bonedoctor

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Aug 25, 2019
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Not sure on age, but it was a hanger and it’s about 1’ long!

150E1CC2-3144-4EB3-B12B-0F41024CE8F3.jpeg
 

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bonedoctor

Jr. Member
Aug 25, 2019
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Metal arrowhead found in the same area as an 1860 dime. I believe it is copper.


F5EB1A06-E70A-4418-834A-32073FBD7485.jpeg
 

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